On October 20, the House of Representatives passed five bills with overwhelming bipartisan support that aim to promote supply chain and network security. This post will focus on two bills directed towards the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). While these legislative measures are directed towards a U.S. government entity, and thus may not (on their face) appear applicable to corporate supply chains, if enacted, these bills could result in changes to laws, regulations, and policies down…
On October 20, the House of Representatives passed five bills with overwhelming bipartisan support that aim to promote supply chain and network security. This post will focus on one bill directed to the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), and two bills directed to the Department of Commerce (“DOC”). While these legislative measures are directed towards U.S. government entities, and thus may not (on their face) appear applicable to corporate supply chains, if enacted, these bills…
On September 24, 2021, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry (“BIS”) published a “Notice of Request for Public Comments on Risks in the Semiconductor Supply Chain” (“Notice”). The Notice seeks responses from various parties in the semiconductor supply chain about current shortages and related issues. Comments in response to the Notice are due by November 8, 2021. The Notice was issued in response to a 100-Day Supply Chain Review (“Review”) of semiconductors and advanced packaging…
On August 19, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “NPRM”) discussing potential changes it is considering making to its equipment authorization and competitive bidding programs to restrict the use of telecommunications and video surveillance equipment and services produced or provided by five Chinese companies. Those changes could further narrow the availability and use of such equipment in the United States, and restrict companies that accept financing from two…
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 2:00 – 3:00 PM CET Corporates seeking to effect innovation across their supply networks need to underpin that change with a strategy that pre-empts legal challenges from existing or prospective distributors and suppliers. Trends in corporate governance such as ESG compliance, digital transformation of supply chain and an evolution of workforce demographics and expectations following the pandemic are all driving major changes in business operating models and delivery. Many are looking to…
Concern regarding IP theft and other forms of unfair trade practices have been of paramount importance in the past five years in the United States – and have indeed been the justification for imposing significant and long-lasting trade barriers. The Biden Administration affirmed its commitment to using a wide range of remedies to address such trade practices through a set of reports on the 100-day interagency reviews conducted pursuant to Executive Order 14017 “America’s Supply…
In the recent flurry of US Government activity related to Xinjiang, one thing is clear: trade compliance risks continue to increase for companies with supply chains that involve Xinjiang. These latest actions add to the expanding list of companies that face import bans, export bans, and sometimes both, in addition to broader measures under consideration in Congress. This blog post summarizes the past month’s developments. Companies with Xinjiang anywhere in their supply chains should be…
Over a year into the global pandemic, businesses have had to pivot to survive and adjust to new ways of conducting business. Now, more than ever, Asia Pacific business leaders are making the necessary strategic changes to meet the needs of a vastly changed business landscape — and deciding where legal expertise may be needed most to limit and manage disruption and soften risks. The State of Play Supply Chains and Trade Realignment report delves…
On April 20, 2021, the Biden Administration took steps to address cybersecurity risks in the US energy sector industrial base by announcing a 100-day cybersecurity initiative for electricity subsector industrial control systems (“100-Day Plan”) and by issuing, on April 22, 2021, a Request for Information to inform future recommendations for US energy systems’ supply chain security (“RFI”). Public comments in response to the RFI are due by June 7, 2021. These actions support the Biden…