I recently provided comments for an article in Law.com examining how foreign companies that are continuing to operate in Russia can continue to pay employees while world leaders are imposing economic sanctions making the transfer of funds into Russia difficult. Making the situation more tenuous is the possible retribution that companies or individual employees may face by the Russian government if the company ceases operations entirely.

“We’re trying to read the tea leaves of what the Russian government is most concerned about when they have threatened foreign companies that have halted operations or pulled out of Russia,” I explained in the article. “I’m just not that concerned that Russia thinks, ‘Oh, no, society is going to break down if people can’t buy Coca-Cola anymore.’ But they may be concerned that if Coca-Cola has … 10,000 employees in Russia, and all of a sudden those people are unemployed, that those people … are going to be a threat to social order.”Continue Reading Impact of Economic Sanctions for Russian Companies and Employees

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 April 6. This post supplements our previous summaries, which are available by following the links at the bottom of this page.

United States Issues Expansive Restrictions on Russian Entities, Expected to Ban New Investment

On April 1, the Commerce Department added 120 entities in Russia and Belarus to the Entity List based on their activities in the Russian and Belarusian defense, aerospace, maritime, and other strategic sectors. Of these entities, 95 are designated military end-users, which makes them subject to the Russia Military End-User Foreign Direct Product Rule (Russia-MEU FDP Rule). As discussed in a previous update, the Russia-MEU FDP Rule significantly broadens U.S. export jurisdiction over items made outside the United States using U.S.-origin technology.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of April 6

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 April 1. This post supplements our previous summaries, which are available by following the links at the bottom of this page.

Commerce Department Updates List of Tainted U.S.-Origin Aircraft

On March 30, the U.S. Commerce Department, Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) issued a press release to update the restrictions and prohibitions it announced on March 18 pertaining to U.S.-origin aircraft operated in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Please see our blog post here for more details on that March 18 notice.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of April 1

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 the evolving situation as of Thursday, March 31 concerning current U.S. sanctions and export restrictions related to Russia and Ukraine. This post supplements our previous analysis all of which are linked at the end of today’s content.

United States Targets Russian Sanctions Evaders in the Latest Round of Designations

On March 31, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation of still more entities and individuals as it expands sanctions against Russia. These parties have been designated as Specially Designated Nationals (SDN); as a general matter, U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting any transaction with an SDN.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of March 31

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 the evolving situation as of Thursday, March 24 concerning current U.S. sanctions and export restrictions related to Russia and Ukraine. This post supplements our previous analysis all of which are linked at the end of today’s content.

United States Aligns with Allies, Sanctions Hundreds of Russian Lawmakers and Others

On March 24, President Biden announced that the United States will impose sanctions on “over 400 individuals and entities comprised of Russian elites, the Duma and more than 300 of its members, and defense companies.” In so doing, the United States aligns itself with the sanctions efforts of the European Union and G7 (which consists of Canada, Japan, and the UK along with several members of the EU). This continues the unprecedented multilateral effort to restrict trade with and involving Russia.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of March 24

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 the evolving situation as of Monday, March 21 concerning current U.S. sanctions and export restrictions related to Russia and Ukraine. This post supplements our previous analysis all of which are linked at the end of today’s content.

On March 18, citing publicly available information, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a notice (the Notice) identifying 100 commercial and private aircraft that have flown into Russia in apparent violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) since March 2, 2022. BIS noted that all listed aircraft are owned or controlled by, or under charter or lease to, Russia or Russian nationals. BIS identified the aircraft by owner/operator, tail number, serial number, and aircraft type.

In publicly listing the aircraft, BIS warned that servicing these aircraft without BIS authorization by any person, regardless of location, would violate part 736.2(b)(10) of the EAR. Also known as General Prohibition 10, this EAR provision covers the taking of virtually any action with respect to an item that has been exported in violation of the EAR. BIS emphasized that violations of the EAR can lead to enforcement action and possible criminal and/or civil fines, including jail time and loss of export privileges.Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of March 21