On April 8, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) announced a bipartisan agreement on a wide-ranging strategic approach towards China. The Strategic Competition Act of 2021 addresses economic competition with China, as well as humanitarian, national security, and democracy-related issues. Most significantly, the bill, if enacted, stands
Julia Kuelzow
OFAC Sanctions Two Military Holding Companies With Large Influence Over Burmese Economy
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) further escalated sanctions on Burma by adding two large Burmese military holding companies to its List of Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”). Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (“MEHL”) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (“MEC”) both dominate large sectors of the Burmese economy,…
Recent OFAC Settlement Highlights Due Diligence Expectations When Selling to Intermediaries
Last week, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement agreement with UniControl, Inc. (UniControl or “the company”) for shipping goods to European trading partners when UniControl knew or should have known that some of its products would ultimately be re-exported to Iran. The enforcement action is a reminder that OFAC expects U.S.…
BIS Lifts Anti-Terrorism Export Controls on Sudan
Effective January 14, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced amendments to Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to implement the rescission of Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. The U.S. Department of State removed Sudan’s designation effective December 14, 2020.
The changes to the EAR remove export control licensing requirements for many exports…
China National Offshore Oil Corporation added to U.S. Entity List
Today, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) to the U.S. Entity List. Under the new rule, U.S. and non-U.S. exporters are generally prohibited from transferring items subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to CNOOC without first obtaining a U.S. export license. As noted in…
Recent OFAC Settlement Highlights Need to Consider IP Address Geolocation Data
On December 30, 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a settlement agreement with BitGo, Inc. (“BitGo”) for providing digital wallet services to users located in sanctioned jurisdictions, including Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria. The case is notable because OFAC makes clear its expectation that companies consider Internet Protocol (“IP”) address geolocation…
Four Chinese Companies Added to Coming Securities Ban
Yesterday, the Department of Defense (DoD) designated four additional companies as owned or controlled by the Chinese military, expanding the list of “Communist Chinese military companies” (CCMCs) to 35 companies. As previously recounted on this blog, Executive Order 13959 (the Order) will prohibit U.S. persons from purchasing the publicly traded securities of CCMCs once…