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
U.S. Government Issues Significant New Sanctions on Iran, Unilaterally Triggering “Snapback” UN Sanctions on Iran
On September 19, 2020, the United States announced that virtually all United Nations (UN) sanctions on Iran were being re-imposed. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have taken the position that the United States can trigger the “snapback” provisions of UN sanctions under UN Security Council resolution 2231 pursuant to the Joint
BIS Adds 47 Entities to the Entity List Effective September 22
In a Federal Register notice, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced that effective September 22, 2020, it is adding 47 entities to its Entity List after determining these companies and persons to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The entities
USTR Approves Limited Number of Section 301 Product Exclusion Extensions for List 1 and 2 Products
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued two Federal Register notices announcing the extension of numerous product exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs for imports from China appearing on List 1 (products from China with an annual trade value of $34 billion) and List 2 (products from China with an annual trade