Public Relations Firm Granted Lobbying FARA Exemption for Section 232 Advocacy, DOJ Reveals
A U.S. public relations firm was granted a Lobbying Disclosure Act exemption to the Foreign Agents Registration Act for its work on behalf of the U.S. subsidiary of a foreign corporation relating to the Section 232 national security tariffs, the…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Department of Justice revealed in a FARA Advisory Opinion. Since the firm is not representing the interests of a foreign government, it was able to skirt the required FARA registration in its work seeking Section 232 tariff relief for the company. While a foreign government may indirectly benefit from the described activities, the activities clearly benefit [U.S. subsidiary of foreign corporation]’s commercial interests," the opinion said. "Accordingly, we do not dispute your claim that the LDA exemption applies." The firm and the subsidiary, along with the foreign corporation, are not named.