Export controls and sanctions

Managing risks and increasing opportunities in a fast-changing regulatory environment

Engaging in global trade is not just a business decision; it’s a privilege governed by national security and foreign policy considerations. With that privilege comes a set of non-negotiable compliance obligations. But, when approached strategically, trade compliance becomes more than a legal requirement — it becomes a business enabler. A well-managed compliance program can strengthen your organization’s credibility, support sustainable growth, and position you for constructive engagement with policymakers.

Today, the intersection of national security, economic policy, and trade compliance is more complex and consequential than ever. Geopolitical tensions are actively shaping regulatory priorities and agency expectations, making it essential for businesses to stay ahead of the curve.

We’re here to help you do just that — to decode the regulatory landscape, anticipate what’s next, and build a trade compliance program that not only protects your business but also earns you a seat at the table. With the right strategy, you can be a trusted voice in shaping policy and driving meaningful dialogue with regulators. Let’s get started.

Assess
Build
Operate
Address

Assess

Tailored trade compliance assessments that drive action

Our trade compliance assessments are customized to your organization’s specific needs — helping you achieve your goals, from identifying critical gaps to uncovering opportunities for program enhancement. Whether you need broad diagnostics or targeted insights, we deliver clarity, risk mitigation, and strategic direction. We offer:

Program assessments: End-to-end “health checks” that evaluate your entire trade compliance framework — or focused reviews of high-risk transactions, specific program elements, or readiness for new regulatory requirements.
Policy & procedure reviews: In-depth analysis of existing documentation, with support for drafting robust compliance manuals, procedures, and work instructions aligned with current regulatory expectations.
Internal audit support: Partnership with internal audit teams, offering subject matter advice across the audit lifecycle — from designing risk-based workplans to co-sourcing execution, conducting interviews, and performing testing.
M&A trade compliance due dilligence: Operational diligence designed to identify red flags, successor liability concerns, and regulatory risks. We support you through Day One planning and post-close integration to drive seamless compliance continuity.
Regulatory enforcement support: We conduct government-mandated audits tied to enforcement actions, including Settlement Agreements, Consent Agreements, and assessments related to CFIUS transactions. We can help you respond effectively and rebuild regulator confidence.

Whether you’re navigating an enforcement action, preparing for divestiture, or strengthening your compliance posture, we deliver actionable insights and practical roadmaps. Our goal: to reinforce your program, help you reduce risk, and position you as a trusted, audit-ready organization.

Build

From strategy to execution: Building a resilient, scalable trade compliance program

Once your compliance strategy is in place, we help you bring it to life — translating intent into action. Bringing deep, diverse, hands-on experience, we work alongside you to build a compliance program that is both effective today and agile enough to respond to tomorrow’s regulatory shifts.

We serve as your implementation partner, helping you:

Integrate compliance across the business: Design and embed infrastructure that connects trade compliance with key functions — from procurement and R&D, to logistics and legal. This includes supporting you with post-acquisition assessment and implementation to confirm coverage and rationalization of key compliance controls and activities (e.g., classification, licensing, screening).
Establish clear governance: Draft, review, and tailor policies, procedures, and workflows, as well as training, that reflect your unique risk profile, business operations, and strategic goals.
Navigate regulatory complexity: Apply jurisdiction and classification requirements for your items to drive compliance from the start.
Strengthen sanctions compliance: Enhance restricted party screening processes and resolve potential matches with precision and consistency.
Implement smart automation: Deploy technology solutions that support end-to-end compliance across the product lifecycle, reducing manual effort and increasing accuracy.

Our goal is to equip you with a robust, future-ready trade compliance program — one that’s built not only to meet today’s standards, but to lead through change.

Operate

Once your compliance program is built, we help you operationalize it — supporting you in running your trade compliance function smoothly, efficiently, and with confidence every day. We’ll bring an experienced team to augment or drive your organization’s day-to-day operations in areas, such as managed services for export classification and restricted party screening, internal audit support, M&A integration activities, training and change management — turning strategy into sustained, high-impact execution.

Address

Meet compliance challenges

An enforcement action can be challenging — but it’s also a critical inflection point. It’s an opportunity to close gaps, strengthen controls, and develop or rebuild a trade compliance program that is more effective, efficient, and future-ready.

We guide you through this process in two key phases:

Investigations: We conduct focused investigations and targeted assessments to identify root causes and design corrective measures tailored to address the specific findings of the enforcement action. We’ll help you assess relevant trade compliance risks and incidents – product diversion, misclassification, unauthorized releases and transfers, sanctions violations – to drive toward a credible immediate response, aligned with regulator expectations, and grounded in fact.
Remediation and reinvention: Beyond resolution, we help you transform your compliance program. We take a holistic view — reassessing policies, processes, governance, and risk management through the lens of current regulations and emerging trends. The goal: a long-term, sustainable solution that not only addresses past issues but positions your organization to adapt and lead in a more complex regulatory environment.

With our support, you don’t just recover — you come back stronger, with a program that earns trust, mitigates future risk, and enables growth.

How we can help: Practical solutions, tailored to you

Our clients don’t come to us for off-the-shelf answers — they come for insight, precision, and impact. We meet you where you are, bringing fresh thinking and deep experience to design solutions that move your trade compliance program in the right direction. With a sharp eye for nuance and a deep understanding of regulatory and geopolitical dynamics, we help you focus your integration efforts where they matter most.

We help you:

Anticipate and respond to geopolitical and regulatory shifts
Align trade compliance with evolving government and policy objectives
Minimize operational disruptions and regulatory risk
Embed trade compliance across business functions for greater efficiency
Reduce uncertainty, streamline operations, and enable strategic growth
Grow in an increasingly complex global economy

In collaboration with your legal counsel, we can also help you:

Proactively assess emerging risks
Investigate potential misconduct
Navigate complex regulatory disclosure processes
Drive remediation strategies and address corrective actions to enhance compliance
Support US government-directed compliance assessments related to monitorships

Whether you’re responding to change or driving it, we’re your partner in building a resilient, forward-looking compliance program that supports long-term success.

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Contact us

George Prokop

Principal, PwC US

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