Tag: Export Controls

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E13 – Dana W. White on U.S. National Security & Export Controls

Mike and Brent welcome Dana W. White, Managing Partner at the Juno Collective, to share her thoughts and analysis on China and U.S. export controls, drawing on her extensive career in public service, including various national security-related roles. Mike, Brent, and Dana discuss Dana’s national security background (00:49), what happens “behind the scenes” that leads to U.S. agencies determining national security threats exists (02:28), how knowledge-sharing is both the strength and the Achilles’ heel of free societies (06:11), how U.S. businesses and business leaders play an important part in our national security (07:26), the challenge of finding reliable data points from which to infer export controls compliance risks (09:37), what business leaders should understand about how the relationship between the U.S. and China is different today than when China joined the World Trade Organization (11:21), how Dana and the Juno Collective help clients to understand and mitigate risks (13:46), and the common pitfalls companies face when responding to inquiries by the U.S. Congress (18:45). They conclude with yet another segment of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” (20:23).

Resources:

More about Dana W. White and the Juno Collective: https://www.juno-collective.com/about

Contact Dana W. White: dana@juno-collective.com

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Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E11 – Point-Counterpoint – U.S. Export Controls Policy

Mike & Brent return with a point-counterpoint episode on U.S. export control policy. After discussing the latest news about U.S. AI export controls (01:03), they discuss the points and counterpoints related to whether we should have export controls at all (04:57), the relevance of the national security justifications offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce in promulgating its regulations (06:52), the lessons of Ukraine battlefield recoveries (09:59), the views of Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, on risk and how to push any industry to a more-compliance mindset (rather than acquiesce to the race to the bottom) (10:44), why Brent shouldn’t talk about the old days of corruption (12:08), and how not only the export controls’ design but also their enforcement by government and compliance efforts by industry are all relevant factors to consider in assessing export controls’ effectiveness (14:53). They conclude with the latest installment of Brent’s “Managing-Up” segment (23:04).

Resources:

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Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E09 – Tariffs: Navigating Uncertainty & Mitigating Enforcement Risk

Mike & Brent jump into tariffs to focus on practical strategies to navigate these uncertain times and mitigate the risk of future enforcement actions. Specifically, they discuss what longer-term geopolitical trends help businesses to plot a strategy despite being whipsawed by tariff news each day (01:57), a recent and helpful Foreign Affairs article, by Emily Kilcrease and Geoffrey Gertz of the Center for a New American Security (03:21), the recent book “Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare” by Edward Fishman and his description of the “impossible triad” between economic interdependence, economic security, and geopolitical competition (04:21), relevant historical background on the rise of China after the Second World War and its current oversupply problem (04:54), how severe pressures on businesses in both the U.S. and China will create white collar compliance risks today and enforcement risks tomorrow (07:42), customs evasion enforcement risk under the U.S. False Claim Act (FCA) and the FCA’s definition of “knowledge” (08:06), the importance of dynamic assessments of customs evasion risks (11:25), potential fines and penalties from U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement (12:54), a deeper dive into the FCA’s “knowledge” standard and its similarities to the “high probability” standard under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (16:14), and practical strategies for companies trying to manage these risks (17:50). Then they conclude with another installment, back by increasing popular demand, of Brent Carlson’s “Managing-Up” segment (20:39).

Resources:

Geoffrey Gertz & Emily Kilcrease, “A World Safe for Prosperity How America Can Foster Economic Security,” Foreign Affairs Magazine

Edward Fishman, “Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare”

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Mike & Brent’s “Fresh Looks” Series

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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

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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)

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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 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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FCPA Compliance Report

FCPA Compliance Report – The Role of Internal Audit in Export Controls

Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running compliance podcast. In this episode, Tom welcomes Jonathan Marks, who discusses the role of internal audit in export control compliance.

Jonathan starts by defining export controls and their significance: regulations governing the export, re-export, and transfer of goods, technology, and services across borders to protect national security and enforce foreign policy. As a Compliance Profession, you should recognize the severe impacts of operational disruptions, supply chain issues, and national security risks resulting from non-compliance, emphasizing the need for comprehensive compliance frameworks. Internal audit responsibilities are expanded, stressing the necessity of robust policies, clear responsibilities, consistent employee training, and thorough risk assessments.

Jonathan discusses practical internal audit strategies, including evaluating high-risk transactions, identifying compliance gaps, and regularly monitoring and testing compliance controls through transaction testing, data analytics, third-party due diligence, and incident response mechanisms. Jonathan underscores the importance of collaboration between internal audit, legal, compliance, and supply chain teams to ensure an integrated and proactive compliance approach, thereby mitigating risks and strengthening corporate governance.

Key highlights:

  • Understanding Export Controls and Compliance
  • Role of Internal Audit in Export Controls
  • Key Areas for Internal Audit Focus
  • Testing and Monitoring Controls

Resources:

Jonathan Marks on LinkedIn

Tom Fox

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