Our colleagues Matthew Lewis, Matthew Kirk, and Robert MacLean have prepared another in-depth analysis of the current status of Brexit. The range of options, and timescales, days after the UK should have left the EU, remains as wide as ever. We are still some way from knowing what future trading relationships will look like. Any final “no deal” preparatory … Continue Reading
According to recent WSJ reporting , immigration issues at the Mexico-US border are disrupting commercial trade, as US Customs and Border Patrol agents who typically handle trade traffic have been redirected to migrant issues. This redistribution of resources has reportedly caused a pile up of truck traffic and delay of inspections for agricultural and automotive components. … Continue Reading
US beef companies shipping to Japan likely will have to pay higher tariffs beginning in May due to the United States’ rejection of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). To protect its own beef industry, Japan increases tariffs on frozen beef imports if import volumes pass a certain threshold, which Japan is … Continue Reading
The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, but so far the UK has failed to ratify a Withdrawal Agreement. Whether the UK will leave with or without a deal remains unclear, and the analysis changes on a near-daily basis. Regardless of outcome, however, the nature of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU will need to be … Continue Reading
The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. At this time, however, the UK has failed to ratify a Withdrawal Agreement, risking a “no-deal” exit. Whether the UK will leave with or without a deal remains unclear, and the analysis changes on a near-daily basis. Regardless of outcome, however, the nature of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU … Continue Reading
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade agreement, went into effect on December 30, 2018 for six countries: Australia; Canada; Japan; Mexico; New Zealand; and Singapore. The CPTPP became effective for Vietnam on January 14, 2019, and four additional countries (Brunei, Chile, Malaysia and Peru) plan to ratify and enact the Agreement. Combined, … Continue Reading
Under Brexit, the UK is likely to leave the EU at the end of March 2019 – a development that will impact many global supply chains. Whether the UK will leave pursuant to an orderly arrangement, or whether it will leave without a deal is still unclear, and will likely remain unclear for the next … Continue Reading
In Ratha v. Phatthana Seafood Co. Ltd., Cambodian plaintiffs sued various companies under the Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), alleging that the companies benefitted from human trafficking in the shrimp and seafood industries in Thailand. A California district court found that the claims against certain defendants failed because those companies did not knowingly participate in or benefit from human trafficking; that decision is now on … Continue Reading
In the past few months, the United States has rolled out three lists of Section 301 tariffs that it has imposed, or will soon impose, on products being imported from China. For each list there has been, or will soon be, both a public comment period – during which companies could ask for specific tariff … Continue Reading
Our colleague, Nicola Smith, recently published an article covering “Food Labeling Issues and Trends in Europe: Lessons for US and European Practitioners from Recent Allergen Recalls”, which is now available for download here. Click below to read more about further examples of recalls due to safety or allergen information. The continuing trend of recalls for allergens and … Continue Reading
It has been a tumultuous year for trade. Nearly all steel and aluminum imported into the US now face additional 25% and 10% tariffs, respectively, after the Trump Administration determined such imports threatened US national security. An additional 25% tariff will be added to a growing list of products from China, following a US investigation … Continue Reading
The following is a guest post from Oliver H. Geiss, a partner in our Brussels and Frankfurt offices, and Tatiana Siakka, an associate in our London and Brussels offices. Oliver focuses his practice on competition law in the European Union and Germany, and Tatiana is a competition law specialist with wide-ranging experience in both contentious and non-contentious matters. … Continue Reading
A Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced in the UAE on January 1, 2018. Although there do not appear to have been significant impacts on regional supply chains thus far, our colleague explains why there may be complications coming later this year from the introduction of VAT in the UAE. The article can by accessed here.… Continue Reading
The Trump administration has formally opposed China’s bid to be recognized as a “market economy.” Aligning itself with the European Union and other countries including Japan, the U.S. submitted a statement to the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) in mid-November and made its decision to oppose public on November 30, 2017. Under a market economy status, … Continue Reading
Our own Ketan Ganase recently wrote about Predictability Through Incoterms. One important precondition to achieving that predictability is making sure that you are using terms correctly. This is especially true for “FOB,” a term that can mean different things in different contexts.… Continue Reading
The North American Free Trade Agreement has brought massive changes to supply chains throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada over the past 23 years. Now, for the first time, the United States has an anti-NAFTA administration, which is moving forward on its campaign promise to re-negotiate the agreement. The details are far from final, but some of the … Continue Reading
The Trump administration has indicated its intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”). Currently, a draft letter is being circulated by the U.S. Trade Representative to members of Congress for their review. Stephen Vaughn, acting U.S. Trade Representative, wrote in the draft notification letter that “[t]he persistent U.S. deficit in goods trade … Continue Reading
In January 2016, we wrote about a report issued by NGOs Amnesty International and African Resources Watch, revealing that most of the world’s cobalt supply – an integral ingredient for lithium batteries – comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is mined using child labor. At that time, the major retailers of products … Continue Reading
The following is a guest post from Ludmilla Savelieff providing highlights from the ABA Section on International Law’s recent event on the government’s initiatives to combat forced labor practices. Ludmilla is based in our Washington D.C. office and specializea in advising on complex regulatory, legislative and legal issues in both the domestic and international sphere. ABA … Continue Reading
Our colleagues at the Employment Law Worldview Blog have posted a piece reminding businesses that the deadline for publishing their first “slavery and human trafficking statement” is fast approaching. Commercial organizations that fall under the Modern Slavery Act must disclose what activities they have undertaken to eliminate slavery and human trafficking from their business and their … Continue Reading
We’re always pleased when someone takes the time to review our work. Recently, we were honored to have Buyers Meeting Point editor Kelly Barner review our book, Legal Blacksmith: How to Avoid and Defend Supply Chain Disputes. … Continue Reading
The following is a guest post from Linda Pfatteicher, a Partner in our San Francisco office. Linda concentrates her practice in international tax and operational structuring, cross-border mergers, acquisitions and post-acquisition integration, and international tax controversies. As a company sources materials and those materials then flow through the company’s internal supply chain, tax issues can … Continue Reading
Previously we posted on a growing litigation trend in response to the use of trafficked labor in the Thai seafood industry and how we can expect a similar response with recent reports on Congolese mining practices for cobalt, which is used in batteries. In her article in the Bloomberg BNA Electronic Commerce & Law Report entitled, “Is Tech … Continue Reading
A few posts ago, we posted an article on H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. As predicted, President Obama signed the Act into law last week, which gave us an opportunity to talk with Rebekah Mintzer of Corporate Counsel Magazine on an article about the Act that she was working on.… Continue Reading
