Global Defense Developments

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have proposed regulations setting out a new requirement for certain U.S. persons that are the ultimate parent of a multinational group (a “U.S. MNE group”) having annual revenue of at least $850 million to file an annual report (the “CbC report”).  The CbC report would contain information on a country-by-country basis related to the U.S. MNE group’s income and taxes paid, together with certain indicators of the location of economic activity within the U.S. MNE group.  The CbC report helps to accomplish the goals of the Organisation for Economic co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS).
Continue Reading The Treasury Department and IRS Request Comments on a Potential National Security Exception for Country-by-Country Tax Reporting

DoD held a public meeting on its Network Penetration and Cloud Computing Interim Rule on December 14.  The meeting was well-attended by small and large companies alike, as well as their technical and legal advisors (including ourselves).  Speakers included representatives from the DoD GC and CIO organization, as well as DIB and the DAR Council. 

On December 4, DoD, GSA and NASA issued an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement sections of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to prohibit the Federal Government from entering into a contract with any corporation having a delinquent Federal tax liability or a felony conviction under Federal law,

On December 2, 2015, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce issued a proposed rule expanding the requirements to report offsets in defense sales agreements. The proposed rule would require companies to report certain offsets in the sale of items controlled in “600 series” Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) on the Commerce Control List (CCL), except for certain submersible and semi-submersible cargo transport vessels and related equipment, software, and technology controlled in ECCN 8A620.b, 8B620.b, 8D620.b, and 8E620.b.
Continue Reading BIS Expands Offset Reporting Requirements in Defense Sales to Include Sales of Items Controlled in “600 Series”

On September 2, 2015, the US Government announced the imposition of measures including the following against Rosoboronexport (ROE) (Russia) and any successor, sub-unit, or subsidiary thereof: “No department or agency of the United States Government may procure or enter into any contract for the procurement of any goods, technology, or services from [Rosoboronexport (ROE) (Russia) and any successor, sub-unit, or subsidiary thereof], except to the extent that the Secretary of State otherwise may determine . . . .”

In a Federal Register notice issued today, the US Government decided to modify the measure described above against ROE and any successor, sub-unit, or subsidiary.   Specifically, the US Government decided that sanctions set forth above shall not apply to subcontracts at any tier with ROE and any successor, sub-unit, or subsidiary thereof made on behalf of the US Government for goods, technology, and services for the maintenance, repair, overhaul, or sustainment of Mi-17 helicopters for the purpose of providing assistance to the security forces of Afghanistan, as well as for the purpose of combating terrorism and violent extremism globally. 
Continue Reading Sanctions Partially Removed on Russian Entity to Allow Maintenance Subcontracts for Mi-17 Helicopters used in USG Programs

In light of recent events related to Syria, it is possible that companies will be approached by entities seeking to arm or otherwise assist the Syrian opposition or the Kurdish Peshmerga.  We remind companies subject to the ITAR that there are significant compliance issues associated with such transfers, whether directly to the opposition or the

On November 18, DoD issued PGI available for the August 26, 2015 DFARS final rule that we summarized here.  Additional information is below:

The rule continues to attract much attention in industry, particularly because many of the definitions are ambiguous and because it was effective immediately for