The Bass, Berry & Sims international trade team continues to monitor U.S. government action in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the final months of 2022, the U.S. government added multiple individuals and entities to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List and the Entity List (EL), froze assets of individuals, issued or revised general licenses, and took enforcement action against individuals and companies. This post summarizes new U.S. sanctions and export restrictions as of Friday, December 30. This post supplements our previous summaries, which are available by following the links at the end of this blog post.

Department of the Treasury and Department of State Designations

On December 22, the Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, added 10 entities associated with the Russian Navy and/or the Russian maritime industry to the SDN List.

Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of Friday, December 30

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 includes a short but interesting provision reminding the Department of Defense (DoD) that the unilateral insertion of a new clause in a DoD contract is a change that may entitle a contractor to compensation. Section 805 of the recently signed legislation amends 10 U.S.C. 3862, “Requests for equitable adjustment or other relief,” inserting the following provision and making conforming amendments:

(c) Treatment of Certain Clauses Implementing Executive Orders.– The unilateral insertion of a covered clause into an existing Department of Defense contract, order, or other transaction by a contracting officer shall be treated as a change directed by the contracting officer pursuant to, and subject to, the Changes clause of the underlying contract, order, or other transaction.

Continue Reading Clarification: You Can Recover for Changes Implementing Executive Orders

On December 15, the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the Fiscal Year 2023 by an 83-11 vote. The annual legislation changes U.S. defense agencies’ policies and regulations and provides necessary guidance for how appropriations can be spent. It is frequently used to implement changes to federal procurement policy, and one of those changes this year is that Section 856 codifies the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) – with some tweaks. 

Continue Reading DOD’s Mentor Protégé Program Drops “Pilot” From Title as the NDAA Codifies the Initiative

I am looking forward to presenting a panel titled “Mergers and Acquisitions” for the 2023 PubK’s GovCon Annual Review Conference alongside Susan Gabay (Houlihan Lokey) and Damien Specht (Morrison Foerster LLP). Our session will take place virtually on January 11, 2023, at 4:00pm ET.

For more information and to register, please click here.

In the past several years there has been a significant decrease in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement efforts. Reports suggest that corporate criminal cases have decreased by roughly 50% since 2012. FCPA enforcement has dipped particularly dramatically – from more than 40 actions brought by the DOJ and/or SEC in 2019 to only 15 brought by the DOJ and/or SEC in 2021.

Continue Reading FCPA Enforcement Update: Two Big Settlements to End the Year 

As we have discussed at length on this blog, for more than a year federal courts have repeatedly held that, for various reasons, President Biden lacked the authority to mandate by executive order that government contractors can force their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of contracting with the federal government.  Even when the government claimed that the vaccines would prevent people from catching or spreading COVID-19, at which time there was arguably a medical basis for a mandate, it was clear that there was no statutory or constitutional basis for the authority asserted in Executive Order 14042. 

Continue Reading DOJ’s Quixotic Defense of the Vaccine Mandate May Undermine Presidential Authority

Unprecedented inflation levels have caused substantial hardship on government contractors during the last year – especially those with firm fixed-price contracts. Fortunately, meaningful help may be on its way. The Senate recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2023, which authorizes future spending of appropriations and outlines Department of Defense (DOD) policy priorities for the next fiscal year.

Continue Reading Inflation Relief on Its Way for Government Contractors?

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.

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 firm’s international trade team. We welcome your feedback and encourage sharing this newsletter with anyone interested.

Following an active October, enforcement actions and regulatory policy changes slowed in November. With that said, the actions taken in November involved some novel topics and provide several insights to glean.

Continue Reading International Trade Enforcement Roundup – November 2022

Following the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council’s proposed rule requiring federal contractors to disclose climate emissions, I was quoted in a Government Executive article offering perspective on the proposal from leaders in the contracting community.

Continue Reading Government Executive Article on Proposed Climate Reporting Rule

I authored an article published by Law360 discussing the recent reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology (STTR) programs. Touted as “America’s Seed Fund,” these programs seek to foster a healthy environment for small business startups to innovate and provide a path to private-sector commercialization of new technologies.

Continue Reading New SBIR and STTR Programs that Promote Small Business Innovation

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

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