Since the Trump election, the subject of extra-territorial application of national law
– in particular U.S. law – has received considerable attention. This is so because the
U.S. administration increasingly uses this legal tool to enforce its foreign policy
interests. A legal area with a particularly strong reach of extra-territoriality is U.S.
export controls as this allows the U.S. to control foreign states’ business. A very
recent and vivid example is the Huawei trade ban by the U.S. The purpose of this
article is to show the (harsh) legal and economic effects, which the extra-territorial
application of U.S. export-related laws have on international trade.
The article will focus on the approach taken by the U.S. to impose its export controls
outside the U.S. It will analyze the legal framework of extra-territorial U.S. export
controls and explore to which extent the U.S. laws apply to foreign business, i.e.,
business outside the U.S. The article will define the cases in which foreign companies
are subject to U.S. export controls and therefore must comply with U.S. regulations.
It will show that the applicability of U.S. export controls to foreign companies and
their business is considerably broad. It rigorously controls the destiny of U.S. origin
products and components once they have been exported from U.S. territory and also
regulates the worldwide export of products that have been manufactured by using
U.S. technology. In addition, U.S. export controls impose economic sanctions on
countries (e.g., Iran) or companies (e.g., Huawei) and prohibit foreign companies
from doing business with these sanctioned parties.
Understanding U.S. export controls and its extra-territorial reach are a challenge for
foreign companies. It is a rather complex legal system that requires deeper
knowledge of the underlying concept. However, foreign companies are well advised
to comply with U.S. export controls, as the penalties for violations can be severe,
including millions of dollars in fines and even imprisonment. In addition, the U.S.
may blacklist foreign companies with the effect that business with the U.S. or
elsewhere is no longer possible. Therefore, understanding U.S. export controls and
its extra-territorial reach is vital to foreign companies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:72843 |
| Date | 20 November 2020 |
| Creators | Haellmigk, Philip |
| Publisher | Universität Leipzig, University of Miami |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-728409, qucosa:72840 |
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