On February 29, 2024, the Biden administration issued a statement addressing the national security risks to the U.S. auto industry directing the Department of Commerce to conduct an investigation into Chinese made “connected vehicles” (CVs).Continue Reading Department of Commerce Initiates Investigation into Chinese-Made “Connected Vehicles”: Potential Prohibitions on Certain Information and Communications Technology and Services
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Guidance to Foreign Companies on Export Controls and Sanctions: Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Justice Issue Tri-Seal Compliance Note on Foreign Based Persons’ Obligations to Comply with U.S. Sanctions and Export Control Laws
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the Department of Commerce, Department of the Treasury and Department of Justice issued another Tri-seal Compliance Note, focusing this time on the obligations of foreign based persons complying with U.S. sanctions and export control laws as well as recent enforcement actions. This may signal more scrutiny on the compliance of foreign companies which we have discussed here.Continue Reading Guidance to Foreign Companies on Export Controls and Sanctions: Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Justice Issue Tri-Seal Compliance Note on Foreign Based Persons’ Obligations to Comply with U.S. Sanctions and Export Control Laws
Protective Packaging: The EU’s Economic Security Package Changes the Landscape in Global Technology Controls
The EU plans to step up controls on its home-grown technology. That is the short version.Continue Reading Protective Packaging: The EU’s Economic Security Package Changes the Landscape in Global Technology Controls
The EU Commission Gets Serious About FDI Screening
As part of its European Economic Security Package, the European Commission (‘Commission’) has recently proposed a number of legislative proposals and White Papers intended to better protect Europe’s strategic interests. We have covered the wider initiative here.Continue Reading The EU Commission Gets Serious About FDI Screening
Should You Be Concerned About Foreign Entities of Concern?
Grants and tax credits, who doesn’t love them? The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is full of them, and recent Department of Energy (DOE) Notification of a Proposed Interpretive Rule provides guidance on who will get to benefit from those grants and tax credits. The BIL is a historic investment in U.S. infrastructure, the breadth of which is beyond the scope of this blog. However, thankfully, the DOE Proposed Rule focuses on batteries.Continue Reading Should You Be Concerned About Foreign Entities of Concern?
The Semiconductor Moment
- Semiconductors are the only commodity that are as ubiquitous and as heavily regulated.
- Semiconductors are unique: nothing so common is as tightly controlled, and nothing so tightly controlled is as common.
- But this puts the industry in an extremely complex position.
- Other industries may ask . . . are we next?
China Semiconductor Export Regulations, Episode IV – “Technological Containment” – U.S. Semiconductor Restrictions Aim to Align Allies with U.S. Policy
In 1947, then President Harry Truman pledged that the United States would support any nation in its efforts to resist Communism and prevent its spread. The policy was commonly called, “Containment,” capturing the concept that countries aligned with U.S. policy would surround the Soviet Union and its allies, containing the spread of their ideologies. The policy was maintained as doctrine and a guiding principle in U.S. policy throughout the Cold War era.Continue Reading China Semiconductor Export Regulations, Episode IV – “Technological Containment” – U.S. Semiconductor Restrictions Aim to Align Allies with U.S. Policy
China Semiconductor Export Regulations, Episode III – What a Difference a Year Makes
Key Takeaways
- Advanced Computing and Supercomputing ECCNs are expanded.
- Controls applied to exports to countries other thanChina; countries from where items may be reexported to China.
- Chipmaking equipment controls are expanded and the de minimis rule reduced.
- New entities are added to the U.S. Entity List with the Footnote 4 (FN4) FDPR designation.
- More U.S.-person activity is controlled.
Reverse CFIUS Unveiled: Focus on China, Semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing
On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) ordering the issuance of outbound investment restrictions. This E.O. comes after nearly a year of anticipation (as we have documented on several occasions over the past year). This is the start of the reverse Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) process that has been mostly speculation (and blog articles) until yesterday. In conjunction, the Treasury Department issued a press release, fact sheet, and Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments from the public on the proposed restrictions by September 28.Continue Reading Reverse CFIUS Unveiled: Focus on China, Semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing
Watching the Detectives: Export Control Enforcement Trends Upward
Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing U.S. tensions with China, U.S. export controls are in the spotlight like never before. As if regulators have not already made it clear enough, recent statements and actions indicate that the enforcement crosshairs are squarely on the semiconductor industry.Continue Reading Watching the Detectives: Export Control Enforcement Trends Upward
U.S. Outbound Investment Restrictions Are Becoming a Reality
Key Takeaways:
- Outbound investment rules may require notification, but there is less risk of transactions being blocked by regulators.
- Investments in advanced semiconductors in China may still be subject to being blocked.
- The required notification, review, and possible restriction still represents a massive increase (from almost nothing) in regulation on outbound investments.
- Increases in the scope and powers of the reviewers may follow in future regulations or legislation.
Continue Reading U.S. Outbound Investment Restrictions Are Becoming a Reality