China-based smartphone apps, TikTok and WeChat, have each received a reprieve from the respective bans, which were originally ordered by President Trump on August 6, 2020 against both parties and were scheduled to take effect on September 21, 2020. Please see our previous post covering the Executive Orders. Pursuant to the Executive Orders banning the
U.S. Adds 38 New Huawei Affiliates to Entity List While Again Expanding Foreign-Produced Direct Product Rule
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has announced that it is further restricting access by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and its designated non-U.S. affiliates (“Huawei”) to U.S.-produced technology and software. As we have previously discussed, BIS first added Huawei to its Entity List on May 15, 2019 and has continued to impose additional export restrictions on Huawei under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). Most recently, BIS published a Federal Register notice to implement the following enhancements. Although BIS published this Federal Register notice on August 20, 2020, the following rule changes took effect retroactively as of August 17, 2020:
UK to Ban Huawei Equipment from its 5G Network While U.S. Announces Visa Restrictions
On July 14, 2020, the United Kingdom announced that it will ban Huawei Technologies, Co. Ltd. (“Huawei”) equipment from its 5G network. Effective December 31, 2020, Telecoms operators in the UK can no longer purchase Huawei equipment and have until 2027 to remove Huawei technology from their networks, with broadband companies receiving an additional two
OFAC Issues General License 5D for Venezuela Sanctions
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (“OFAC”) issued General License 5D pertaining to the Venezuela sanctions. Effective July 15, 2020, General License 5D replaces and supersedes General License 5C, which authorizes transactions related to the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (“PDVSA”) 2020 8.5 percent bond that would be prohibited
BIS Allows U.S. Companies to Work with Huawei on Standards
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a rule change effective June 18, 2020, which amends the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to allow for the release of certain technology to Huawei Technologies, Co., Ltd. and 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates designated on the
State and Treasury Departments Designate 39 Entities under “Caesar Act” Syria Sanctions
New U.S. sanctions on Syria took effect on June 17, 2020 as a result of the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019” (“Caesar Act”) that was signed into law on December 20, 2019 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. The Caesar Act is named after a
USTR Initiates Section 301 Digital Services Tax Investigations Covering India, the European Union and Several Other Countries
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced on June 2, 2020 that it is initiating Section 301 investigations on Digital Services Taxes (“DSTs”) adopted or under consideration by Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, the European Union (“EU”), India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (“U.K.”). The Section 301 DST investigations could lead
BIS Extends Huawei TGL While Also Restricting Supply of Foreign-Produced Items to Huawei and Affiliated Entities
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced two new rules changes directed at Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”). As we have previously covered, BIS has named Huawei and 114 of its affiliate companies to its Entity List under the U.S. Export Administration
OFAC Removes General License 13E and Issues General Licenses 3H and 9G
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) recently announced the removal of General License 13E (“GL 13E”), authorizing certain activities involving Nynas AB, a Swedish manufacturer of specialty oils owned in part by PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. The notice issued by OFAC states that Nynas AB “has undertaken a corporate
OFAC Issues Two New General Licenses for Companies Doing Business with GAZ Group
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has recently issued two new General Licenses to extend pre-existing authorizations for transactions with GAZ Group that would otherwise be prohibited under OFAC’s Ukraine- and Russia-related sanctions. General License 15H (“GL 15H”) authorizes certain activities necessary to maintenance or wind down of operations or existing contracts