On October 2, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it was initiating two Section 301 investigations regarding certain trade practices by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) related to its import and use of timber illegally harvested or traded and the country’s policies that may contribute to the undervaluation of
Commerce Issues New Export Controls on Emerging and Developing Technologies
On October 5, 2020, the Department of the Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice in which it finalized export controls on six recently developed or developing technologies that are essential to the national security of the United States. The changes were made in accordance with the United States and
USTR Requests Initiation of ITC Section 201 Global Safeguard Investigation into Blueberry Imports
On September 29, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) requested that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) initiate a Section 201 global safeguard investigation into “the extent to which increased imports of blueberries have caused serious injury or threat thereof to domestic blueberry growers.” This is one of numerous proposed actions announced
Federal Court Partially Blocks Department of Commerce’s TikTok Ban
On October 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a notice in the Federal Register informing the public that on September 27, 2020, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of President Donald Trump’s August 6, 2020 Executive Order against TikTok declaring it a national
Treasury Department Issues Ransomware Advisories, Notes Facilitating Ransomware Payments May Violate the Law
On October 1, 2020, the Department of the Treasury issued two related advisories to assist U.S. companies in efforts to combat ransomware scams and attacks. In addition to offering guidance, the advisories note that anti-money laundering and economic sanctions regulations implemented and enforced by Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence may be triggered by
OFAC Issues International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations; Lawsuit Seeks to Declare Executive Order and Regulations Unconstitutional
In a series of actions this week, the Department of the Treasury moved to implement regulations to enforce sanctions related to actions of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Almost immediately, however, President Trump’s executive order and the regulations were challenged in court.
ICC-Related Executive Order and Regulations
On June 11, 2020, President Trump issued Executive
Commerce Reopens Comment Period for Section 232 National Security Investigation into Vanadium Imports
On September 25, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice reopening the public comment period for its Section 232 national security investigation of imports of vanadium. BIS initially opened the investigation into vanadium imports on June 2, 2020 (see Update of June 3, 2020) as
OFAC Amends Cuba Sanctions, Further Restricting Activities with Cuba
On September 24, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a Federal Register notice amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) in order “to further implement the President’s foreign policy to deny the Cuban regime sources of revenue.” The changes will restrict: (1) lodging at certain properties in Cuba;
Further TikTok Developments: Commerce Identifies and Prohibits Certain Transactions Effective September 27
On September 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a Federal Register notice listing prohibited transactions with ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries including TikTok, Inc., pursuant to President Trump’s August 6, 2020 Executive Order declaring TikTok a national security threat and directing Commerce to define the scope of prohibited “transactions” with TikTok by September
Walmart-Oracle Deal and Federal Court Injunction Delay Commerce’s Ban on Transactions with TikTok and WeChat
On September 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced prohibitions on transactions relating to the mobile applications WeChat and TikTok in order to “safeguard the national security of the United States” that were to become effective on September 20 and November 12, 2020. This announcement followed President Trump’s August 6, 2020 executive orders declaring