Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Impact of Dueling Tech Regulations and Escalating Tensions on Cross-Border Transactions

Please join us for Part Two of a series of discussions focused on the increasing impact of national security concerns on the information and communication technology supply chain and critical infrastructure, and how those issues are affecting the United States’ relationships with China and other key trading partners. This installment will address these developments from non-U.S. perspectives and provide concrete advice to help companies understand what they need to reduce their risk in this new environment.

Recent actions by the U.S. government have arguably escalated tensions between China and the United States as the “tech cold war” intensifies. Targeted trade controls that increasingly restrict the transfer of technology and regulatory bodies, the strengthening of regulatory bodies that protect critical infrastructure from foreign investment and supply chain compromises, and efforts aimed at reshoring global supply chains have left companies scrambling to update their compliance programs and reassess their business strategies. China has responded in kind, issuing its own export controls, a draft law targeted at protecting personal information, and investing heavily in developing its own technologies in order to decrease reliance on the United States. Stuck in between are U.S. allies grappling with competing incentives offered by the two jurisdictions while also trying to attract companies seeking to “nearshore” their operations closer to the U.S. market.

The discussion will feature Ambassador Robert Holleyman from the firm’s Washington, DC office, Evan Chuck from the firm’s Los Angeles office, and Vassilis Akritidis, who recently joined the firm’s Brussels office. The webinar will be moderated by Caroline Brown, who recently joined Crowell & Moring after spending 10 years as a national security attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Treasury Department.

Continuing Legal Education — We will provide a certificate of attendance and other materials to use in seeking continuing education credits.