On September 4, 2018 at a City of London event, the Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), Christopher Giancarlo, announced that “in the near future” he would release a white paper that “recognize[s] deficiencies in the CFTC’s current approach to regulating cross-border activities and seek[s] to recalibrate the CFTC’s cross-border approach based on a set of guiding principles.” The Chairman also plans to direct the CFTC staff to develop proposed rules governing the cross-border application of the Dodd-Frank swaps provisions by focusing on, among other principles, “act[ing] with deference toward comparable swaps reform regulation in non-U.S. markets by adopting a flexible, outcomes-based approach for substituted compliance.” The attached memo summarizes the Chairman’s speech and the specific recommendations that were previewed, which may be included in a white paper released in the near future, including the possibility of broader exemptive or other relief for certain non-U.S. central counterparties, swap trading venues, and swap dealing businesses.