On March 2, 2021, the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury imposed sanctions and export restrictions on numerous Russian officials and government entities in response to the Russian Federation’s imprisonment and alleged previous poisoning of opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. These actions follow similar sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom. Dozens
Export Control
BIS Implements Additional Export Restrictions on Burma
On March 4, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced further export restrictions on Burma initially implemented in February 2021. See Update of February 18, 2021. These actions are in response to the coup in Burma on February 1, 2021, in which the military overthrew the democratically elected civilian…
BIS Restricts Exports of Sensitive Items to Burma’s Military and Security Services
On February 12, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that was implementing restrictions on the export of “sensitive items” to Burma’s Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Home Affairs, armed forces, and security services in response to the Burmese military’s February 1 coup to overthrow the civilian government of…
Country-by-Country Guide: Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19
Key Notes:
- Many countries have taken various health and safety measures to address the rising number of COVID-19 cases and the new COVID-19 variants.
- Governments continue to support workers and employers affected by the economic instability caused by the pandemic.
- Rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and investments in critical infrastructure are the key issues in government
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DDTC Updates Review Policy for Commercial Sales and Exports of Precision-Guided Munitions
The Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has announced that it will be adjusting the review policy to ensure U.S. partners receiving such items can employ them in a manner that will “minimize collateral damage and mitigate harm to civilians.”
The announcement notes that the “responsible and effective employment of PGMs requires…
Biden Administration Places Hold on Recent Regulations Pending Review
On January 20, 2021, Ronald Klain, President Joseph Biden’s Chief of Staff, issued a memorandum to the current heads of all executive branch departments and agencies placing a freeze on the implementation of any new federal regulations, a typical move at the start of a new president’s term. This hold on further action will allow…
BIS Issues Interim Final Rule Expanding Certain Controls on Activities of U.S. Persons
On January 15, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule implementing further provisions of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 by: (i) imposing additional export license requirements under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in connection with certain military-intelligence end uses and end users; (ii) clarifying…
Commerce Adds and Removes Entities on Entity List and the MEU List
On January 14, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice announcing the addition and removal of certain Chinese and Russian entities from the Entity List and the Military End-User (MEU) List.
Notably, BIS added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. to the Entity List for its…
Department of Commerce Adjusts Levels of Civil Monetary Penalties Under Various Laws and Regulations
On January 11, 2021, the Department of Commerce published in the Federal Register adjustments for each civil monetary penalty under which its bureaus and agency operate by law. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 authorizes such adjustments “to ensure that [civil monetary penalties] continue to maintain their deterrent value and that [such…
BIS Extends Temporary Export Controls on Geospatial Artificial Intelligence Software
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (“Rule”) extending the temporary 0Y521 series export controls on software specially designed to automate the analysis of geospatial imagery, issued in January 2020. The Rule, which applies to geospatial imagery software specially designed for training a “Deep Convolutional Neural Network” to…
