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Thad McBride

Thad McBride advises public and private companies on the legal considerations essential to successful business operations in a global marketplace. He focuses his practice on counseling clients on compliance with U.S. export regulations (ITAR and EAR), economic sanctions and embargoes, import controls (CBP), and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He also advises clients on anti-boycott controls, and assists companies with matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Thad supports international companies across a range of industries, including aviation, automotive, defense, energy, financial services, manufacturing, medical devices, oilfield services, professional services, research and development, retail, and technology. Beyond advising on day-to-day compliance matters, Thad regularly assists clients in investigations and enforcement actions brought by government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Commerce Department Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS), and the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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Late in the night of October 5, 2015, twelve countries concluded negotiations on a groundbreaking free-trade agreement to liberalize trade. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free-trade agreement between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam.

The TPP, which still requires approval from Congress, is part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to gain market access in the growing economies of Asia and balancing out China’s increasing economic influence. While China, South Korea and other major players in Asia are not parties to the agreement, there is hope that they will choose to join. Several nations, including Indonesia and the Philippines, have already expressed interest in joining the agreement once it goes into effect.

Like all free-trade agreements, the TPP requires the countries involved to substantially reduce barriers to trade, including tariffs on goods and services. While some tariffs will be eliminated entirely, tariffs on politically sensitive goods such as automobiles, types of apparel and dairy products will drop more gradually.Continue Reading The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Impact on Trade and Procurement

A final rule issued on October 30, 2015 removes Cuba from the definition of “state sponsor of terrorism” in two DFARS clauses. The new rule implements the State Department’s action to remove Cuba from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The new rule affects DFARS 252.255-7049, Prohibition on Acquisition of Commercial Satellite Services from…

On September 9, 2015, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department), Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issued a memorandum to all U.S. Attorneys regarding individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing (Yates Memo).

The point of the Yates Memo is clear: while DOJ will continue to pursue companies for corporate wrongdoing, the Department will also simultaneously pursue charges against individual employees. According to the Yates Memo, “[b]ecause a corporation only acts through individuals, investigating the conduct of individuals is the most efficient and effective way to determine the facts and extent of any corporate misconduct.”

And the ultimate target of these efforts? Corporate executives. The DOJ understands that lower-level employees facing individual civil or criminal liability are likely to cooperate against their superiors, thereby facilitating DOJ’s ability to obtain information necessary to prosecute individuals further up the corporate ladder.Continue Reading DOJ Targets Corporate Executives

Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Thad McBride and Cheryl Palmeri authored “International trade and commercial transactions in the United States: overview,” a Q&A guide to the regulation of international trade and commercial transactions in the United States. The guide includes information related to the following categories:

  1. Recent trends
  2. Contracts for the sale of goods
  3. Storage

…

On August 18, the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) agreed to pay $14.8 million to settle allegations that it had violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by providing internships to family members of foreign officials affiliated with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund the bank sought to manage.

According to the settlement order, which is available here, BNY Mellon provided the internships at the request of the foreign officials, even though the prospective interns failed to meet the bank’s hiring criteria and were less than exemplary employees. In so doing, the bank violated the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions and demonstrated that it lacked internal controls sufficient to ensure its hiring process would not be used to improperly obtain or retain business.

This settlement highlights two essential FCPA-compliance points.Continue Reading When Intern Season Gets Hot: the Perils of Improper Hiring Under the FCPA

Since our update in April of this year, the U.S. government has continued to aggressively modify and enforce its various sanctions programs. And this trend shows no signs of slowing in the months to come.

As in the first quarter of 2015, the last three months were marked by a combination of broad policy changes, individual designations and removals, and various enforcement actions. While recent developments did not include the overhaul of any sanctions program akin to the Cuba amendments in January, they did set the stage for significant changes in the future.

Here, we consider notable U.S. sanctions developments in the past quarter, and offer our thoughts on what is to come.Continue Reading Keeping Up the Pace: U.S. Sanctions Post a Busy Second Quarter

On June 16, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) announced that it had concluded a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with IAP Worldwide Services, Inc., a Florida-based government contractor, related to apparent violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). DOJ also announced that a former vice president of IAP pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA. IAP agreed to pay more than $7 million to resolve the matter; sentencing for the former vice president is scheduled for September 2015.

Background. IAP provides facilities management, contingency operations, and professional and technical services in contracting capacities to U.S. and non-U.S. governments. According to DOJ, the violations occurred in connection with a surveillance program the government of Kuwait sought to develop. An agent of IAP contracted with the Kuwaiti government to perform services under the first phase of the program. DOJ alleged that, when the agent was paid for its services, it transferred money to IAP, which in turn steered funds to a Kuwaiti company to kickback to Kuwaiti government officials.Continue Reading Government Contractor Fined for FCPA Violations; Former VP Enters Guilty Plea

As yet another step in the continuing Export Control Reform (ECR) effort, the U.S. government has recently issued a series of proposed rules that may help clarify key regulatory definitions and requirements that have confused exporters in the past. In particular, the proposed rules may ease licensing requirements for U.S. persons – and the employers of U.S. persons – working in the global defense industry.

First, on May 26, the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) proposed changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to clarify the registration and licensing requirements that apply to U.S. persons in the United States or abroad who furnish defense services to, or on behalf of, their non-U.S. person employers. See 80 Fed. Reg. 30001 (May 26, 2015).

Then, on June 3, DDTC issued proposed revisions to help clarify the scope of activities and information covered by the ITAR. See 80 Fed. Reg. 31525 (June 3, 2015). The same day, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a parallel proposed rule to amend key definitions of the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR). See 80 Fed. Reg. 31505 (June 3, 2015).

What follows is a brief summary of several of the key changes.Continue Reading ECR Marches On: State and Commerce Announce More Proposed Changes

In the first three months of 2015, the U.S. government has been – as usual – quite busy on the sanctions front.  The United States has eased sanctions on Cuba, expanded sanctions on North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, and introduced sanctions against cyber criminals.  And that does not even include Iran (with which preliminary agreement was reached on April 2) or continued, aggressive enforcement against sanctions violators.

What follows is our effort to briefly summarize key sanctions developments since the beginning of the year, and to offer predictions about potential new developments in the coming months.Continue Reading Sanctions Update: First Quarter 2015 Brings New Restrictions, Potential Relief

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

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