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On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published the Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation (“Report”), which addresses the four-year review of China-related tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (“Trade Act”) (19 U.S.C. 2411). Our previous alert on the 2018 Section 301 Investigation findings is available here.

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On April 30, 2024, the Department of State proposed an amendment to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) intended to facilitate exports of defense articles, the performance of defense services, and brokering activities between or among authorized users in the United States, United Kingdom (UK) and Australia.

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On April 19, 2024, the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule reducing export control licensing requirements for Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) as a means to further strengthen the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between the three countries. With this rule, Australia and the UK will have nearly the same liberal licensing treatment under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) as Canada. For example, many Commerce-controlled items, including certain military, aerospace and satellite-related items, will now be eligible for export or reexport to Australia and the UK without a license.

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On April 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which is the first substantive update to the mitigation and enforcement provisions of the CFIUS regulations since the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA).

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On March 29, 2024, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (“2024 IFR”) clarifying and correcting its October 2023 interim final rules on advanced computing/supercomputers (AC/S IFR) and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME IFR) (collectively called the “2023 IFRs”).

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The U.S. Department of Commerce amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), effective March 15, 2024, to move Nicaragua from Country Group B to Country Group D, and added it to the list of countries subject to the military end use and military end user restrictions. Additionally, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to add Nicaragua to the list of countries for which it is U.S. policy to deny licenses or other approvals for exports of defense articles and defense services. This will restrict EAR license exceptions and ITAR exemptions that may have previously authorized certain exports, reexports, and transfers of controlled items to Nicaragua and will place limitations on what technology and technical data can be released to Nicaraguan nationals in the United States.

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Connected-vehicles-482886745-300x200On March 1, 2024 the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on regulations that aim to reduce the national security risks from connected vehicles (CVs) that incorporate technology from countries of concern, including the People’s Republic of China (China).

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On March 7, 2024, Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after Hungary’s parliament cleared the last hurdle to Sweden’s membership. Sweden and Finland began pursuing NATO membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Finland joined NATO in April 2023. Sweden’s accession, however, was met with significant opposition from Hungary and Turkey based on geopolitical concerns. NATO is an alliance of over 30 countries committed to working together to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through various political and military means. The admission of Finland and Sweden into NATO is monumental because it represents the most significant expansion of the alliance since the addition of eastern European countries after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

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In 2023 and the early months of 2024, there has been a flurry of agency activity to implement key programs enacted under the CHIPS and Science Act—directing benefits to the semiconductor industry.

In “Reviewing Key CHIPS Act Implementation Milestones to Deliver Opportunities for the Semiconductor Supply Chain,” Nancy A. Fischer, Aimee P. Ghosh and Amaris Trozzo take stock of the many moving parts—from funding rounds and investment announcements to key discussions taking place—in play during this window of opportunity.

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This past year saw a continued trend in building supply chain resiliency, as this topic has grown increasingly important following COVID-19, the conflict in Ukraine, shifting landscape on tariffs, forced labor concerns and a number of other factors. Increasingly, supply chains are having to respond to policy concerns requiring shifting production away from China, either through onshoring or friend shoring as a means of strengthening US national and economic security interests.

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