• Belgium issues first statistics on its FDI regime: vast majority cleared in phase I, a handful in phase II, and one ex officio investigation.
  • EU Commission starts showing its teeth in the enforcement of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, with the first ex officio investigations.
  • France publishes its 2023 FDI report, with filing numbers and outcomes that are largely consistent with previous years.
  • Germany’s plans to overhaul its FDI regime slow down amid political controversies.
  • Italy authorizes Safran’s acquisition of RTX’s actuator business, reversing its initial veto, in light of Safran’s commitments.
  • Rotterdam court issues first judgment under the new Dutch FDI regime, ruling against the Government.
  • Four years of Spanish FDI screening: an overview.
  • UK Government issues updated guidelines on National Security & Investment Act (NSIA).
  • President Biden issues order requiring Chinese owner to divest cryptocurrency mining facility near U.S. military base.
Continue Reading Cleary Gottlieb FDI Newsletter: April – June 2024

Following a long and somewhat sleepy existence on the margins of contractual interpretation case law, force majeure clauses (“FMCs”)  found themselves subject to a rude awakening with the global onset of COVID in 2020, and consequent interruptions to all manner of contracts relating to global supply chains, major sporting events, and many other facets of business. The judicial analysis of how and when FMCs are engaged in international commerce has continued post-COVID, with the introduction of wide-ranging Sanctions against Russia.

Continue Reading Sanctions, Certainty and Pragmatism – the Contemporary Context for Analysing Force Majeure clauses

On May 20, 2024, President Putin signed Decree No. 430 (the “Decree”), effective the same day.  The Decree establishes restrictions on the acquisition of IP rights by Russian persons from so-called “unfriendly” jurisdictions.  The term “unfriendly” jurisdiction has been used in other countersanctions regulations and includes all foreign states that commit unfriendly acts towards the Russian Federation and Russian legal entities and natural persons (i.e., countries that have introduced sanctions against Russia, including the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States).

Continue Reading New Russian Decree Imposes Restrictions on Transfer of IP Rights

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 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

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 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it would not renew an existing authorization for transactions related to oil and gas sector operations in Venezuela, and replaced the existing authorization with a 45-day wind-down period for previously authorized transactions, expiring May 31, 2024. On April 15, 2024, OFAC separately reissued a separate general license, continuing to extend prohibitions to execution on the PdVSA 2020 bond collateral.

Continue Reading OFAC Allows Venezuelan Oil and Gas Authorization to Expire and Extends Prohibitions to Execution on PdVSA 2020 Bond Collateral

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

On April 12, 2024  the United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, issued new prohibitions with  respect to Russian aluminium, copper and nickel.

Continue Reading US And UK Tighten Restrictions on Trade and Use of Russian Metals

On April 11, 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 mitigation and enforcement authority. 

Continue Reading Treasury Issues Proposed Rule to Enhance CFIUS Mitigation and Enforcement