Export Controls and Economic Sanctions

In Depth

Cooley’s export controls and economic sanctions team advises clients across industries in connection with US, UK and European Union export controls and sanctions, as well as anti-boycott, anti-corruption and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) issues. Our technology-focused platform makes us uniquely experienced with respect to existing and evolving controls on advanced technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI), encryption, semiconductors, advanced computing, medical innovations, cryptocurrency and space. The laws and regulations we deal with are industry-agnostic, with broad and often extraterritorial reach. We represent clients ranging from seed-stage startups to global public companies and understand that each client presents its own unique business challenges and risks. Our clients include:

• Advanced technology developers’ manufacturers, including of semiconductor products and equipment, robotics and space-related items
• Software companies, including in the AI and machine learning sectors
• Cloud services providers
• Contract manufacturers
• Life sciences companies, including medical device manufacturers, drug discovery and therapeutics platforms, and clinical research organizations
• Venture capital and private equity funds
• Global investors
• Cryptocurrency and Web3 platforms
• Financial services companies
• Education sector companies, including edtech and US colleges and universities
• Aerospace and defense companies
• US and foreign manufacturers and providers of defense articles and services
• Spacetech companies

Cooley’s export controls and economic sanctions team is part of our CooleyREG offering, through which we combine an understanding of the impact of disruptive advancements – and the regulatory issues that impose risk and slow progress – to help our clients navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

Areas of practice

• Advise clients across industries and technology sectors in connection with a broad range of complex export controls and sanctions laws and regulations – including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations, nuclear export control regulations administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, and UK and EU sanctions, trade and export controls regimes.
• Lead high-stakes internal investigations of suspected or confirmed issues of noncompliance, draft voluntary disclosures, develop appropriate remedial measures, and coordinate with government regulators to obtain favorable dispositions for clients in a range of industries.
• Represent clients in connection with civil and criminal enforcement matters.
• Support engineering teams in classifying advanced technologies of exports to achieve regulatory compliance and determine filing requirements under CFIUS regulations and other international investment screening regimes (like the UK National Security and Investment Act) to mitigate national security risks.
• Conduct transactional due diligence in connection with high-stakes mergers and acquisitions matters, negotiate appropriate representations, warranties and closing conditions, and support post-acquisition integration.
• Develop and pursue license applications in various jurisdictions, along with commodity jurisdiction (CJ) and commodity classification (CCATS) requests and advisory opinions.
• Conduct global risk assessments and internal compliance audits.
• Develop and support the implementation of risk-based policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with applicable export controls, sanctions, and anti-corruption laws and regulations.
• Provide customized compliance training.