On October 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced significant new sanctions for Russia’s energy sector, designating Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil) under Executive Order (EO) 14024 as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), along with dozens of directly named subsidiaries.…
Global Trade & Sanctions Law
Commerce Department Issues “Affiliates Rule,” Extends Entity List Restrictions to Majority-Owned Foreign Entities
On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a long-anticipated interim final rule (IFR) amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to extend Entity List and Military End User (MEU) List restrictions to majority-owned affiliates. Known as the “Affiliates Rule,” the IFR establishes…
What the Trade Needs to Know (and Do) About the DOJ’s New Trade Fraud Task Force
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a “cross-agency” Trade Fraud Task Force “to bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties who seek to defraud the United States.” According to DOJ, the Task Force will “augment the existing coordination mechanisms” within DOJ and leverage…
Key Takeaways from the CFIUS 2024 Annual Report
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recently published its 2024 Annual Report. Filing volume for both declarations and notices remains lower compared to their peaks in 2021 and 2022, respectively. While CFIUS continues to clear the vast majority of transactions it reviews without mitigation, compliance site…
Snapshot of Current Tariff Actions and Negotiations
In the past several weeks the Trump administration has taken multiple actions on tariffs, based on several different legal authorities. The landscape is shifting almost continuously, and more changes are likely coming. A number of the tariff actions are linked to the results of bilateral negotiations that involve commitments to…
Tariffs and Insolvency: Legal Consequences of Tariffs in Insolvency Processes
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. has adopted sweeping tariffs on nearly every trading partner, with a promise of more on a range of strategic sectors including industrial metals and critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and automobiles. These actions have provoked countermeasures from China and others. While these developments are rightly…
Trump Administration Imposes Secondary Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
On August 6, 2025, President Trump published a new Executive Order imposing secondary tariffs on India in response to its continued importation of Russian-origin crude oil. This marks both an escalation in U.S. trade negotiations with India and the first major Russia-related enforcement action of his second term. It also…
UK Expands Whistleblower Protections to Bolster Sanctions Enforcement
On June 26, 2025, the UK government brought into force the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2025 (“2025 Amendment”), marking a notable development in the UK government’s sanctions enforcement strategy. The 2025 Amendment expands the statutory protections given to whistleblowers to cover the reporting of breaches of UK…
UK Investment Screening Regime: Still Expecting Amendments
On 23 June 2025, the UK government published its new Modern Industrial Strategy document (the “IS Document”), outlining the government’s current strategies for UK economic growth. The policy paper focuses on eight priority sectors: professional and business services; advanced manufacturing; clean energy; creative industries; defence; digital technologies; financial services; and…
Two Federal Courts Invalidate “Reciprocal” and Other Emergency Tariffs, But Relief Paused Pending Appeal
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has ruled against President Trump’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In its decision (involving two consolidated cases, V.O.S. Selections, Inc. et al. v. United States of America et al. and The State of…