Companies should expect the Treasury Department to aggressively penalize violators of its upcoming outbound investment prohibitions relatively soon after those rules are finalized, lawyers with Kirkland & Ellis said this week. They also said American chip companies and other technology firms are considering inserting new outbound investment-related warranties in their contracts and may start pulling out of existing investment deals that could soon be captured by the new prohibitions.
The Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled an FY 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act last week that would provide $45 million for the Federal Maritime Commission, $3.5 million below the Biden administration’s request but $5 million above the FY 2024 enacted level and $2 million above the House version of the bill (see 2406260007).
To punish the Venezuelan government for trying to “steal” the country’s presidential election, the Biden administration should impose sanctions and revoke oil licenses, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said July 30. McCaul is one of several Republican lawmakers pushing for sanctions against Venezuela. Senior administration officials said this week they are considering “consequences,” including sanctions, in response to the recent election (see 2407290044).
The U.S. should start designating Chinese banks under a December executive order that authorizes secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that help facilitate Russia-related transactions, a group advocating for democracy in Hong Kong said in a new report this month.
The Pentagon should drop its outdated approach to technology security and export controls and allow American defense companies to work more efficiently with U.S. allies, a Defense Department advisory committee said in a new report this month. The committee said the agency needs major revisions to the way it treats restrictions under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, warning that DOD is “failing to address shortcomings in international engagement amid a rapidly evolving global security landscape.”
The Biden administration is doing too little to counter China’s material support for Russia’s war machine, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said July 30.
The House Financial Services Committee has named Kim Betz its new staff director, replacing Matt Hoffman, who has taken a private-sector job, the panel announced July 29. Betz has been serving as chief counsel to the committee’s Republicans. The committee has been involved in the congressional debate over outbound investment restrictions and the Treasury Department’s new beneficial ownership information reporting rule (see 2407090053 and 2401300081).
Charlie Steele, former chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined London-based legal advisory firm Outer Temple Chambers as a professional associate, he announced on LinkedIn. Steele, who left OFAC in 2020, said his work at Outer Temple will focus on sanctions issues, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and anti-money laundering. He said he will continue to operate the Law Office of Charles Steele, his Washington, D.C.-based solo practice.
Two House members introduced a bill July 25 that would require certain American public companies and investment firms to report how much business they do in China.
A new report accompanying the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2025 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Bill calls for the Bureau of Industry and Security to conduct several export control reviews, including one that identifies regulatory “gaps” that have allowed controlled U.S. technology, especially semiconductor technology, to flow to China without a license (see 2407260054).