Compliance

On October 30, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will delay the implementation of the recently announced BIS Affiliates Rule for one year. The announcement follows negotiations between President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping and comes in exchange for China’s suspension of its rare earth minerals export licensing regime.Continue Reading UPDATE: BIS Affiliates Rule Suspended for One Year Following U.S.-China

Please note that the content below was posted on October 2, 2025. We have since provided updated guidance on the topics discussed in this post here.

On September 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a new interim final rule that significantly expands the scope of U.S. export controls. Entitled Expansion of End-User Controls to Cover Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities and referred to by BIS as the “Affiliates Rule,” the rule is designed to close a longstanding loophole by extending restrictions to foreign affiliates of parties already subject to export restrictions, including those parties designated on the Entity List and the Military End-User (MEU) List.Continue Reading BIS Closes Loophole: New Rule Expands Export Controls to Affiliates of Listed Entities

The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued its long-awaited final rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program into the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The rule establishes a three-year phased rollout that will ultimately apply to nearly every contractor and subcontractor handling federal contract information (FCI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI) (the new requirements do not apply to awards that do not involve the handling or transmission of FCI or CUI). Continue Reading DoD Finalizes CMMC Rule: What Defense Contractors Need to Know

Federal contractors and grant recipients are no strangers to changing requirements and evolving priorities. But in recent months, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in stop work orders, early terminations, and administrative actions that directly impact performance, cash flow, and compliance obligations.

These situations are rarely straightforward. Agencies may issue stop work orders based on shifting funding or political directives. Terminations may stem from compliance findings or performance concerns, even when the root causes are unclear or disputed. Contractors and recipients must be ready to respond quickly with a sound understanding of the legal framework and a plan for recovery.

To help navigate this complex landscape, we hosted a webinar with Donna Dominguez of Aprio.Continue Reading Preparing for the Unexpected: Legal and Strategic Considerations in Federal Contract and Grant Terminations

On June 9, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum entitled Guidelines for Investigations and Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the Memo) addressed to the head of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) laying out the evaluation criteria and a non-exhaustive list of factors the Criminal Division should use to decide whether to pursue a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) case. The FCPA is the primary law by which the U.S. government seeks to prosecute and penalize bribery of non-U.S. government officials.Continue Reading Is the “Pause” Over? DOJ Resumes FCPA Enforcement, Announces Guidelines

One of President Trump’s campaign themes was ending diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) programs, and he moved quickly to address those campaign promises. Within days of his inauguration, the president issued two executive orders (EOs) overhauling how the federal government views programs seeking to advance DEI priorities.Continue Reading Implementation of Trump DEI Orders Slower than Expected: What Contractors Should Know

On March 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an $8.1 million settlement in a civil case under the False Claims Act (FCA) related to alleged customs evasion by a California importer of wood flooring. The private whistleblower who reported the conduct received over $1.2 million in the matter. As we suggested in a blog post in February, these sorts of enforcement actions will proliferate under the Trump DOJ.Continue Reading DOJ Settlement Highlights Customs, FCA Risks for Importers

On March 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the  Fourth Circuit granted the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, terminating a Maryland district court’s injunction of certain elements of President Trump’s January 20 and 21 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) executive orders (EO), “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”  We wrote about the district court’s injunction here and here.Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Terminates Maryland District Court’s DEI Injunction

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

Thought Leadership by our Attorneys.