Executive Orders
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Proposed NEPA Regulations Would Streamline Analysis and Eliminate Cumulative Impacts01.14/Alert
On January 10, 2020, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (85 Fed. Reg. 1684) announcing major proposed revisions to the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The revisions propose sweeping streamlining and modernizing changes to the environmental review and permitting process for federal projects, including many infrastructure and energy projects. Most significantly, the proposal would eliminate the need to study a project’s cumulative or indirect environmental effects; exclude many projects from NEPA review; and shorten the time for completing NEPA review and approvals. The proposed changes mark the first comprehensive update to the NEPA regulations in over 40 years.
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Trump Administration Considering Use of IEEPA To Restrict U.S. Technology Transfer to China04.12/Blog
Reports suggest that the Trump Administration may declare an emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to grant the CFIUS authority to review technology transfer transactions even where there is no transfer of “control.”
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U.S. Targets Human Rights Abusers and Corrupt Actors Worldwide – Key Takeaways from the Potent New Sanctions01.10/Blog
Executive Order 13818 authorizes the imposition of sanctions on individuals worldwide connected with “serious human rights abuse,” corruption, or “the transfer or the facilitation of the transfer of the proceeds of corruption.” Here is what businesses need to know.
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The Trump Administration’s First Steps Toward Streamlining Environmental Reviews12.05/Article
An August Executive Order aims to fast-track federal review of infrastructure projects, including a streamlined environmental review process of projects deemed “high-priority.” Recent actions taken by the Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of the Interior indicate what that might look like.
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U.S. DOT Releases Draft Strategic Plan Beginning Implementation of Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Project Streamlining10.27/Blog
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a draft Strategic Plan that establishes goals for increasing investment and streamlining environmental review and approval of transportation infrastructure projects over the next five years. The draft Plan is DOT’s first formal action in response to the Administration’s Executive Order on streamlining. Although it identifies needs and objectives it provides few specifics.
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Council on Environmental Quality Takes First Step to Implement Trump Executive Order on Streamlining Federal Environmental Reviews09.25/Blog
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which oversees federal agency compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, has announced a list of planned actions to implement President Trump’s Executive Order on streamlining federal environmental reviews. While the Order and CEQ notice have launched a process that could transform federal environmental reviews and approvals, they provide few specifics, and their impact remains to be seen.
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President Trump Issues Executive Order Blocking Proposed Acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor09.13/Blog
For only the fourth time in 30 years, the President blocked the proposed acquisition of a U.S. company following a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The alert explains the reasoning behind the Executive Order that prevented a Chinese consortium from acquiring a U.S. semiconductor company at a time when concerns about Chinese investment in the United States are growing.
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New Executive Order Imposes Further Sanctions on Venezuela08.25/Blog
On August 25, President Trump issued an Executive Order providing for sanctions against the Government of Venezuela targeting certain long-term financial transactions, similar to existing sanctions on the Russian petroleum sector. The Order does not restrict imports or exports of oil, and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued several general licenses that provide for specific permitted activities.
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Time Will Tell If Trump Infrastructure Executive Order Shortens Federal Reviews08.22/Alert
On August 15, President Trump issued an Executive Order that seeks to streamline federal environmental review and approvals of major infrastructure projects by imposing new timelines and procedures. Key provisions create a two-year deadline for completing review and issuing authorizations.
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How Companies Can Take Advantage of President Trump’s Plan to Roll Back Federal Energy Regulation05.10/Audio
President Trump’s March 28 Executive Order requires every federal agency and Department to identify and potentially suspend, rescind, or relax federal regulations, policies, prior agency orders and guidelines that impede U.S. energy development or use. In this roundtable discussion, Sheila Harvey, Jeffrey Merrifield, Matthew Morrison and Andrew Weissman examine the implications of the Executive Order and how it could affect businesses in 2017 and beyond.
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DC Lawyer: Trump Executive Order ‘Literally Applies to Everything’ the Federal Government Does with Energy Development04.07/Video
Washington, DC Energy senior counsel Andrew Weissman told The Washington Post that legal professionals and industry experts, among others, are just beginning to grasp the scope of the March 28 order. According to Weissman, the order has far-reaching effects on “almost every environmental regulation that affects energy in any way,” in addition to non-environmental regulations.
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How Does a Freeze in Federal Hiring Affect Patent Examination Timelines?03.13/Blog
While such a hiring freeze may not have an immediate impact on patent application pendency and/or examination quality, due to the relatively high attrition rate of the patent examining corps, the examination timeline and quality may be affected in the future. In particular, technologies having greater upfront value, including internet-based technologies and platforms, and clients relying on patent portfolios for valuation will be most acutely impacted