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

On November 25, 2020, the State Department issued a Federal Register Notice announcing the imposition of nonproliferation measures against certain Chinese and Russian entities for the transfer of goods, services, or technology controlled under multilateral control lists (Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group, Chemical Weapons Convention, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Wassenaar Arrangement) or otherwise having the

On September 1, 2020, the Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a joint advisory to alert persons to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (North Korea) ballistic missile procurement

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging 28 North Korean and 5 Chinese individuals (“Defendants”) with facilitating more than $2.5 billion in illegal payments for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile program through North Korea’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank (“FTB”). DOJ alleges that the scheme involved “covert branches” of FTB in China, Russia, Libya,

On May 14, 2020, the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a global advisory to alert the maritime industry and those active in the energy and metals sectors to deceptive shipping practices used to evade U.S. economic sanctions.  It is intended to provide exporters, shippers and others utilizing the

On April 16, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a fact sheet noting that the sanctions programs it administers generally allow for legitimate humanitarian-related trade, assistance or activity under existing laws and regulations. The fact sheet provides consolidated guidance highlighting the most relevant exemptions, exceptions and authorizations for

In the past week, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has continued to increase pressure on Iran and North Korea by further identifying certain individuals and entities in the shipping sector as engaging in illicit activities and tightening related economic sanctions.

On August 30, 2019, OFAC designated two individuals, three

In his second State of the Union address to Congress, President Donald Trump noted that he campaigned on several core promises, including “to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers.” He argued that his administration has “moved with urgency and historic speed to confront problems neglected by leaders of both parties over