Department of Commerce Initiates Investigation into Chinese-Made “Connected Vehicles”: Potential Prohibitions on Certain Information and Communications Technology and Services
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Fatema Merchant and Jonathan Wang
2w ago
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). Pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13873, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comments related to transactions involving information and communications technology and services (ICTS) that are integral to CVs from China and other foreign adversaries. The scrut ..read more
Visit website
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
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Fatema Merchant and Jonathan Wang
2w ago
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. While understanding how sanctions and export control laws impact U.S. companies is straightforward (or not!), how these laws affect non-U.S. persons and entities is often more confusing. The Not ..read more
Visit website
Protective Packaging: The EU’s Economic Security Package Changes the Landscape in Global Technology Controls
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Reid Whitten and Julien Blanquart
1M ago
The EU plans to step up controls on its home grown technology. That is the short version. The longer version is a (pretty dry) recitation of the proposed legislation and whitepapers that were published last week as the European Economic Security Package (ESP). We provide that (really dry . . . sorry) summary below, but hit the highlights and interesting points here. At the start. Because, in this blog (as in life) we’re here for a good time, not a long time. The Five, Real Fast The new ESP comprises plans for the EU to undertake the following: 1. Foreign Direct Investment Screening – Patrollin ..read more
Visit website
Should You Be Concerned About Foreign Entities of Concern?
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Reid Whitten and Jordan Mallory
2M ago
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. So we will touch on aspects of the BIL, but zoom in on the DOE Proposed Rule and how it impacts the battery industry and the electric vehicle (EV) industry ..read more
Visit website
New Russia Sanctions Intensify Pressure on Banks Worldwide
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Jordan Mallory and J. Scott Maberry
3M ago
On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed a new Executive Order (E.O. 14114) containing the latest round of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Shortly thereafter, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will take “decisive” and “surgical” action when enforcing sanctions against financial institutions involved in transactions that support Russia’s military-industrial base. Under the new sanctions, non-U.S. financial institutions may be denied access to U.S. correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts, effectively denying access to ..read more
Visit website
Carrot and Stick Export Controls: U.S. Export Controls Give Benefits to Allies
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Reid Whitten and Jordan Mallory
3M ago
Export controls are the manifestation of foreign, economic, and national security policy, and the implementation of policy requires dynamic adjustment, a back-and-forth, a balance. So, on December 7, 2023[1], amid the tightening of new semiconductor regulations, BIS announced it was relaxing regulations around another set of exports. This drawing back of the controls arrives in the form of a set of three rules easing license requirements and expanding license exceptions. While seemingly disparate, each of the three areas of amendments represents a consistent push to align U.S. export policy wi ..read more
Visit website
The Semiconductor Moment
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Reid Whitten
4M ago
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? You’d be forgiven for thinking this Global Trade Law Blog has become a Semiconductors News Blog, with all the recent updates we have published on semiconductor regulation in the past year or two. And yes, we concede the point. We have a lot of semiconductor clients, and there is a lot t ..read more
Visit website
Binance’s Paper Compliance Program Crumples Under OFAC Scrutiny in Largest OFAC Settlement in History
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Reid Whitten, Jordan Mallory and Fatema Merchant
4M ago
On November 21, 2023, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its largest settlement in history with the virtual currency exchange Binance. This almost-billion dollar settlement is a part of a larger comprehensive settlement with the Department of Justice, FinCEN, and the CFTC, totaling over $4 billion. OFAC found that Binance had allowed 1.6 million transactions in violation of multiple sanctions regimes while Binance’s C-Suite was complicit. Binance’s blunders that led to this enforcement action highlight the importance of management commitment to compliance programs ..read more
Visit website
China Semiconductor Export Regulations, Episode IV – “Technological Containment” – U.S. Semiconductor Restrictions Aim to Align Allies with U.S. Policy
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by Reid Whitten
4M ago
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. The Policy In 2023, the U.S. Government has not made such a sweeping declaration, but we can see a sort of “Technological Containment” in its ..read more
Visit website
White House Executive Order Ramps Up US Regulation of and Policy Toward AI
Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog
by James Gatto
5M ago
The US just catapulted into being the world leader on regulating AI. Bypassing Congress, the White house issued an Executive Order focusing on safe, secure and trustworthy AI and laying out a national policy on AI. In stark contrast to the EU, which through the soon to be enacted AI Act is focused primarily on regulating uses of AI that are unacceptable or high risk, the Executive Order focuses primarily on the developers, the data they use and the tools they create. The goal is to ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy before companies make them public. It also focuses ..read more
Visit website

Follow Sheppard Mullin | Global Trade Law Blog on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR