On February 28, 2023, the Commerce Department released the first Notice of Funding Opportunity (“First NOFO”) under the recently enacted CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS Act), P.L. 117-167. The First NOFO seeks applications for assistance—including direct funding, loans, and loan guarantees—for projects to construct, expand, or modernize commercial semiconductor facilities.
Government Relief From COVID-19 Impacts on Federal Contracts and Grants
March 23, 2020
In the last several days, the federal government released a number of guidance documents designed to ease the impacts of COVID-19 on government contractors and grantees. The guidance is summarized below:
Contractors:
New Rules Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods Impact E-Commerce
On January 31, 2020, the Trump administration issued an executive order cracking down on U.S. businesses that import directly or facilitate the import of counterfeit or pirated goods, illegal narcotics and other contraband. The order, entitled “Ensuring Safe & Lawful E-Commerce for US Consumers, Business, Government Supply Chains and Intellectual Property Rights,” directs
Federal Circuit Confirms Qualification as a “U.S.-Made End Product” under the TAA, Does Not Require Substantial Transformation in the U.S.
Today, in Acetris Health, LLC v. United States, the Federal Circuit held that a pharmaceutical manufactured in the United States qualified for sale, under the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA), to the Department of Veterans Affairs even though the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) came from a non-designated country, India.
In reaching this decision,
DOJ Centralizes Guidance on “The Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs”
On April 30, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division issued an updated version of the “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” guidance originally published by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in February 2017. The update is more of a consolidation of various compliance program evaluation sources under the broader Criminal Division umbrella
Great Again – Making it in the USA Just Got Easier
On July 16, 2018, the Court of Federal Claims released a far-reaching decision in Acetris Health, LLC v. United States, concluding that a drug could qualify as a “U.S.-made end product” under the Trade Agreements clause, FAR 52.225-5, despite a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ruling under the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), that
UNCLE SAM SHOWS BLOCKCHAIN SOME LOVE
On Valentine’s Day, two subcommittees of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a joint hearing on the potential application of blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency and financial technology. This hearing highlights the U.S. Government’s growing interest in blockchain, a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that has powered platforms for secure and decentralized transactions. While