The Baker McKenzie International Commercial and Trade team is delighted to invite you to watch our pre-recorded webinar on the latest developments in relation to sanctions against Belarus, as at 10 December 2021. The webinar covers sanctions measures imposed against Belarus by the US, the EU, the UK, Canada and Switzerland, with a particular focus on the most recent measures announced in December 2021, in response to the migration crisis on the Belarus/EU border. The webinar lasts just over 30 minutes, and is intended to give you an overview of the developments, and the key takeaways to ensure compliance by your business
On November 26, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published a final rule amending the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule expands the existing general license at § 542.516 to authorize nongovernmental organizations to engage in certain assistance-related investment activities in support of not-for-profit activities in Syria.
On November 26, 2021, the Commerce Department of Commerce published a Proposed Rule that would amend its Interim Final Rule on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain (“ICTS Regulations”) to specifically address connected software applications. The Proposed Rule would make changes prompted by Executive Order 14034 to the ICTS Regulations.
In November 2021, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) issued new and updated FAQs on violations, disclosures, debarments, rescissions, and reinstatements under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The FAQs mostly reiterate and further clarify past guidance from DDTC on related matters.
On December 2, 2021, the EU, UK, US, and Canada all imposed additional coordinated sanctions on Belarus as a punitive action against the government led by President Alexander Lukashenko, which has been accused of human rights violations and creating a migrant crisis at Belarusian borders. As further described below, the sanctions included the designation of a number of parties (individuals and entities), whilst certain individuals will also be subject to travel bans preventing them entering or transiting the EU and UK. The US has also introduced financial sectoral sanctions, similar to those already imposed by the EU, UK and Canada.
As of November 30, 2021, a number of retaliatory measures have been suspended by the European Commission with regard to certain products originating in the US, based on Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2083. These measures were initially introduced on June 20, 2018, in response to US import tariffs on steel and aluminium originating from the EU. The US has meanwhile announced on October 31, 2021 that it will lift these measures under tariff rate quotas effective as of January 1, 2022.
Please join us for a weekly series, hosted by Baker McKenzie’s North America Government Enforcement partners Tom Firestone and Jerome Tomas. This weekly briefing is available on demand and will cover hot topics and current enforcement actions related to white collar crime and criminal investigations in the US and abroad to arm you with the information you need for your business week. This week’s discussion covers new OECD guidance on anti-corruption and SEC enforcement on ProPetro Holding Corp.
The Northern District of California recently determined that a taxpayer’s failure to timely file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) was willful for two of four years at issue because the taxpayer affirmatively acknowledged the foreign accounts on the Schedules B for those years. The court found that the taxpayer’s failure to include Schedules B with the previous two years’ returns was not a willful violation, however.
Shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders have been prevalent throughout the United States since March 2020 as state and local governments have sought to protect their citizens from the spread of the COVID-19 virus while at the same time reopen their economies in accordance with phased reopening plans. Key developments reflected in this week’s update to the Tracker include Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana and Rhode Island extending their state-wide orders on reopening.
On November 15, President Biden signed the more than USD 1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. Despite substantial criticism and various attempts to amend the bill while it was under debate in Congress, the Infrastructure Act includes two changes to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that deal with reporting obligations for certain digital assets transactions. Although one of these changes received much more attention than the other.