On May 16, 2017, the EU Court of Justice released its long-awaited opinion on the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (“FTA” ) (“the Agreement”) (full text here). Back in July 2015, after the EU and Singapore completed trade negotiations, the European Commission sought clarity on its authority to conclude complex deals.
The following questions submitted by the Commission have now been answered:
Continue Reading ECJ Issues Opinion on Singapore FTA: Answers to Guide Brexit Trade Negotiators
On November 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated additional entities operating in the Russian financial services sector, including Gazprombank Joint Stock Company (“Gazprombank”), the largest and, until November 21, most significant remaining non-sanctioned Russian bank that has served as the primary conduit for processing payments for Russian gas sold to third countries since March 2022. Specifically, OFAC designated Gazprombank pursuant to Executive Order 14024 (“E.O. 14024”) for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy, and noted that Gazprombank had served as a “conduit for Russia to purchase military materiel,” and also was used by the Russian government to pay military personnel and their families.
Continue Reading OFAC Sanctions Gazprombank, Continues to Target Russian Financial Sector and Foreign Financial InstitutionsThe Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recently published its 2023 Annual Report, which provides information regarding transactions reviewed by CFIUS in 2023.[1] Key takeaways from the 2023 Annual Report are below.
Continue Reading CFIUS Releases 2023 Annual Report: Key TakeawaysThe Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recently published its 2022 Annual Report, which provides information regarding transactions reviewed by CFIUS in 2022.[1] Key takeaways from the 2022 Annual Report are below.
Continue Reading CFIUS Releases 2022 Annual Report – Key TakeawaysOn April 19, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in U.S. v. Halkbank,[1] holding that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”)[2] does not provide foreign sovereigns with immunity from criminal prosecution in U.S. courts.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Holds FSIA Does Not Immunize Foreign Sovereigns From Criminal ProsecutionThe Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recently released its 2021 Annual Report, which provides important information and statistics about covered transactions reviewed by CFIUS in 2021 and the underlying implications for foreign investors.[1] Continue Reading CFIUS 2021 Annual Report – Five Key Takeaways
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recently released its 2020 annual report, which provides information and statistics regarding transactions reviewed by CFIUS in 2020.[1] For the first time, the 2020 annual report also includes information regarding so-called non-notified transactions identified and reviewed by CFIUS. Continue Reading CFIUS Releases 2020 Annual Report
On August 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published a final rule[1] that further tightens restrictions under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) on Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and its affiliates designated on the Entity List administered by BIS (“Huawei”) (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule: (i) expands the prohibition on providing items manufactured with controlled U.S. technology or software to Huawei to include all items transferred to Huawei or for a Huawei device, whether or not specifically designed by or for Huawei ; (ii) removes most of the Temporary General License (“TGL”) that permitted some transactions involving Huawei, including activities that support existing networks and equipment; and (iii) added 38 non-U.S. affiliates of Huawei to the Entity List. The Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on August 20, but became effective upon being made available for public inspection on August 17.
In a contemporaneous final rule,[2] BIS clarified that license requirements for entities included on the Entity List apply regardless of the role that the listed entity has in the transaction (i.e., purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee or end-user) (the “Entity List Final Rule”). This clarification applies to all entities on the Entity List, not just Huawei. Continue Reading BIS Further Tightens Export Restrictions on Huawei
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recently released its 2019 annual report, which provides information and statistics regarding transactions reviewed by CFIUS during 2019. CFIUS released its 2018 annual report (as well as summary data for transactions reviewed in 2019) last month, which we wrote about here. The 2019 annual report confirms and expands on the more limited 2019 data released last month.
Key takeaways include: (i) the number of CFIUS notices has remained relatively consistent over the past three years; (ii) the percentage of notices that proceeded to a second-stage investigation decreased significantly from 69% in 2018 to 48.9% in 2019; (iii) the percentage of notices withdrawn and refiled decreased from 18.6% and 18.3% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to 7.8% in 2019; and (iv) only 4.3% of transactions reviewed by CFIUS during 2019 were abandoned as a result of CFIUS issues, compared to 10.5% and 8.7% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Continue Reading CFIUS Releases 2019 Annual Report
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