A U.S. semiconductor company and a Canadian electronics component manufacturer are locked in a legal battle that could have implications for the export compliance responsibilities of sellers and buyers, particularly within the chip industry.
Jenner & Block partner Rachel Alpert was tapped to serve as the chief counsel to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the firm announced on Oct. 24. Alpert has worked at Jenner & Block since 2021 and has fleshed out the firm's national security, sanctions and export controls practice, along with the human rights and global strategy practice. Her practice centered around export controls and sanctions proceedings under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations and OFAC regulations, among other things. Prior to working at Jenner & Block, Alpert worked as an attorney-adviser to the State Department and as counsel at Latham & Watkins.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in a July opinion, reversed a California district court's decision acquitting Yi-Chi Shih, an employee at China-based firm Chengdu RML, of conspiracy to violate export control laws via his export of semiconductors to China. Judges Andrew Hurwitz and Ryan Nelson said "a rational factfinder could find that the exported [monolithic microwave integrated circuits] were not exempt from the [Export Administration Regulations] as fundamental research."
DOJ this week unsealed indictments of six people for trying to illegally ship sensitive items from the U.S., including shipments of dual-use technologies and aircraft parts to Russia, isostatic graphite to Iran and trade secrets to China. The charges are the first enforcement actions brought by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a group launched by DOJ and the Commerce Department in February to investigate and prosecute criminal export violations (see 2302160019).
DOJ this week announced a $365,000 settlement with General Motors over claims that the car maker -- in an attempt to comply with U.S. export control laws -- discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The agency also released a fact sheet to help employers avoid citizenship status discrimination when seeking to comply with export control laws.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut ordered Estonia-based exporter By Trade OU to forfeit about $826,000 in connection with the attempted export of a dual-use export-controlled item to Russia, DOJ announced. The company, along with a Latvia-based corporation, conspired to ship a jig grinder made in Connecticut to Russia.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in a Dec. 22 opinion denied three Maryland men's post-trial motions seeking dismissal of their convictions, among other things, pertaining to their efforts to illegally export arms and ammunition to Nigeria. The court said Wilson Tita of Owings Mills, Eric Nji of Fort Washington and Wilson Fonguh of Bowie failed to prove that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen rendered unconstitutional the defendants' conviction on a charge of transporting a firearm with an obliterated serial number (U.S. v. Wilson Nuyila Tita).
China officially requested dispute consultations with the U.S. at the World Trade Organization Dec. 15 over American export controls on certain semiconductors, the WTO announced. China, which announced the move earlier in the week (see 2212120061), said the restrictions violate Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, Article 8 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures and Article 64.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
An indictment was unsealed Dec. 12 in a New York district court charging five Russian nationals and two U.S. nationals for their role in a global procurement and money laundering network for the Russian government, DOJ announced. Concurrent with the indictment, the Bureau of Industry and Security issued a 180-day temporary denial order against three of the defendants and two companies for illegally sending controlled exports to Russia as part of the Moscow-led scheme.
Akerman LLP added two partners to its ranks, with Matthew Goldstein joining the Washington, D.C.-based Government Affairs and Public Policy practice, and Andrew Dominguez joining the International Litigation and Arbitration practice in Miami, the firm announced.