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On September 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) June 12, 2024 determination entitled “Prohibition on Certain Information Technology and Software Services” entered into effect.  The determination prohibits the direct or indirect provision to Russia from the United States or by U.S. persons of (1) information technology (“IT”) consultancy and design services and (2) IT support services and cloud-based services for enterprise management software and design and manufacturing software (collectively, the “IT Services Prohibition”).  On September 16, 2024, similarly focused export controls took effect, prohibiting the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) to Russia and Belarus of certain EAR99 software relating to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other commercial functions, which were issued earlier by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) on June 12, 2024.Continue Reading U.S., UK, and EU Sanctions Alignment: U.S. IT and Software Sector Service Bans and Export Controls Take Effect as Russia Sanctions Continue to Expand

On September 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an interim final rule (IFR) implementing new export controls on quantum computing items and other advanced technologies.[1]  In addition to subjecting these so-called critical and emerging technologies to more stringent export controls, investments by foreign persons into U.S. companies that develop or produce such technologies could be subject to mandatory Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) filing requirements.[2]Continue Reading Commerce Imposes Export Controls on Quantum Computing and Other Advanced Technologies, Expands Scope of CFIUS Mandatory Filing Requirement

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 May 23, 2024, Russian Presidential Decree No. 442 (the “Decree”), which establishes the framework that will allow the Russian government to seize any U.S. assets in Russia, was signed. This comes just weeks after the U.S. Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act, which authorizes the President of the United States to confiscate any sovereign assets of the Russian Federation that are in the U.S. territory, entered into force on April 24, 2024.[1]Continue Reading Potential Seizure of U.S. Assets in Russia

On May 13, 2024, President Biden issued an order (the “Order”) requiring MineOne Partners Limited, a company majority owned by Chinese nationals, and certain affiliates (together, “MineOne”) to divest previously acquired real estate (the “Real Estate”) in Wyoming located near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base (“Warren AFB”).  The Order gives MineOne 120 days to divest the Real Estate and includes strict monitoring measures to allow the U.S. government to supervise the sale of the Real Estate to an approved buyer.Continue Reading President Biden Issues Order Requiring Chinese Owner to Divest Cryptocurrency Mining Facility Near U.S. Military Base

On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law H.R. 815, a foreign aid bill containing a provision that doubles the statute of limitations (SoL) for civil and criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and other national security programs from five years to ten years.Continue Reading Statute of Limitations for U.S. Sanctions Violations Extended from Five to Ten years

The U.S. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)[1] recently published an updated list of critical and emerging technologies (CETs) as part of an ongoing effort to identify advanced technologies that are potentially significant to U.S. national security.  We previously summarized the February 2022 list of CETs from the NSTC here.Continue Reading Updates to the Critical and Emerging Technologies List Signal Refinement of Focus

As the second anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine approaches, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom continue to focus on and tighten sanctions against Russia, with a particular emphasis on preventing circumvention and evasion of sanctions.  For example, 2023 ended with several significant regulatory developments, including the EU 12th package of sanctions against Russia, discussed in our earlier alert, and new U.S. sanctions-related authority targeting foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) supporting Russia’s military-industrial base.  This update focuses on the latter development, which is a significant development for FFIs that remain engaged in business involving Russia, even if such business is undertaken outside of U.S. jurisdiction.Continue Reading Impact of Recent U.S. Secondary Sanctions Authority Targeting Foreign Financial Institutions Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base