Kelley Drye & Warren LLP (LexBlog China)

On August 1, 2023, the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (“FLETF”), led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), shared publicly the 2023 updates to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People’s Republic of China (“2023...

On Monday, August 14, 2023, the Commerce Department will impose new nuclear nonproliferation (“NP”) controls on China and Macau. The new controls are meant to address ongoing U.S. Government concerns regarding U.S. nuclear technology and material being diverted to China for military use. Specifically, these new controls add China and Macau to NP Column 2...

On August 9, 2023, the White House issued Executive Order 14105 (“EO”) to address the national security threat posed by outbound investment in certain countries of concern that seek to develop and exploit sensitive or advanced technologies and products critical for military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities. For now, the EO is narrowly focused on...

On June 22, 2023, Senators Rubio (R-FL) and Wicker (R-MS) – the top Republicans on the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, respectively – introduced S. 2170, the Depriving Enemy Nations of Integral Authorizations and Licenses (DENIAL) Act of 2023 to increase Congressional oversight for licensing decisions involving U.S. exports to China...

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS” or “the agency”) has revised the Entity List to address the agency’s growing concern around Chinese entities recruiting Western pilots to train People’s Liberation Army pilots on Western aircraft maneuvers and tactics, hypersonic weapons development, hypersonic flight modeling, and weapon lifecycle management using Western software.

Mike Lindell – the “My Pillow Guy” – makes pillows that are soft to touch and claims that are hard to prove. In 2021, Lindell announced that he had compiled evidence demonstrating that China had interfered in the 2020 presidential election. He was so confident in the evidence that he launched the Prove Mike Wrong...

Background on USTR’s Section 301 Tariff Review: On Tuesday, May 3, USTR announced the initiation of a statutorily-required review of the tariff actions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. (See Federal Register notice here.) Under the statute, unless USTR receives a request...

Please join us for a Kelley Drye Webinar on March 29th.   “Hot Market/Cold War: Is China Your Best Customer or Your Biggest Threat?” will feature a one-hour discussion between Kelley Drye International Trade and Government Relations partner, Paul Rosenthal, and Senior International Trade/Government Relations Advisor, Bill Reinsch, moderated by International Trade Chair, John Herrmann.  This...

Last week, the Treasury Department and Commerce Department imposed new sanctions on dozens of Chinese firms linked to the Chinese military.  Pursuant to Executive Order 13959, as amended by E.O. 14032, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight additional Chinese companies for operating as part of the Chinese Military-Industrial Complex (CMIC) and...

On Monday, October 4, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai delivered a long anticipated speech framing the Biden Administration’s trade policy toward China. Among the announcements made were that (1) a Section 301 product exclusion process would be “restarted” with respect to the tariffs currently in effect, and (2) additional enforcement actions against China could be...

On July 13, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued an updated Advisory on supply-chain risks for U.S. businesses whose business activities may be implicated by human rights concerns related to forced labor in and outside of Xinjiang, China. The updated...

Yesterday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce added 14 companies based in China and 20 companies located elsewhere to the U.S. Entity List.  According to BIS, the Chinese companies are involved in China’s “campaign of repression, mass detention and high-technology surveillance” against Uyghur and other minorities in Xinjiang. ...

On April 8, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) announced a bipartisan agreement on a wide-ranging strategic approach towards China.  The Strategic Competition Act of 2021 addresses economic competition with China, as well as humanitarian, national security, and democracy-related issues.  Most significantly, the bill, if enacted,...

On March 10, 2021, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published an extension of the COVID-19 related medical-care and response product exclusions from Section 301 duties covering imports from China. The agency determined it would be inappropriate to allow the exclusions to lapse in consideration of the ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

On January 15, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an Interim Final Rule to implement new end-user and end use controls mandated by the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA). Most notably, the rule adds a new control that will require U.S. persons to obtain a license before “supporting” certain “military-intelligence”...

Today, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) to the U.S. Entity List.  Under the new rule, U.S. and non-U.S. exporters are generally prohibited from transferring items subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to CNOOC without first obtaining a U.S. export license.  As noted in...

Today, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it will create a new “Military End-User List” (MEU List) to help exporters comply with the recently expanded military end-use and end-user restrictions (MEU Rule) that apply to exports of certain items to China, Russia, and Venezuela.  The current MEU List includes 102 entities from...

On November 12, 2020, the President issued Executive Order 13959 (the Order) to prohibit U.S. persons from purchasing the publicly traded securities of certain companies that are affiliated with China’s military.  While the Order does not come into force until January 11, 2021, U.S. financial services companies and U.S. investors will need to carefully review the Order to...

Last week OFAC extended its general license authorizing U.S. persons to wind down and divest from certain transactions with subsidiaries of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) until November 30, 2020.  OFAC extended the general license to give U.S. persons more time to exit dealings involving XPCC’s many subsidiaries, which play a significant role...

Importers of vinyl flooring filed a case at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) on September 10, challenging the Administration’s application of tariffs on products from China on Lists 3 and 4 pursuant to USTR’s intellectual property Section 301 investigation. The complaint alleges that the President’s imposition of tariffs to products on these lists,...

On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) updated its list of “Communist Chinese military companies” that provide expertise and technological support to the Chinese military.  The list, which includes a number of large state-owned enterprises in China, does not impose sanctions or export restrictions on the listed companies, although some of the...

Today the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 24 Chinese state-owned companies to the Entity List for their role in the construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea.  The Entity List prohibits the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to these companies without a...

Updated August 24, 2020: CBP has extended the transition period for compliance with this rule change by 45 days until November 9, 2020. See the CSMS notice here. Yesterday, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) issued a new rule that requires importers to begin marking Hong Kong goods as “made in China” for purposes of...

Over the last month, the United States has taken a variety of steps to increase pressure on China in response to the imposition of China’s National Security Law in Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.  These measures include new sanctions programs targeting Hong Kong, export and trade control restrictions, and sanctions targeting...

Today the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it is suspending license exceptions for exports, re-exports, or transfers to or within Hong Kong that provide differential treatment than license exceptions available for shipments to mainland China.  In other words, if a license exception is not available for shipments to China, then it can...

Bureau of Industry and Security Issues Guidance on Rule The new Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) rule prohibiting certain exports, reexports, and transfers of items to “military end-users” and “military end-uses” in China, Russia, and Venezuela is effective today. The new rule creates additional due diligence burdens on manufacturers and exporters in the materials...

On May 22, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the addition of the following  businesses and a government institute to the agency’s Entity List in response to involvement in or support for human rights abuses related to the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR): China’s Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of...

Earlier this week, the COVID-19 Accountability Act was introduced in the Senate and the House by Rep. Senator Lindsey Graham and Rep. Doug Collins respectively.  While the text of the draft legislation is not yet available, a summary indicates that it would require within sixty days that the President certify to Congress that China has:...

On April 28, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security (“BIS”) published three separate rules which, in response to the Administration’s conclusion that “civil-military integration” in China is increasing, impose significant additional restrictions on the export of dual-use items to strategic rivals including China, Russia, and Venezuela.  These rules, when implemented, will...

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, USTR issued a Federal Register Notice requesting public comments on the possibility of removing the application of China Section 301 duties from medical care products, including inputs used to produce such needed medical care products. The comment period will remain open until at least June 25, 2020, however, USTR...