News Articles

Taiwan

China’s Economic Cost of Invading Taiwan

China and Taiwan have been locked in a tussle for decades over who gets to call the island country home. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign nation. The recent increase in tensions between China and Taiwan has many experts worried that Chinese forces may soon attempt to retake the mainland by force, but that won’t happen anytime soon. China would face a prolonged conflict on its doorstep that would worsen its already strained economic conditions.

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cyber related assets

OFAC Reissues Cyber-Related Sanctions Regulations

An inherent aspect of any new technology is that it doesn’t take long for bad actors to figure out how it can be weaponized for nefarious purposes. Cyber-related technologies represent an increasingly dangerous area of risk for everyone, whether they are individual citizens, business and infrastructure entities, or governments. Adversaries of the U.S., including China, Russia, and North Korea have engaged in acts of cyberespionage, often intended not only to cause actual harm, but also to test our ability to counter acts of malicious cyber-intrusion.

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forced labor

Forced Labor Due Diligence – Supply Chain Tracing Requirements to Comply with UFLPA, Withhold Release Orders, and More

We can all agree that goods made from forced labor, indentured labor or child labor should not be introduced into the U.S. market. Indeed, U.S. law prohibits the entry of goods made from forced labor. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) which went into effect as of June 21, 2022, expands on this prohibition by placing a ban on goods from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”) where ethnic minorities are being exploited or certain specified entities that are involved in using forced labor

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primer forced labor

Primer on Forced Labor Enforcement for U.S. Importers

This Primer provides introductory guidance to complying with U.S. forced labor laws for importers, and includes an introductory overview to forced labor laws, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) authority to enforce forced labor laws, outlines importer requirements under The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, describes the detention processes for imported goods made with forced labor, lists key recommended compliance actions for adhering to U.S. forced labor laws, and provides helpful resources for complying with U.S. forced labor laws.

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Open General Licenses

DDTC is Open to Open General Licenses

Some may be familiar with Open General Licenses (OGLs) used in the United Kingdom and some other countries. They allow export of dual-use, strategic and other controlled articles to specific destinations under certain conditions.

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sanctions

Evaluating the Efficacy of Sanctions on Russia

Since the Kremlin’s February 24th invasion of Ukraine, western countries have put in place extensive global financial ramifications. To gauge the extent of effectiveness, one must decipher the numbers behind Russia’s deceiving published economic statistics. One staggering implication of the trade war with the west lies within the entire collapse of the GDP growth acquired in the post-Soviet era.

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impact dao

ImpactDAOs: Shaping the Future of Regenerative Organizations

As Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have exploded into public consciousness, new types of DAOs are proliferating. A novel use case for DAOs, termed “ImpactDAOs”, are defined as “any DAO that creates net positive externalities to the ecosystem around it.” An ImpactDAO seeks to use web3 and crypto-economic principles to regenerate a system, increasing resources and sustainability over time.

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russian gas sanctions

European Countries Beware, Winter Is Coming, with Ice King Putin Leading the Charge

If you haven’t heard the words Ukraine or Russia within the last 5 months, one would assume that you must live under a rock, or that you’ve just decided to tune them out. Just as it seemed that we were on our way to being in the clear from the COVID pandemic and getting back to a little bit of normalcy within the global supply chain, the ever-so-sweet Putin decided to invade the Ukraine.

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ipef

U.S. Initiates Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in the South Pacific

On May 23 in Tokyo, Japan, the U.S., and other countries in the Pacific region launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (“IPEF”). The countries included are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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uflpa

CBP Releases Guidance related to Complying with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) released its first set of guidance relating to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”), which is set to take effect on June 21, 2022. CBP’s guidance takes the form of a website that is a homepage for UFLPA-related guidance, FAQs, webinars, graphics, and CBP contact information. This essential UFLPA homepage can be accessed at: www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA.

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food insecurity

Incursion and World Trade, Part 3: Over 120+ Days into the Global Effect of Inevitable Food Insecurity

Here we are, at the time of this writing over four months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with no end in sight. I will personally submit that I am, appalled that this, the murder of innocent civilians and devastation of another country’s infrastructure, can be permitted to continue, as we watch from the sidelines as if it was just another simple documentary on another war.

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section 301

Understanding the Statutory Four-Year Review Period of the Tariffs

Many importers are eagerly awaiting the United States Trade Representative’s (“USTR”) required four-year review of the Section 301 Chinese tariffs. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants the Office of the USTR a range of responsibilities and authorities to investigate and take action to enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements and respond to certain foreign trade practices.

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Deemed-Export-Compliance

Primer on Deemed Export Compliance

A “deemed” export occurs when certain types of information are released to a foreign person. This primer seeks to describe the introductory concepts of deemed export enforcement in the United States.

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Revisions and updates to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)

Hot (or at least warm) Off the Press: Updates & Revisions to the ITAR

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is continuing its project to revise and update the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Some of the changes are editorial and some are substantive. If you are affected by the ITAR or think you might be, you will need to stay on top of the changes because some (or all) may affect you.

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Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field

Regenerative Finance (ReFi): Tokenizing Carbon Offsets and Incentives

Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field that offers an opportunity to rethink how we approach finance, investing, and sustainable economic development. ReFi takes a holistic approach to finance and development, considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of financial decisions, and aims to create a regenerative economic ecosystem rather than following a primarily extractive approach.

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Harmonized Tariff Schedule

The Multi-Purpose Role of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule

When goods are imported into the United States, the importer-of-record (IOR) must, with reasonable care, file an entry (CBP Form 3461) and entry summary (CBP Form 7501), or the electronic equivalents, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These documents are the IOR’s preliminary and final declarations about the nature and circumstances of the import transaction, and they tell the story of the transaction through more than forty data elements.

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Sonora Lithium

Sonora Lithium

In November 2022, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry announced at COP27[1] in Sharm el-Sheikh important steps forward to address the

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Defense Technology and Security Administration DTSA

U.S. Bill Introduced to Move Export Controls From Commerce to DTSA. Is This a Good Idea?

On October 28, 2022, on the eve of the mid-term elections, a bill was introduced in the House that, unless you are an export control/compliance nerd, most would not have given it any thought. This bill, H.R. 9241, called the “Prioritizing National Security in Export Controls Act of 2022” was introduced by Representative Jim Banks, (R-Indiana) and co-sponsored by Robert Wittman, (R-Virginia), and Gregory Steube, (R-Florida).

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