On September 25, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. BIS-2020-0002] on reopening of the comment period for previously published notice of request for public comments. On June 3, 2020, the BIS published the Notice of Request for Public Comments on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Vanadium. The June 3 notice specified that the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine…
Supply chain disruption continues to be a key theme amid the Covid-19 crisis. Business strategies are pivoting to cope with weakening global demand, shifting manufacturing patterns and emerging geopolitical factors. Our Supply Chains Reimagined – Recovery and Renewal in Asia Pacific and Beyond report examines the impact of global supply chain movement on various industries including challenges, opportunities and solutions, and the influence of government intervention schemes. The report focuses on the Asia Pacific region as a vital…
On 9 April 2020, the WCO announced that to respond to the unprecedented demand in medical supplies amid the current global COVID-19 pandemic around the world, and in order to help countries speed up the cross-border movement of these critical products, the WCO and the World Health Organization (WHO) joined hands to strengthen their cooperation by establishing a coordinated approach in their response to the pandemic. As a result of this joint effort of the…
On March 31, 2020, the US Government issued a proposed framework for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela. The framework outlines 13 steps for a restructured Government of Venezuela (“GOV”) that, if followed, would lead to the lifting of US sanctions on the GOV, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”), and other GOV officials and agencies. Read more on our Sanctions & Export Controls Update.
On April 3, 2020, President Trump issued an order via Presidential Memorandum (“Order“) invoking an obscure authority under Section 101 of the Defense Production Act, 50 U.S.C. § 4501 et seq. (“DPA“), to potentially restrict exports from the United States of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) needed in the response to the COVID-19 crisis. This is in the wake of numerous countries around the world implementing export bans on PPE and other medical supplies (see our previous blog posts…