On March 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) publicly identified certain commercial and private aircraft that have entered Russia in likely violation of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”).  BIS provided an initial listing of nearly 100 Boeing aircraft owned and/or operated by Aeroflot, AirBridgeCargo, Aviastar-TU, Azur Air, Nordwind,

On March 23, 2022 the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) reinstated 352 Section 301 China tariff exclusions that had expired December 31, 2020.  The list of reinstated exclusions can be found here: Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions Previously Extended | United States Trade Representative (ustr.gov) The 352 reinstated tariff exclusions are retroactive to October 12, 2021 and extend forward through December 31, 2022.

On March 22, 2022, the United States and the United Kingdom announced in a joint statement that the U.S. will halt Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the U.K, effective June 1, 2022, and that the U.K. will also lift retaliatory tariffs on over $500 million worth of U.S. exports to the U.K.  The Section 232 tariffs were instituted in March 2018 on all imports of steel and aluminum from multiple countries. 

On Friday, March 11, 2022, the White House issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14068 announcing more sanctions and export controls against the Russian Federation (“Russia”).  Concurrent with that announcement, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released new export controls restricting the flow of “luxury goods” to Russia, Belarus, and Russian/Belarusian “oligarchs and malign actors” while the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued dozens of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) designations and published four (4) new general licenses.

 

Husch Blackwell’s latest podcast, The Justice Insiders, provides a unique perspective on some of the country’s most interesting criminal cases and issues related to compliance, internal investigations and regulatory enforcement.

In episode 2, Husch Blackwell’s Gregg Sofer and Scott Glabe discuss implications of the United States’ broad and hastily enforced sanctions on Russia with 

On March 11, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“EO”) that prohibited the importation into the United States of fish, seafood, and preparations thereof; alcoholic beverages; non-industrial diamonds; and any other products of Russian Federation origin as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce.  Because the Executive Order lists no effective date, implementation will be immediate.  No exceptions are listed for such products that are in transit and the EO specifically states that the prohibitions apply “notwithstanding any contract entered into or license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.”

In Husch Blackwell’s February 2022 Trade Law Update, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • An update on U.S. Department of Commerce decisions
  • U.S. International Trade Commission – Section 701/731 proceedings
  • Customs and Border Protection case summaries
  • Summary of decisions from the Court of International Trade
  • February export

On March 8, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order 14066 which prohibits the following actions:

  • The importation into the United States of any “crude oil; petroleum; petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation; liquefied natural gas; coal; and coal products” of “Russian Federation origin”;
  • New investment in the Russian energy sector by U.S. persons, wherever located; and
  • Any approval, financing, facilitation, or guarantee by a U.S. person, wherever located, of any transaction conducted by a non-U.S. person that would be prohibited by Executive Order 14066 if performed by a U.S. person or within the United States.

On February 24, 2022, the U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions and export controls actions in response to the Russian Federation’s (“Russia”) “war of choice” against Ukraine.  (Husch Blackwell summarized the February 24, 2022 actions in a Client Alert published here, as well as more limited actions on February 21-22 here and here.)  The past ten (10) days have featured a flurry  of new sanctions and rapidly evolving regulations and executive orders imposed by the U.S. President, the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Treasury addressing the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Below are the latest updates in chronological order.

On February 22, 2022, one day after the Russian Federation formally recognized the Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”) and Luhansk People’s Republic (“LNR”) of Ukraine as “independent states” and the Biden Administration responded by imposing a sanctions embargo against the DNR and LNR regions, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) took further action against Russia by imposing new sanctions against the Russian financial services sector, Russian oligarchs and their family members.  OFAC imposed these additional sanctions using Executive Order 14024 (“EO 14024”), which was issued on April 15, 2021 and which authorizes OFAC to sanction operators in Russia’s technology and defense sectors as well as other sectors as determined by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State.