You are reading Bass, Berry & Sims’ new enforcement roundup, where we bring notable enforcement actions, policy changes, interesting news articles and a bit of our insight to your inbox every month.
October 2022 was an active month for enforcement, with the Department of Treasury updating Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) guidelines and the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Commerce (DOC) taking multiple actions. To stay up to date, subscribe to our GovCon & Trade blog. If you have questions about any of the actions mentioned and how they relate to your business, contact our international trade team. We welcome your feedback and encourage sharing this newsletter with anyone who may be interested.
Overview
- Russia continues to be the focus of enforcement efforts. On October 14, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the Department of State issued an alert detailing how U.S. government measures have impacted the Russian military-industrial complex and targeted sanctions evaders. Some highlights are detailed further below.
- October was a busy month for China–specific enforcement actions and regulatory changes, which were headlined by the new China-related Semiconductor rules. These rules seek to restrict China’s ability to access both U.S. advanced chips and U.S talent. These new controls will have a major impact on the Chinese and American chip industries and may signal more changes to come.
- Seagate Technology Holdings, an American data storage company, was issued a “proposed charging letter” for potentially unauthorized business transactions with Huawei.
- Cryptocurrency was also a target of enforcement in October. An American virtual currency firm based in Washington state settled 116,421 violations of multiple sanctions programs, and agreed to pay a penalty of more than $24 million.
- Following a Presidential Order linking CFIUS reviews directly to the president’s national security prerogatives, the Department of Treasury released new CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines.
- The Commerce Department also updated antiboycott rules to strengthen penalties and bolster compliance.