Foreign Agents Registration Act Charge Highlights China, Academia Nexuses

August 2, 2023

Foreign Agents Registration Act Charge Against U.S.-Israel Citizen Highlights FARA-China-Academia Nexuses Introduction The DOJ charged a dual U.S.-Israel citizen with offenses related to China under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), sanctions, and export controls. FARA is a law from 1938 that…

Senate Bill Would Expand CFIUS’ Purview to Academia

May 23, 2021

Hdeel Abdelhady's recent article on the Strategic Competition Act's proposed expansion of CFIUS' jurisdiction to foreign funding of U.S. colleges and universities is available at Law360.

TikTok: China’s Export Controls Set in Motion Unprecedented Legal Scenario

August 31, 2020

On August 14, President Trump ordered ByteDance to divest its assets and interests in TikTok. What happens if ByteDance does not comply? The question may seem academic, given historical compliance with divestment orders and ByteDance’s talks with U.S. companies about TikTok’s sale. But a recent legal move by China—its expansion of a list of technologies that require government approval for export, including apparently in a sale of TikTok—renders real the issue of non-compliance with the August 14 divestment order, and potentially raises unprecedented issues.

Defense Production Act FAQs (COVID-19)

March 24, 2020

What Authority Does the President Have Under the Defense Production Act to Procure Personal Protective Equipment and Ventilators? The DPA vests the President with “priorities and allocations” authorities to procure and prioritize for the government materials, services, and production where “necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense.

March 2, 2020

U.S. Controls Over Foreign Access to and Influence on Technology and Research in 2020: A Quick Guide U.S. companies, academic and research institutions, and individuals are facing greater scrutiny and regulation of their activities with foreign parties involving U.S. technology and…

OFAC Sanctions Jurisdiction Over US-Origin Technology: SITA Enforcement

February 28, 2020

OFAC's sanctions enforcement against SITA, the Switzerland-based provider of global air transport technology and services, premised U.S. sanctions jurisdiction on the provision of U.S.-origin technology and the involvement in transactions of networking hardware and servers located in the United States.

Artificial Intelligence Panel Recommends Semiconductor Hardware Export Controls

January 14, 2020

Perceiving China’s technological ascendance as a threat, the United States has imposed defensive legal measures, including export controls, to curb foreign access to U.S. technology by illicit and lawful means. The approach has bipartisan backing across the U.S. government.

OFAC Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co., Ltd. General License K: Analysis

October 24, 2019

General License K authorizes, until 12:01 eastern time on December 20, 2019 (essentially, through the end of December 19 eastern time), the above-listed prohibited transactions where they directly or indirectly involve Cosco or entities owned 50% by Cosco and are “ordinarily incident and necessary to the maintenance or wind down of transactions.”

OFAC Expands Reporting Requirements

July 16, 2019

On June 21, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an interim final rule (IFR) substantially revising sanctions reporting regulations. The most significant amendment was to OFAC’s rejected transactions reporting rule, which now, for the first time, applies not just to U.S. financial institutions, but also to U.S. businesses, nonprofits, and individuals. The rule also appears to apply to foreign entities owned or controlled by U.S. persons. Public comments on the IFR are due by July 22, 2019.

Huawei: Key U.S. Legal Issues

July 8, 2019

After talks with China’s president at the G20 summit in Japan, President Trump announced on June 29 that “he would allow” U.S. companies to continue to sell “product” to Huawei. The statement, construed by some as a “concession” or “reversal” of U.S. policy toward Huawei, has generated confusion and disagreement from China “hawks” in Congress and elsewhere. This rundown of Huawei legal and policy issues discusses the presidential statement, its lack of legal effect to date, its context, and why technology industry stakeholders need to understand the complete U.S.-China technology picture to navigate developments and mitigate risk.

National Security Law