On September 9, 2022, the United States and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) partner countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – announced they had reached consensus on ministerial statements for each of the four IPEF framework pillars: Trade, Supply Chain, Clean…

On September 8, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a revised Russia-related General License (GL) 13B, “Authorizing Certain Administrative Transactions Prohibited by Directive 4 under Executive Order 14024,” which states that U.S. persons are authorized to pay taxes, fees, or import duties and purchase or receive permits,…

In the latest effort to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on September 2, 2022, the G7 Finance Ministers issued a statement confirming their intention to finalize and implement a price cap with respect to Russian-origin oil. As described, the plan would implement a comprehensive prohibition of services which enable maritime transportation of Russian-origin crude oil…

On September 2, 2022, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) confirmed, as part of its statutory four-year review process under the Trade Act of 1974, that (1) domestic industry representatives benefiting from the tariff actions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property,…

On August 19, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two Russia-related General Licenses (GL) authorizing certain limited activities with Russian financial institutions which have been blocked and designated on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.

Placement on the SDN List results in all property and interests in property…

On August 16, 2022, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued several new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) addressing potential red flags for diversion concerns.

Regarding semiconductor foundries, one FAQ asks if there any special red flags that should be considered with regard to parties (e.g., integrated circuit designers) on the Entity…

On August 17, 2022, the Office the U.S. Trade Representative announced that formal negotiations have commenced with Taiwan on the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade. This trade initiative was first announced in June 2022 as an effort to “deepen the economic and trade relationship, advance mutual trade priorities based on shared values, and…

On August 2, 2022, the Treasury Department, as the lead agency of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), released a public version of its annual report to Congress regarding foreign direct investment in the United States.  Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Paul Rosen stated, “This year’s Annual Report demonstrates that CFIUS…

On August 2, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added further Russian individuals, entities and vessels to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.  The designations include numerous Russian individuals connected to Russia President Vladimir Putin, as well as multinational companies Investitsionnaya Kompaniya MMK-FINANS (an investment and financial copany) and…

On August 1, 2022, and as directed by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in its April 2022 decision (see Update of April 6, 2022), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) filed a 90-page explanation in support of its rationale for imposing List 3 and List 4A tariff determinations to…