Enforcement

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On December 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) implementing the procedures BIS will follow when reviewing information and communications technology (“ICTS”) transactions that may pose a risk to U.S. national security pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13873.[1]  In particular, the Final Rule authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (the “Secretary”) (or the Secretary’s designee, e.g., the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security) to review, prohibit, or impose mitigation measures on certain types of transactions (“Covered ICTS Transactions”) that involve ICTS designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary and that pose an undue or unacceptable risk to U.S. national security.  We consider each of these concepts below, after which we discuss the review, prohibition, and mitigation processes associated with covered transactions.Continue Reading Commerce Issues Final ICTS Rule; Takes Steps to Implement the Program

The Treasury Department has released its “Final Rule” which will impose on U.S. persons notification requirements and restrictions for transactions involving entities engaged in activities relating to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence systems in “countries of concern.” The rule will go into effect on January 2, 2025.Continue Reading You’re Invited: U.S. Outbound Investment Security Program Webinar on January 7, 2025

The Treasury Department has released its “Final Rule” which will impose on U.S. persons notification requirements and restrictions for transactions involving entities engaged in activities relating to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence systems in “countries of concern.” The rule will go into effect on January 2, 2025.Continue Reading You’re Invited: U.S. Outbound Investment Security Program Webinar on December 16, 2024

On November 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) that enhances CFIUS’s mitigation and enforcement authority.  The Final Rule, which will take effect December 26, 2024 (30 days after the Final Rule was published in the Federal Register), represents a continued evolution of CFIUS’s approach to monitoring, compliance, and enforcement and largely is consistent with the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) issued on April 11, 2024, which we wrote about here.  We previously wrote about the first-ever 2022 CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines here.Continue Reading Treasury Issues Final Rule Enhancing CFIUS Mitigation and Enforcement Authority

On October 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) issued a long-awaited Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) implementing the U.S. Outbound Investment Security Program (the “Program”).[1] Under the Program, effective January 2, 2025, U.S. persons will be prohibited from engaging in, or required to notify Treasury regarding, a broad range of transactions involving entities engaged in certain activities relating to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems in “countries of concern” (presently limited to China, Hong Kong, and Macau).

Please click here to read the full alert memorandum.Continue Reading Long-Awaited U.S. Outbound Investment Regime Published, Will Become Effective January 2, 2025

On September 26, 2024, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was published in the Federal Register to establish regulations that would generally prohibit the sale or import into the United States of certain “connected vehicles” integrating specific pieces of hardware and software, or those components sold separately, with a sufficient nexus to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or Russia (the Proposed Rule).[1]  The Proposed Rule, which was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), follows an earlier Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) published on March 1, 2024 and addresses comments received in response to the ANPRM.[2]Continue Reading Commerce Takes Next Step in Furtherance of Import Prohibition on Connected Vehicles and Systems from China and Russia

On 10 September 2024, the UK Government published its third Annual Report (the “Report”) on the enforcement of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the “NSI Act”), covering the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.Continue Reading UK National Security Regime: Annual Report 2024 and Observations on Recent Practice

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) recently issued a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would create an outbound investment regime whereby U.S. persons would be prohibited from making, or required to notify the U.S. government regarding, certain investments in entities engaged in certain activities relating to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence in “countries of concern” (presently limited to China, Hong Kong, and Macau).[1]    Continue Reading Treasury Takes Next Step on Implementation of Outbound Investment Regime, Clarifies Certain Aspects of Prior Proposal

On July 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would modify and expand CFIUS’s jurisdiction over certain transactions by foreign persons involving real estate in the United States.Continue Reading Treasury Issues Proposed Rule to Expand CFIUS Jurisdiction Over Real Estate Transactions Near Military Installations

On 21 May 2024, the UK Government published updated guidance on the application of the National Security and Investment Act (NSIA).  This includes:Continue Reading UK Government Publishes Updated Guidance on the Application of the National Security and Investment Act