On January 5, 2021, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring that beginning on February 19, 2021, “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with persons that develop or control the following Chinese connected software applications, or with their subsidiaries, … :
Information Technology/Cybersecurity
President Trump Releases Report on Critical and Emerging Technologies
On October 15, 2020, the White House released a report, “National Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies,” outlining steps the United States will take to preserve its competitive edge in certain critical and emerging technologies. Noting in a statement the importance of U.S. dominance in the science and technology sectors, the White House…
New CFIUS Critical Technology Mandatory Filing Requirements Take Effect October 15
Effective October 15, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s September 15 final rule (“Rule”) will modify certain regulations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) pursuant to the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). In a previous blog post, we noted that the Rule would change the…
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…
Commerce Issues Interim Final Rule Addressing Foreign-Produced Direct Products and Specifically Targets Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued an Interim Final Rule amending General Prohibition Three, also known as the foreign-produced direct product reexport rule, so that this General Prohibition applies to certain additional foreign-made items destined for certain persons designated with a new footnote on BIS’ Entity List. Specifically, this…
President Trump Signs Legislation to Enhance Efforts to Secure U.S. Telecommunication Networks
On March 12, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law H.R. 4998, the “Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019,” which prohibits the use of certain federal funds and subsidies to purchase communications equipment or services posing national security risks. The Act, passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate by…
State Department Adds ITAR Definitions in Interim Final Rule for Activities that Are Not Exports, Reexports, Retransfers or Temporary Imports
On December 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued an interim final rule seeking to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) with definitions more clearly explaining activities that are not considered to be exports, reexports, retransfers or temporary imports of secured and unclassified technical data. This …
Commerce Issues Proposed Regulations on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain
On November 27, 2019, the Department of Commerce published in the Federal Register proposed regulations for its review and potential blocking of transactions involving the information and communications technology and services supply chain (ICTS Supply Chain). The notice follows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order of May 15, 2019, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology…
President Trump Issues Executive Order on Information Security; Huawei Technologies to Be Placed on “Entity List”
President Donald J. Trump has issued an executive order, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain,” that declares a national emergency as to the threats against information and communications technology and services in the United States. It delegates authority to the secretary of Commerce to prohibit transactions posing an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of U.S. persons. In a brief press statement, the White House noted, “The President has made it clear that this Administration will do what it takes to keep America safe and prosperous, and to protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services in the United States.”
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