This post was updated on 2/24 following the release of the underlying EU legislation.
Yesterday, the European Union imposed new sanctions on Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine. The array of measures imposed by the EU mirror elements of the sanctions imposed over the last few days by the United States and United
Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) authorizing the imposition of additional sanctions on the Government of Belarus and a number of key sectors of the Belarusian economy in coordination with the United Kingdom and Canada, which also expanded sanctions on Belarus. The E.O. authorizes the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to
Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order expanding U.S. restrictions on dealings in the publicly traded securities of Chinese companies. Today’s move amends Executive Order 13959 to prohibit U.S. persons from buying or selling the publicly traded securities of listed companies operating in (1) the surveillance technology sector or (2) the defense and related material sector of the Chinese economy. E.O. 13959 was previously limited to companies affiliated with the Chinese military.
The amended order reflects a growing emphasis on human rights and “democratic values” in U.S. sanctions policy related to China. The White House fact sheet announcing today’s amendment indicated that the Order is intended to prevent the flow of U.S. capital to companies that develop or use surveillance technology to facilitate repression or serious human rights abuse in and outside of China, including technology used to surveil religious or ethnic minorities. Other recent moves, including those in response to Chinese government policies in the Xinjiang region and Hong Kong, have similar human rights policy motivations. The administration may cite to security and adherence to democratic values in imposing future sanctions.
Below, we summarize the key features of the new restrictions and guidance issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).
The amended E.O. initially applies to the 59 Chinese companies listed in the annex to the E.O. The companies are also included on OFAC’s new “Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List” (“NS-CMIC List”), which replaces the previous “Communist Chinese Military Company” (“CCMC”) list. The NS-CMIC List includes a number of new Chinese companies that did not appear in the prior CCMC list and excludes a handful of companies that were on the prior list. (A table summarizing the list changes is below the break.) Notably, the NS-CMIC List captures companies operating in the defense sector, subsidiaries and affiliates of companies on the CCMC list, and two companies operating in the surveillance technology sector.
The Biden administration indicated that it expects to add additional parties to the NS-CIMC List in the future.
As in the original E.O. 13959, the prohibition on purchasing and selling publicly traded securities also applies to derivatives and securities designed to provide investment exposure to such securities, including ADRs, GDRs, ETFs, index funds, and mutual funds. Restrictions apply regardless of the CMIC securities’ share of the underlying index fund, ETF, or derivative. The amended E.O. defines “securities” as those specified in Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The amended E.O.’s prohibitions come into effect on August 2, 2021 for the 59 companies currently on the NS-CMIC List, and U.S. persons are permitted to divest holdings in those securities until June 3, 2022. The amended E.O. also provides for a 365-day divestment period for CMICs that are designated in the future.
OFAC guidance issued today explains how the agency will apply the new E.O. to broker-dealers, market intermediates, and other market participants. In particular:
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Our team is actively monitoring developments in this area, please contact us with questions on how the new rules may apply to your business.
The Department of Treasury’s office that administers reviews of foreign investments in U.S. companies is changing how it identifies critical technology businesses and related technologies that require mandatory review during a foreign investment process. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee) issued a final rule effective October 15, 2020
On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury, as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), published final regulations changing the mandatory CFIUS declaration requirements for transactions involving U.S. businesses that produce, design, test, manufacture, or develop critical technologies. Previously, the regulations provided that a CFIUS declaration was mandatory
Last Thursday, the President issued two executive orders (“E.O.s”) targeting social media applications TikTok (and its parent company, ByteDance) and WeChat (and its parent company, Tencent Holdings). The E.O.s direct the Department of Commerce (“DOC”) to prohibit transactions involving the applications. Companies that deal directly with TikTok or WeChat in the United States and abroad or use their services need to evaluate the scope of those activities and determine if they will be affected by the E.O.s.
The E.O.s were issued pursuant to the national emergency declared in E.O. 13873 regarding information and communication services in the United States that are controlled by persons within the jurisdiction of a “foreign adversary.” In issuing the E.O.s, the President cited concerns that the Chinese government could gain access to Americans’ personal information collected by the applications, among other policy considerations. The President has the power to issue the directives under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA,” 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), which provides the President with the authority to declare national emergencies and implement sweeping trade controls based on national security concerns.
The intended scope of the E.O.s is not clear due to ambiguous language used in Section 1, which contain the E.O.s’ primary prohibitions. Here is an excerpt of that section from the TikTok order:
Continue Reading President Issues Executive Orders Targeting TikTok and WeChat
Earlier this week, the COVID-19 Accountability Act was introduced in the Senate and the House by Rep. Senator Lindsey Graham and Rep. Doug Collins respectively. While the text of the draft legislation is not yet available, a summary indicates that it would require within sixty days that the President certify to Congress that China has:
“Provided a full and complete accounting to any COVID-19 investigation led by the United States, its allies, or United Nations affiliates, such as the World Health Organization (WHO);
If there is no such certification, the Act would then authorize the President to impose at least two of a variety of sanctions to hold China accountable, including travel bans, visa revocations, asset freezes, restricting U.S. financial institutions from loaning money to Chinese businesses, and barring Chinese firms from being listed on American stock exchanges. Such sanction would be effective until the certification could be made.
Continue Reading COVID-19 Accountability Act – New Potential Sanctions on China
On May 12, 2020, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that U.S. persons no longer need OFAC authorization to engage in dealings with Nynas AB, provided such activities do not involve blocked persons or otherwise prohibited activities. Further, Nynas AB is no longer subject to U.S. blocking sanctions as the entity
The Department of State’s Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy announced that they are temporarily suspending, modifying, and excepting certain International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) requirements in an effort to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary changes are as follows:
Our previous blog post listed the specific types of PPE respirators, masks, and gloves restricted for export from the U.S. on April 10, 2020 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 21, 2020, FEMA published a list of exemptions to those export restrictions which includes:
