Category: Anthony Rapa

BIS Rescinds 2024 Firearms Export Controls, Reduces Regulatory Burdens on U.S. Firearms Industry

Anthony Rapa and Patrick F. Collins ●

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a final rule on September 30, 2025, rescinding the 2024 interim final rule (“Firearms IFR”) under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) that had imposed new export license requirements and restrictions on firearms, ammunition, and related items. The new rule restores export controls for these items to their pre-May 2024 status, with the exception of maintaining certain new Export Control Classification Numbers (“ECCNs”). The action is intended to reduce regulatory burdens on U.S. firearms exporters while maintaining appropriate controls to protect national security and foreign policy interests.

Background

BIS issued the Firearms IFR on April 30, 2024, tightening controls on commercial firearms, ammunition, and related items under the EAR. It created four new ECCNs for semi-automatic rifles, pistols, shotguns, and certain parts (0A506-0A509) on the Commerce Control List (“CCL”). It also applied broad crime-control licensing worldwide, shortened license validity to one year, curtailed certain license exceptions, and adopted presumptions of denial for non-government end users in 36 high-risk destinations.

The Firearms IFR followed a 2023 licensing pause and policy review that identified significant diversion and misuse of U.S.-origin guns abroad. BIS used the Firearms IFR to act swiftly while soliciting public comment on further refinements.

Continue reading “BIS Rescinds 2024 Firearms Export Controls, Reduces Regulatory Burdens on U.S. Firearms Industry”

U.S. Department of State Eases Military Drone Export Review Policy

Anthony Rapa and Patrick F. Collins ●

The U.S. Department of State (“State”) announced an update to its miliary drone export review policy on September 15, 2025, pursuant to which advanced unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”) will be subject to an export control policy similar to that of crewed aircraft, rather than more restrictive review applicable to missiles. Key takeaways include:

1. Policy Shift: Drones Reviewed Like Fighter Jets, Not Missiles

State announced that pursuant to the policy change, it will consider requests to export UAS similarly to how it reviews requests to export crewed fighter aircraft, rather than as missile systems. This marks a departure from the longstanding application of the Missile Technology Control Regime (“MTCR”) to exports of certain UAS, which imposed a strong presumption against the transfer of large, weaponizable drones due to their range and payload capabilities and provided for rigorous review of other UAS transfers.

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Hybrid Event: Export Controls Amid Evolving Trump 2.0 Trade Dynamics: Policy Updates and Best Practices

April 29, 2025
12:00–2:00 p.m.
McLean, Virginia, or online

Blank Rome partners Anthony Rapa, partner & co-chair of the International Trade group, and Justin A. Chiarodo, partner & co-chair of the Government Contracts group, will join Sol Brody (Vice President, International Trade Licensing & Sanctions, BAE Systems, Inc.) to present the Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region’s (“ACC NCR”) hybrid event, “Export Controls Amid Evolving Trump 2.0 Trade Dynamics: Policy Updates and Best Practices,” on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. The event will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in McLean, Virginia, with a virtual participation option available.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

This hybrid (in-person and online) program will cover up-to-the minute developments in the export controls landscape, one of the linchpins of the Trump administration’s national security strategy and “America First” trade policy. This will include the latest regarding semiconductor export controls, controls relating to emerging technologies, China-focused restrictions, anticipated Russia-related developments, ramped-up government enforcement, and best practices in an ever-changing environment.

For more information and to register, please visit the registration page and select the “Speaker/Panelist” registration option to register for free.

BIS Issues New Export Controls Targeting GAAFET, Quantum, and Additive Manufacturing, and Ushers in New Age of Plurilateral Export Controls: 5 Key Takeaways

Anthony Rapa, Alan G. Kashdan, and Brendan S. Saslow ●

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) recently issued an interim final rule (“IFR”) under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) imposing licensing requirements for exports to all destinations worldwide of certain gate all-around field effect transistor (“GAAFET”) technology, quantum computing items, advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment (“SME”), additive manufacturing equipment, and aerospace coating systems technology.

The new measures are notable not only for their restrictive application to all destinations in the world—an unusual type of control under the EAR—but also for their institution of a new license exception, “Implemented Export Controls” (“IEC”), that allows for exports of the newly controlled items to specified “like-minded” countries that have instituted comparable export controls that are harmonized with U.S. controls.

The new controls are effective immediately as of September 6, 2024, with the exception of controls over certain quantum items, which take effect November 5, 2024, the cutoff date for public comment on the IFR.

Read the full client alert on our website.

3 Takeaways from Recent U.S. Regulatory Actions Implementing AUKUS

Anthony Rapa, George T. Boggs, Justin A. Chiarodo, and Dimitri DeChurch-Silva ●

As a next step in the U.S. government’s implementation of the trilateral AUKUS security pact with Australia and the United Kingdom (“UK”), the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) recently took measures to further ease export controls among the member countries. Reducing export control restrictions is the linchpin to implementing the AUKUS pact, which aims to bolster security cooperation and defense trade between Australia, the UK, and the United States.

While DDTC stopped short of concretely scaling back export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), it proposed a framework to do so in the coming year (likely to turn on Australia and the UK completing the adoption of ITAR-equivalent export controls and exemptions). Meanwhile, BIS lifted a range of controls under the Export Administration Regulations, placing Australia and the UK on nearly equal footing with Canada.

Read the full client alert on our website.

New U.S. Russia Sanctions Target Financial Support of Military-Industrial Base and Expand Ban of Seafood Imports

Anthony Rapa, George T. Boggs, Alan G. Kashdan, and Matthew J. Thomas ●

The Biden Administration recently issued the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia, focusing on (1) secondary sanctions applicable to foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) that engage in certain transactions in support of Russia’s military-industrial base, and (2) the importation into the United States of certain Russian-origin seafood processed in third countries. The U.S. sanctions, issued December 22, 2023, follow the European Union’s twelfth package of sanctions against Russia, imposed on December 18, 2023.

As a result of the new sanctions, it will be important for FFIs to conduct export controls-related due diligence for any transaction with potential Russia exposure and for U.S. seafood importers to engage in supply chain tracing to ensure that imported products are not prohibited.

To effectuate the sanctions, President Biden issued a new executive order (“EO”) amending EO 14024 (providing for the imposition of sanctions against certain categories of Russia-related persons) and EO 14068 (prohibiting certain Russia-related imports, exports, and new investment). Furthermore, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a determination (the “Critical Items Determination”) identifying categories of goods triggering secondary sanctions risks for FFIs and a determination (the “Seafood Determination”) identifying categories of seafood processed in third countries that are prohibited for import.

To read the full client alert, please visit our website. 

PLI Chronicle: Towards a “Reverse CFIUS”? President Biden’s Executive Order on Outbound Investment and Related Congressional Proposals

Anthony Rapa ● PLI Chronicle: Insights and Perspectives for the Legal Community ● September 22, 2023 ●

Should the U.S. government regulate U.S. investments in other countries?

The Biden Administration resoundingly answered that question in the affirmative on August 9, 2023, when the President issued an executive order (EO) providing for official oversight of certain U.S. tech-related investments in China and Chinese-linked companies. The EO followed years of national security experts and congressional leadership calling for the regulation of U.S. investment in China and other countries of concern, and came amidst intensive efforts by Congress to legislate in the area.

To continue reading, visit our website.

10 Key Takeaways: Biden Administration Sets the Stage for Regulation of U.S. Investments in China

Anthony Rapa, George T. Boggs, and Alan G. Kashdan ●


President Biden recently issued an executive order (“EO”) establishing a framework to regulate certain U.S. investments with a nexus to China, taking initial steps towards what eventually could be unprecedented regulation of outbound U.S. investment. Specifically, the order directs the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) to issue regulations requiring notification of, and in some cases outright prohibition of, certain U.S. investments in Chinese and Chinese-owned companies relating to semiconductors, quantum technology, and artificial intelligence. The EO also covers investments in Hong Kong and Macau.

Concurrent with the August 9, 2023, executive order, Treasury unveiled an “Outbound Investment Program” website, along with a fact sheet and an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”).

In the months ahead, it will be critical for observers to keep apprised of Congress’s reaction to President Biden’s EO and Treasury’s ANPRM, especially among members who have been particularly involved in advancing legislation on outbound investment. Congress may yet legislate on the issue, and such legislation could differ in scope from the Biden Administration’s executive action.

This alert provides background regarding the Biden Administration’s executive action, along with 10 key takeaways.

Background

Geopolitical risk commentators have anticipated an EO relating to U.S. outbound investment for some time, based on policymakers’ stated concerns around the role of U.S. investment capital in developing sensitive technologies in China. Proposals in this context have tended to focus on the establishment of a multi-agency body (akin to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) to review outbound investment in sensitive technologies or “critical capabilities” with a nexus to certain countries of concern, including China.

To read the full client alert, please visit our website. 

Proposed Bill Would Amend the Arms Export Control Act and Establish AUKUS Advisor and Task Force: 3 Highlights

Anthony Rapa and Patrick F. Collins ●

On July 19, 2023, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill to ease trade restrictions among parties to the AUKUS agreement—a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. House Republicans separately have proposed granting the UK and Australia blanket exemptions from requirements under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), while a proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Action for Fiscal Year 2024 from Senate Democrats stops short of blanket exemptions. The McCaul bill offers a compromise—it amends the Arms Export Control Act (“AECA”) to allow the President to exempt select exports of defense items from licensing requirements for countries that meet certain conditions, and requires the U.S. State Department to appoint a senior AUKUS advisor and establish an AUKUS task force.

Background

The AUKUS agreement, initially announced in September 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines and deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with the United States and UK. A White House fact sheet highlights the agreement’s other goals, including cooperation on cyber capabilities, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, electronic warfare, and undersea capabilities.

Continue reading “Proposed Bill Would Amend the Arms Export Control Act and Establish AUKUS Advisor and Task Force: 3 Highlights”

6 Key Takeaways from the CFIUS 2022 Annual Report

Anthony Rapa, George T. Boggs, and Alan G. Kashdan ●


The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) recently released the unclassified version of its statutorily mandated annual report to Congress, covering calendar year 2022. Viewed in the context of prior CFIUS reports to Congress, the report, released July 31, 2023, highlights key trends in the U.S. government’s review of inbound foreign investment, including a record number of filings, increased investigations, and the emergence of Singapore as a top investor domicile. Overall, the report makes clear that CFIUS continues to play an active and robust role in reviewing proposed investments in U.S. businesses, and dealmakers should account for this from the outset of deal planning.

Here are six key takeaways from the CFIUS annual report:

  1. CFIUS Reviewed a Record Number of Filings, Even as M&A Activity Slowed

CFIUS reviewed 440 filings (154 short-form declarations and 286 full joint voluntary notices) in 2022, a slight increase over the prior record of 436 filings that CFIUS reviewed in 2021. This is particularly notable given the slowdown in M&A deals in the second half of 2022.

The record number of filings is reflective of robust engagement with the CFIUS process by foreign investors, as investors become more familiar with the process and as CFIUS makes clear that it will vigorously safeguard U.S. national security in reviewing investments. Notably, the record-high filings came in the midst of intensified public engagement regarding CFIUS review in 2022, including a presidential executive order, issuance of the first-ever CFIUS enforcement guidelines, and the inaugural Treasury Department CFIUS conference.

To read the full client alert, please visit our website. 

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