Last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a Florida grand jury indicted three men for conspiring to rig bids for customized promotional products to the U.S. Army and charged two of them with conspiring to defraud the United States. Bid rigging is how conspiring competitors effectively raise prices where purchasers — often federal, state, or local governments — acquire goods or services by soliciting competing bids.
Continue Reading PCSF Strikes Again: Scheme to Rig Bids Results in Federal Grand Jury Indictment
May 2022
Russia, Ukraine: Update as of May 9
By Thad McBride & Sylvia Yi on
Posted in International Trade, Sanctions (OFAC)
The Bass, Berry & Sims international trade team is actively monitoring the situation in Russia and Ukraine and providing real-time advice to clients on managing the situation. This post summarizes new U.S. sanctions and export restrictions as of Monday, May 9. This post supplements our previous summaries, which are available by following the links at the end of this blog post.
Commerce Department Adds to Restrictions, Imposes Licensing Requirements on More Russia Exports
On May 9, the U.S. Commerce Department, Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) announced further restrictions on exports to Russia of items deemed to support Russian military capabilities. Under the rule, the Commerce Department has introduced licensing requirements on hundreds of items that, prior to the rule, would not have required a license for export to otherwise permitted Russian recipients. The items are classified by both Harmonized Tariff Schedule and U.S. Schedule B number. According to BIS, the action has been taken to more closely align the United States with European Union export restrictions related to Russia.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of May 9
Opportunities for Small Business within Federal Contracting Space
By Todd Overman on
In a May 4 article published by American City Business Journals’ The Playbook, I offered insight on the opportunities for small businesses to engage with federal contracting and practical steps to get started.
The federal government spent more than $665 billion on contracts in FY2020, and a variety of special programs for contracts are designed to meet the goal of spending at least 23% of all contracting dollars with small business owners.Continue Reading Opportunities for Small Business within Federal Contracting Space
Russia, Ukraine: Update as of May 5
By Thad McBride & Sylvia Yi on
Posted in International Trade, Sanctions (OFAC)
The Bass, Berry & Sims international trade team is actively monitoring the situation in Russia and Ukraine and providing real-time advice to clients on managing the situation. This post summarizes new U.S. sanctions and export restrictions as of Thursday, May 5. This post supplements our previous summaries, which are available by following the links at the end of this blog post.
Commerce Department Adds to List of Russia/Belarus-Owned Aircraft that Operated in Violation of the EAR
On April 28, the U.S. Commerce Department, Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) added six more Utair aircraft to its list of aircraft that have flown into Russia and/or Belarus in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). With these additions, BIS now has 159 aircraft on the list. BIS issued an initial list on March 18 and updated the list on March 30, April 8, April 14, and April 21.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of May 5