Tag: Brent Carlson

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E08 – Responding to Congressional Inquiries

Mike & Brent react to recent media reports of several congressional committees demanding information from U.S. companies. They revisit their March 14, 2024, NYU PCCE blog post, “”Expect Some Illumination”: A Fresh Look at U.S. Congressional Hearings in the Era of Sanctions and Export Controls as the New FCPA” (01:21), then discuss common pitfalls to avoid when providing information to Congress, including the importance of thinking critically about how your data could be interpreted and used by Congress (02:28), how information provided by Congress can be shared across the U.S. federal government (03:38), the danger of being distracted by political theater (04:13), the value of having a “red team” (or “blue team,” depending on your political leanings) vet your data with hostile eyes before sending data to Congress (06:48), anticipating and preempting difficult questions that the data might raise (08:06), keeping in mind the geopolitical context (09:05), ensuring that investor relations and communications coordinate with legal and compliance regarding public statements (10:30), and the oversight role of boards of directors (12:49). They conclude with another installment, still by popular demand, of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” (14:05).

Resources: 

Mike & Brent’s Prior NYU PCCE Post

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E07 – Clarity from Chaos: U.S. Export Controls Enforcement Signals & What to Do About Them

Mike & Brent connect the dots between the Administration’s signals regarding U.S. export control enforcement, recent media reports, and how trade compliance teams can best prepare for what comes next. They discuss the overall climate of uncertainty (01:03), an April 8, 2025 report by Reuters about a potential large U.S. export controls fine in the works (01:35), how companies can best respond to a counterparty being put on the U.S. Bureau of Industry & Security’s “Entity List” (05:47), how to respond to U.S. government outreach or administrative subpoenas (07:27), an April 10, 2025 report by Export Compliance Daily about a potential uptick in administrative subpoenas (11:39), their prior “Fresh Looks” post on responding to government inquiries (13:51), and conclude with another installment of Brent Carlson’s “Managing-Up” (17:38).

Resources: 

Reuters article: Karen Freifeld, “Exclusive: TSMC could face $1 billion or more fine from US probe, sources say,” Reuters (Apr. 8, 2025)

Export Compliance Daily: Ian Cohen, “Gov’t May Be Issuing More Export Control-Related Subpoenas, Industry Lawyer Says,” ECD (Apr. 10, 2025) (subscription required)

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E06 – FRESH LOOKS – Export Controls Risk Assessments

Mike & Brent return to their prior “Fresh Looks” series to highlight their September 28, 2023, post on NYU Law School’s Program on Corporate Compliance & Enforcement blog, Know Your Customer, But Also Yourself: A Fresh Look at Sanctions & Export Controls Risk Assessments in the Era of the “New FCPA.” Mike & Brent discuss the post’s inspiration (01:22), the importance of conducting risk assessments that are both holistic and dynamic (03:20), how such risk assessments help companies and internal trade compliance professionals (07:44), the collective knowledge doctrine (09:41), the importance of the “battlefield effect” (10:22), the role for boards of directors and c-suite management (13:41), and conclude with the next installment of Brent Carlson’s popular segment, “Managing-Up” (17:30).

Resources:

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E05 – The Knowledge “Glass Onion” for U.S. Export Controls

Mike & Brent update listeners on the America First Trade Policy Section 4(c) Report Executive Summary (01:05) before previewing their forthcoming “Glass Onion” article in WorldECR magazine about the various layers of the “knowledge” standard under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (03:18), including “actual knowledge” (07:23), “reason to know” (08:44), and “awareness of a high probability” (09:39). Mike & Brent then discuss relevant guidance from the U.S. Bureau of Industry & Security (12:44), parallels to U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement (13:30), how the “high probability” standard is becoming the new national security enforcement paradigm (14:56), and key takeaways for trade compliance professionals (16:49) before wrapping up with yet another edition of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” segment (19:07).

Mike & Brent’s new “Glass Onion” article (subscription required): [link forthcoming!]

Resources:

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E04 – FRESH LOOKS: Export Controls Penalties

In Episode 4, Mike and Brent revisit another of their prior “Fresh Looks” posts on the NYU Law School’s Program on Corporate Compliance & Enforcement (“PCCE”) blog. This one concerns export control penalties and what to make of recent statements attributed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler. Mike and Brent discuss the context for the original November 14, 2023, post (00:30), how historical FCPA penalties compared to U.S. export controls penalties prior to the April 2023 Seagate resolution (01:26), what current official statements and enforcement trends mean for c-suites and boards (02:59), a recent Export Compliance Daily article regarding internal BIS discussions about enforcement priorities (04:57), how to prepare (07:23) for high probability-based enforcement (08:52), the role of the DOJ’s National Security Division (11:01), and conclude with Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” segment (12:30).

Resources:

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E03 – FRESH LOOKS: Loopholes and Liability Pitfalls

Mike & Brent revisit Brent’s original August 25, 2023, “Fresh Looks” post, “When Loopholes Create Liability Pitfalls: A Fresh Look at Export Controls.” They discuss what inspired Brent to write the article (00:40), the Inspur Group controversy (05:38), what legacy perspectives were missing about the compliance and enforcement risks (08:25), and parallels to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement (12:16), why Mike initially hated Brent’s article (13:19), how the risks that Brent highlighted in August 2023 are still relevant today (17:29), the key takeaways for trade compliance professionals (18:29), and the return by popular demand of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” segment on what trade compliance should explain to stakeholders, management, and boards about the risks identified in Brent’s article (20:41).

Check out Episode 2 for more on Secretary Lutnick’s March 18, 2025, remarks at the BIS Update conference (see the show notes for additional reporting)

Resources:

Brent’s NYU PCCE Post

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

Categories
Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E02 – Lutnick: “We Have Had Enough”

Mike and Brent discuss remarks at the Bureau of Industry & Security’s “Update” Conference that started today in Washington, DC (00:00), specifically Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick’s statement that he would take a hard line against China (02:18), including a “dramatic increase” in enforcement (04:01) and fines (13:45). In the returning segment “Brent Carlson’s Managing-Up,” Brent identifies key takeaways for trade compliance professionals to share with stakeholders, management, and boards (15:31).

Resources:

The New York Times’ initial report by Ana Swanson about Secretary Lutnick’s Statements 

Ian Cohen’s Subsequent Reporting for Export Compliance Daily 

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

Categories
Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E01 – DeepSeek’s Deep Impact on Export Controls

In the launch of Red Flags Rising, Mike and Brent explain the concept and purpose of the pod (00:00), a recent report by Gregory C. Allen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies on “DeepSeek, Huawei, Export Controls, and the Future of the U.S.-China AI Race” (linked below) (01:43), the report’s emphasis on backing strong regulations with strong enforcement (04:49) and the recently rediscovered “high probability” knowledge standard under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (06:50), whether and how the Commerce Department’s enforcement capability is impacted by recent policy and personnel decisions (11:00), parallels to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (13:54), and conclude with the first-ever “Brent Carlson on Managing Up” segment, providing practical tips on what trade compliance professionals can do to explain to stakeholders, the c-suite, and boards the value proposition of export controls compliance today (19:43).

Resources:

Gregory C. Allen’s Report

Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

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All Things Investigations

All Things Investigations – DeepSeek’s AI Revolution: Implications for Compliance and Security

Welcome to the Hughes Hubbard Anti-Corruption & Internal Investigations Practice Group’s podcast, All Things Investigation. In this podcast, host Tom Fox is joined by HHR Partner Mike Huneke and Brent Carlson from the Berkeley Research Group.

Brent Carlson and Mike Huneke review the recent DeepSeek AI announcement, which has stirred significant debate in the business and compliance sectors. Brent views this development as a “Sputnik moment” in the technology space, highlighting both the exciting potential and the profound implications for national security and corporate strategy, particularly due to the dual-use nature of AI technologies. On the other hand, Mike has expressed concern over the contentious debates surrounding export controls, emphasizing the necessity for robust compliance frameworks to mitigate liability risks and adapt to the evolving AI landscape. Together, they stress the importance of incorporating high probability standards and reliable inputs into compliance programs to effectively navigate the complex challenges of advanced AI technologies like DeepSeek, ensuring corporate citizenship and strategic advantage in this new era.

Key highlights:

  • Groundbreaking AI Progress Raises National Security Concerns
  • AI Market Disruption by DeepSeek Technology
  • High Probability Standard in Export Control Compliance
  • Subjective Judgment in Compliance Risk Assessment Framework
  • Red Flag Detection with Data Analytics Tools

Resources:

Hughes Hubbard & Reed website

Brent Carlson on LinkedIn

A Fresh Look at US Export Controls and Sanctions

DeepSeek Finds US Export Controls at a New ‘Sputnik Moment’ in Bloomberg Law

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FCPA Compliance Report

FCPA Compliance Report – DeepSeek and the Sputnik Moment

Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, Tom welcomes back Mike Huneke and Brent Carlson for a special two-part podcast series on DeepSeek’s bombshell AI advancements announced on President Trump’s inauguration day. In Part 1, we reviewed the business and compliance implications, and in Part 2, they consider the Sputnik Moment that has occurred.

In this episode, we delve into the concept of the ‘Sputnik moment’ as it relates to the global race to dominate artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the 21st century. Our discussion highlights AI’s economic and military applications and its significance for the United States. The conversation touches on the role of compliance, enforcement, and the evolving regulatory landscape, including recent developments like the AI diffusion framework. The episode also explores the increasing responsibilities placed on U.S. companies and their compliance teams, especially concerning export controls and national security standards.

Key highlights:

  • Economic and Military Implications of AI
  • Compliance and Enforcement Challenges
  • The Role of Compliance Teams
  • Board of Directors’ Responsibilities

Resources:

Mike Huneke

Hughes Hubbard & Reed website

Brent Carlson on LinkedIn

A Fresh Look at US Export Controls and Sanctions

DeepSeek Finds US Export Controls at a New ‘Sputnik Moment’ in Bloomberg.Law

Tom Fox

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