Host Tim O'Toole is joined by guests Melissa Burgess (Counsel at Miller & Chevalier) and Michael Burton (Partner at Jacobsen Burton Kelley) to make their draft picks from a pool of Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) actions in 2025. Throughout the draft, they dissect each other’s choices, issue some compliments, suggest New Year's resolutions for the agency, and propose a new test for BIS agents. Picks include what BIS didn't do in 2025, the Affiliates Rule, and lifting comprehensive sanctions on Syria.

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Thanks to our guests for joining us:

Michael Burton: https://www.jbktradelaw.com/michael-l-burton 

Melissa Burgess: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/melissa-burgess 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

Happy new year from your friends at EMBARGOED! Tim and Miller & Chevalier's Caroline Watson and Collmann Griffin draft the most significant OFAC events of 2025. The draft is three rounds and picks include sanctions relating to Iran, narco-trafficking, Yemen, Russia, Venezuela, Syria, China, and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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Thanks to our guests for joining us:

Collmann Griffin: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/collmann-griffin 

Caroline Watson: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/caroline-j-watson 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

On this episode of EMBARGOED!, host Tim O'Toole is joined by Miller & Chevalier's Collmann Griffin and Claire O'Neill McCleskey, former Head of the OFAC Compliance Division, to discuss sanctions compliance in the shipping industry.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to our guests for joining us: 

Claire O'Neill McCleskey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-o-neill-mccleskey/ 

Collmann Griffin: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/collmann-griffin 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

This week, host Tim O'Toole chats with Damien Spleeters (Conflict Armament Research) and return guest Collmann Griffin (Miller & Chevalier) about how bad actors use sophisticated evasion tactics to circumvent U.S. export controls and sanctions to obtain components America's adversaries need for missiles, drones, and other weapons systems.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to our guests for joining us: 

Damien Spleeters: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damienspleeters/

Collmann Griffin: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/collmann-griffin 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

On this episode of EMBARGOED!, host Tim O'Toole is joined by Matteson Ellis (Latin America Practice Lead at Miller & Chevalier) discuss all the sanctions news from Latin America, with a focus on recent developments in Mexico.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to Matt Ellis for joining us: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/matteson-ellis  

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

On this episode of EMBARGOED!, host Tim O'Toole, Miller & Chevalier Counsel Melissa Burgess and Collmann Griffin, and guest Chris Chamberlain of Morrison & Foerster continue their discussion of AI chip-related export controls, musing about Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) considerations, semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), and the much-anticipated BIS release of a 50 Percent Rule for the Entity List.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to our guests for joining us:

Chris Chamberlain: https://www.mofo.com/people/chris-chamberlain 

Melissa Burgess: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/melissa-burgess 

Collmann Griffin: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/collmann-griffin 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

On this episode of EMBARGOED!, host Tim O'Toole is joined by Miller & Chevalier Counsel Melissa Burgess and Collmann Griffin, and guest Chris Chamberlain of Morrison & Foerster to review the evolution of export controls on AI chips from October 2022 to the present. The discussion explores the variety of tools BIS has employed as it wrestles with tailoring controls, the value of BIS "is informed" letters, and chip diversion.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to our guests for joining us:

Chris Chamberlain: https://www.mofo.com/people/chris-chamberlain 

Melissa Burgess: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/melissa-burgess 

Collmann Griffin: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/collmann-griffin 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

Host Tim O'Toole discusses the latest EU sanctions on Russia with returning guests Collmann Griffin (Miller & Chevalier) and Dr. Tobias Ackermann (BLOMSTEIN). They focus on EU sanctions on Russia imposed that may be stricter than or conflict with their U.S. counterparts.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to our guests for joining us:

Collmann Griffin: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/collmann-griffin 

Dr. Tobias Ackermann: https://www.blomstein.com/en/team/dr-tobias-ackermann 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

On this episode of EMBARGOED! Host Tim O'Toole is joined by guests Melissa Burgess (Miller & Chevalier) and Dr. Tobias Ackerman (BLOMSTEIN) to compare and contrast the foreign investment review regimes in the EU and Germany with the CFIUS process in the U.S.

Roadmap:

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Thanks to our guests for joining us:

Melissa Burgess: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/melissa-burgess

Dr. Tobias Ackermann: https://www.blomstein.com/en/team/dr-tobias-ackermann 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!

Host Tim O'Toole is joined by fellow Miller & Chevalier Member Leah Moushey to unpack the recent conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, an outcome that surprised many given the jury's deadlock on the more severe money laundering and sanctions charges.  

The discussion explores how this case reflects the evolving enforcement landscape at the intersection of crypto, DeFi, and national security. Tim and Leah delve into the broader implications of the verdict including challenges regulators face in applying traditional AML and sanctions frameworks to new technology, including decentralized platforms.

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Thanks to Leah Moushey for joining us: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/leah-moushey 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts. EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes so you don't miss out!