As we pass the midpoint of a year marked by assertive enforcement of dual use laws, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an updated version of its Don’t Let This Happen to You! Guide. That guide, which was last updated in March 2024, includes numerous case examples illustrating BIS’s criminal and administrative enforcement actions. The update also comes with two additional BIS publications addressing measures to reduce diversion risks and a six-year review of BIS’s licensing strategy.Continue Reading BIS Summer Update: Essential Reading for Your Next Beach Trip!

Last year, we published an update on BIS’s foray into prohibiting EAR99 items for export to Russia and Belarus. We noted (somewhat in jest) that kitchen sinks may one day be added. Well, that day has come. Stainless steel kitchen sinks are officially prohibited for export to Russia and Belarus.Continue Reading Now Including the Kitchen Sink: Expansion of Export Controls on Russia Adds Restrictions on Low-Level Items and Software

Key Takeaways

Continue Reading China Semiconductor Export Regulations, Episode III – What a Difference a Year Makes

In response to Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, both the United States and the European Union have imposed additional sanctions and further restricted exports to Russia and Iran. These new controls span many industries.Continue Reading Friday Development: New Sanctions and Export Controls to Address Russia’s Ongoing Aggression in Ukraine (Including the use of Iranian UAVs)

Background

On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed into law S. 1294, the “Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022”. The Act requires the president to report to Congress and impose sanctions on any foreign person or entity the president identifies that has committed or “provided significant financial, material, or technological support” for the significant theft of trade secrets that are “reasonably likely to result in or has materially contributed to a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States.”Continue Reading Potential Sanctions for Alleged Intellectual Property Theft on the Horizon?

  • BIS added 33 Chinese companies to the Unverified List.
  • The UVL places lesser restrictions designees than an Entity List or Sanctions designation
  • BIS may not have been able to verify the entities because of new Chinese laws restricting compliance with extraterritorial laws; creating a potential conflict of laws for these and other companies.

Continue Reading Verify, Then Trust: Commerce Adds 33 Parties in China to Unverified List