On August 24, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected an attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expand the jurisdictional reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) over foreign nationals. The three-judge panel affirmed the lower court’s ruling in United States v. Hoskins that a non-resident foreign national cannot be charged with conspiracy to violate the FCPA, or with aiding and abetting a violation of the statute, unless…

Following months of hearings and other deliberations, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law on August 13, 2018, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). FIRRMA is the first update to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in over a decade and will significantly expand the jurisdiction of the Committee and make other notable changes to its rules. A text of the final version of FIRRMA (Sections…

The ambitious CFIUS reform bill introduced in November 2017, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), has recently received significant congressional attention and appears likely to become law this year, with some revisions from the version introduced last year. On June 18, 2018, the Senate passed its version of FIRRMA as Title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 5515). On June 26, 2018, the House passed its version…

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued an update on its Section 301 investigation into Chinese technology and intellectual property practices on June 15, 2018. This update contains a list of products that will be subject to additional 25% tariffs on July 6, 2018 as well as a second proposed list of products targeted for future 25% tariffs.   The announcement that the United States would impose Section 301 tariffs marked a change of…

In addition to our previous updates, Steptoe recently published an in-depth advisory on President Trump’s May 8, 2018 decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA is an agreement reached in July 2015 between Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany in which Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for phased economic sanctions relief. A White House Fact Sheet…

On June 5, three Steptoe lawyers will participate in the ABA’s 2018 Drone Law Conference.  Steptoe associate Rebecca Lipe will moderate and partner Dane Jaques will participate on a panel titled “Safety Challenges & Accident Reporting.” The panel will focus on the NTSB process from investigation through litigation and potential pitfalls related to Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and automated vehicles (AV). Steptoe partner Stephanie Roy will also participate on a panel titled “Counter-Drone Solutions to…

Steptoe’s Paul Hurst and Tom Barletta recently authored an advisory on the DoD’s release of its FY 2017 Annual Defense Industrial Capabilities Report (DoD Report). The DoD Report provides a comprehensive overview of DoD’s assessment of key issues and risks facing the defense industrial base (DIB), generally and in specific sectors. The DoD Report also discusses DoD’s plans and strategies for addressing the identified issues and risks. For more information on the DoD Report, please see…