On May 12, 2023, the plaintiff group in the China Section 301 tariff refund litigation, in response to the recently issued decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) upholding those Section 301 tariffs, formally filed its Notice of Appeal. The appeal will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
OFAC Again Extends Russia-Related General License No. 8 Regarding Transactions Related to Energy
On May 5, 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued amended Russia-related General License No. 8G extending the authorization to conduct transactions involving Vnesheconombank, Bank Financial Corporation Otkritie, Sovcombank, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank, Rosbank, Bank Zenit, Bank Saint-Petersburg, and the Central Bank of Russia that are related to energy
CFIUS Seeks to Expand List of Covered Military Institutions to Include Locations in Additional States
On May 5, 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Investment Security published in the Federal Register a Proposed Rule that would amend the regulations pertaining to certain transactions by foreign persons involving real estate in the United States pursuant to section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, and implemented
President Biden Introduces New Sudan-Related Sanctions
On May 4, 2023, President Biden signed a new Executive Order, Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition, stating that the violence taking place in Sudan “is a tragedy” and “must end.”
Finding that the situation in Sudan constitutes an extraordinary threat to U.S. national security
Deputies of the G7 Enforcement Coordination Mechanism Discuss Russia Sanctions Evasion
On April 27, 2023, deputies of the Group of Seven (G7) Enforcement Coordination Mechanism met to discuss the need to increase enforcement of multilateral sanctions and export controls implemented since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 in order to deny Russia access to the materials it requires to equip its military and the revenue
Plaintiffs Seek Full Federal Circuit Rehearing of Decision Allowing Section 232 Tariffs on Steel Derivatives
On April 24, 2023, plaintiffs in an ongoing challenge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc of their argument that former President Donald Trump improperly imposed additional Section 232 national security tariffs on derivatives of certain imported steel articles. In their petition for consideration by
Commerce Issues Policy Memo to Incentivize More Disclosures of Export Violations
To increase disclosures of export violations, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a memorandum on April 18, 2023 “clarifying” its enforcement policy related to voluntary self-disclosures of “significant” possible violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The memo also elaborates upon the policy regarding disclosures of potential EAR violations by
BIS Imposes $300 Million Civil Penalty Related to Exports to Huawei and Violation of FDP Rule
On April 19, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed a $300 million civil penalty against Seagate Technology LLC (California) and Seagate Singapore International Headquarters Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) to resolve alleged violations of U.S. export controls related to selling hard disk drives (HDDs) to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei) in
OFAC Again Revises Venezuela General License Extending Delay of PdVSA 2020 8.5% Bond-Related Authorizations
On April 19, 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License (GL) 5K, “Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After July 20, 2023,” which continues to delay U.S. persons’ ability to enforce bondholder rights to the CITGO
OFAC Publishes Alert Warning of Possible Evasion of the Russian Oil Price Cap
On April 17, 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published an Alert warning U.S. persons about possible evasion of the price cap set on Russian-origin oil (see Update of December 5, 2022) and Russian-origin petroleum products (see Update of February 8, 2023) pursuant to Executive