On Saturday, two actions put a stop, at least temporarily, to the U.S. shutdown of the popular social media apps WeChat and TikTok.
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China Expands Technology Export Controls: Fighting back on TikTok and Putting Your R&D at Risk
On August 28, 2020, China took its own swing in the fight over TikTok. The blow, however, may land right in the middle of U.S.-China technology research, collaboration, and innovation. New export regulations may require licenses from the Chinese government before researchers in China may share their technological advances with colleagues, counterparts, or customers in the United States.
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Huawei Whack-A-Mole: The U.S. Takes Another Swing at the Chinese Semiconductor Industry
On Tuesday, May 19, the U.S. Commerce Department published a regulation (effective May 15, 2020) that prohibits sale to Huawei of a microchip made to a Huawei specification, made outside the United States with non-U.S. materials, sent from a foreign country, by a foreign person.
To quote the philosopher, hol’ up.
How is that even possible?
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Potential Impact of U.S.-France Trade Tension on U.S. Imports of French Products and Luxury Goods
On December 2, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that in response to a digital services tax law passed in France, it would be
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From CFIUS, With Love: The FIRRMA Regulations
The most pressing question around the new FIRRMA regulations is “Will my transaction be covered?” To provide a bit of guidance on that
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UPDATED: China Trade War Scorecard: Keeping Track of Tariffs
With round after round of tariffs on Chinese goods, announcements, removals, exclusions, delays, increases and, of course, tweets regarding all of the above, it can
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Where’d You Get Your Tech? New Rules May Allow the U.S. Government to Unwind Your Latest IT Transaction
On November 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a proposed rule that could change how you procure IT goods and services.
The rule
Chasing Huawei: BIS May Change the Rules of the Game to Target One Player
The U.S. Department of Commerce is considering tightening export controls in two major ways. The changes are aimed at choking off supplies to Huawei, but
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The Golden Ticket: Will Your Company be Excepted from New CFIUS Regulations?
By now, you have skimmed through the proposed FIRRMA regulations issued on September 17 2019, and you have very likely read a dozen summaries of
Continue Reading The Golden Ticket: Will Your Company be Excepted from New CFIUS Regulations?
CFIUS Proposes Rules to Implement FIRRMA
Key Takeaways:
- Technology Infrastructure and Data. CFIUS will focus its review on investments in critical Technology, critical Infrastructure, and sensitive personal Data (“TID Businesses”).
- Critical technologies is defined to include certain items subject to export controls along with emerging and foundational technologies under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.
- CFIUS provides a very helpful list of critical infrastructure and functions to help assess whether any business is a TID Business. We reproduce most of this list at the end of this blog article. (Sneak preview: telecom, utilities, energy, and transportation dominate the list.)
- The proposed regulations provide much-needed guidance on what constitutes sensitive personal data and also seek to limit the reach of the definition so it does not cast too wide a net over transactions in which CFIUS really should have no national security concern.
- Exceptions for Certain Countries. Investors from certain countries may be excepted from CFIUS jurisdiction when making non-controlling investments.
- New Set of Rules for Real Estate. In a companion piece, CFIUS proposed for the first time a detailed set of rules related to investments in real estate. We will cover this in a separate blog article to be published in the near future.
- Expansion of Short-Form Declaration Use. The proposed rules provide parties the choice to use a short-form declaration for any transaction under CFIUS jurisdiction in lieu of a long-form notice.
- Comments Due by October 17, 2019. Members of the public may submit comments on the proposed regulations any time between now and October 17, 2019. Final regulations must be adopted by CFIUS and become effective no later than February 13, 2020.
A Chinese Export License to Get a Smart Phone? Tech-Tonic Changes in World Export Controls
“A free and open economy is the foundation of global peace and prosperity.”
– Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, G20 summit, June 2019.
On July 1, 2019, only few days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opened the G20 summit with a speech endorsing an open global economy, the Japanese government announced that it will impose tighter controls on technology-related exports from Japan to South Korea for reasons of national security. The controls may have a devastating effect on trade between the two countries and will create further drag on the world economy.
Continue Reading A Chinese Export License to Get a Smart Phone? Tech-Tonic Changes in World Export Controls