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On July 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposed a series of transformative new rules aimed at tightening controls related to military, intelligence, and security activities under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These proposed changes are set to impact how businesses manage exports and interact with end users, expanding the scope of restrictions to cover a broader range of activities and entities. These proposed changes further the U.S. government’s policy goals of using export control regulations to protect human rights around the globe.Continue Reading Export Control Shake-Up: Navigating the Expanded Export Restrictions

On July 22, 2024, the Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a significant planned extension to its recordkeeping requirements, which will increase the retention period from five to ten years. OFAC expects to publish an interim final rule to provide an opportunity to comment. The change will increase compliance obligations for entities engaged in transactions subject to U.S. sanctions.Continue Reading SoL Long to Short Limits: The Sequel — A Decade of Recordkeeping and Enforcement

Effective July 10, 2024, President Biden issued two Presidential Proclamations aimed at refining the tariff exclusions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 for steel and aluminum imports from Mexico. Together, the Proclamations close loopholes whereby steel and aluminum from outside North America could avoid tariffs by shipping through Mexico. Those Proclamations reflect a concerted effort between the United States and Mexico to refine tariff exclusions, enhance regulatory oversight, and ensure compliance with international trade agreements. Importers of steel and aluminum now face heightened compliance burdens under the new regulations. The measures aim not only to safeguard domestic industries from unfair trade practices but also to establish a transparent and compliant framework for equitable trade relations.Continue Reading Closing the Southern Border to Indirect Chinese Imports: U.S. Proclamations on Steel and Aluminum Imports from Mexico

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!

The U.S. State Department has proposed amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to increase the fees required for Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) registration. The ITAR requires persons engaging in manufacturing, exporting, temporarily importing, or brokering of any defense articles or services register with DDTC. This proposed rule marks the first adjustment to the registration fee structure in over fifteen years.Continue Reading ITAR Fees Overhaul: Navigating the New Registration Costs

In a bold move to tighten its sanctions enforcement, the EU rolled out Directive 2024/1226, establishing minimum rules for defining criminal offenses and penalties related to the violation of EU sanctions. Effective May 19, the Directive mandates Member States to incorporate its provisions into their national legislation within 12 months.Continue Reading Walking the Tightrope: EU’s Sanctions Enforcement Directive Puts Violators on Notice

Effective April 24, the statute of limitations (“SoL”) under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (“TWEA”) has been extended from five to ten years. It would have been easy to miss this change, buried within a supplemental emergency appropriation bill (H.R. 815) signed into law by President Biden on April 24, 2024, but its impacts will be profound for entities facing internal or government investigations for sanctions violations.Continue Reading Say SoL Long to Short Limits: Doubling Down on the Sanctions Statute of Limitations

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 United States and its allies are aiming to choke off the supplies that support the last vestiges of Russian industry. On May 19, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released new regulations implementing additional restrictions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) as well as corrections and clarifications on existing controls for Russia and Belarus.[1] Those additions build on recent export control regulations issued on February 24, 2023 (which we discuss here) and significantly expand controls over items that can be used in even basic electronics and manufacturing. The new regulations continue BIS’s push to leave very little that may be sent into Russia from the United States.Continue Reading Everything but the Kitchen Sink (and Maybe That Too!): New Export Controls on Russia Cover Whole Categories of Low-Level Commercial Electronic and Mechanical Equipment

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