The year 2021 will likely be a year of geopolitical reckoning between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, which will inevitably have direct and indirect flow-down effects into US supply chains. While the Biden Administration has not yet unveiled many specifics as to what its approach to China will be, on January 12, … Continue Reading
This is a Cross-Post from the Capital Thinking blog. Please contact Ludmilla Kasulke with any questions. President-Elect Biden has pledged to strengthen Buy American orders and to implement a “Made in America” tax credit and other federal incentives to “Build Back Better” economic plan the will impact international supply chains. Read the full article here … Continue Reading
This is a Cross-post from the Conflict Minerals Law blog. Please contact Dynda A. Thomas with any questions. In less than 7 months, the EU conflict minerals regulation will take full effect, and importers into the European Union of certain threshold amounts of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) and of metals containing 3TG will … Continue Reading
As countries, economies, and businesses adjust to life in the COVID-19 era, many governments have started to ask questions about the wisdom and longer term implications of allowing key components of socially or economically critical products like pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and defense products to be sourced beyond domestic borders. One key area of concern – … Continue Reading
Businesses are starting to look to the longer term, including in respect of supply chain resilience, risk and its mitigation. There seems little doubt that things will not simply go back to what they were before. New partnerships are forming, and building in supplier and supply chain flexibility will be key to coping with uncertainty. … Continue Reading
Throughout Europe governments have sought to support businesses in financial distress due to COVID-19 in three ways – by giving them money, by lending them money and by relieving them of their bills and financial commitments. European governments are doing a mix of all three. To provide a quick and easy guide to what support … Continue Reading
Our colleagues at the Restructuring GlobalView Blog have prepared guides to assist businesses in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain to understand what financial support packages are available in those countries. These guides provide a country-specific overview of the package, eligibility, how to apply, and when it will be available. Click … Continue Reading
As world leaders respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses around the world have been forced to adapt. Our colleagues in Germany, Dr. Jens Rinze, Martin H. Falke, Dr. Christian Bleschke, Tanja Weber, Dr. Andreas Fillmann, Markus Schmucker, Jörg Staudenmayer, and Siemer Krümpelmann, have prepared a comprehensive overview of the key legal issues for businesses with … Continue Reading
As world leaders and healthcare professionals respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses around the world have been forced to adapt to new restrictions, unpredictable supply chains and a limited workforce. For medical and pharmaceutical products, demand is high and the efficient movement of inputs is critical. For many other industries, dwindling consumer demand is already … Continue Reading
Companies are asking whether, in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns, their business counts as an “essential service”. Our colleague Matthew Kirk has prepared a client advisory that addresses this issue from a European perspective, gives a little background to what we see of governments’ approaches to this question so far, and suggests … Continue Reading
The globalization of business, combined with the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), commonly referred to as the “coronavirus,” renders multinational corporations highly susceptible to litigation in US courts. US companies that have been damaged by COVID-19 issues will likely seek redress through litigation, and foreign businesses operating in the US must be … Continue Reading
Our colleague in our Birmingham office, has prepared a detailed update of coronavirus related insurance issues for UK businesses and insurers. Earlier this week we looked at the effect that Coronavirus may be having on events cancellation, travel and personal accident insurances. However, businesses should now consult with their professional advisers and insurance managers over the … Continue Reading
The situation concerning the novel coronavirus (officially known as COVID-19) is rapidly evolving. The landscape of the virus’ spread and its impacts continues to change dramatically, with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of new cases being confirmed every day and new countries—far from the likely origin of the virus in Wuhan, China—being added to the map of the virus’ … Continue Reading
In a prior client advisory on the legal implications of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) in China, we explored employment, force majeure, data privacy, tax and other issues. Our colleague in our Shanghai office, Daniel F. Roules, has prepared a supplemental client advisory, identifying specific supply chain issues that are arising from COVID-19. As China is … Continue Reading
Our colleague in our Birmingham office, Mariyam Harunah, has prepared an update on the effects of coronavirus related event cancellations for insurers. Last week, the insurer Hiscox confirmed that it has begun to receive notifications of coronavirus related claims. Hiscox has said that it is still too early for it to determine the potential impact of … Continue Reading
Our colleagues in our Beijing and Shanghai offices, Daniel F. Roules, Sungbo Shim, Laura Wang, Ju (Lindsay) Zhu and Changshun (Ryan) Chen, have prepared an in-depth and well-developed client advisory on the impacts of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) on companies operating in China. The document provides detailed guidance on several topics, including employment matters, force majeure in … Continue Reading
There have been longstanding tensions in the Xinjiang province of China between the Chinese government and the Uyghurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic group. The UN estimates that there are more than 1 million Uyghurs in detention camps, and there are reports of pervasive surveillance, wide-spread forced-labor, and “re-education” programs. These human rights abuses present significant … Continue Reading
The UK is seeing a significant push on the imposition of Clean Air Zones in its major cities in an effort to tackle emissions levels, NO2 in particular. Such schemes are designed to incentivize changes in vehicle usage and ownership through the application of daily charges for polluting and ‘non-compliant’ vehicles entering the zone. Many … Continue Reading
As shown in the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Bureau of International Labor Affairs’ International Child Labor & Forced Labor Reports, the use of child labor, forced labor, and child forced labor remains a tragically persistent concern worldwide. To help companies understand these risks and work to eliminate child labor and forced labor, the DOL … Continue Reading
The UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced on June 25, 2019 that food labeling laws will be changed to introduce full ingredient labelling (including allergens) for foods which are packed for direct sale. The new requirements will come fully into force in 2021. Our colleague Nicola Smith prepared an article last August which details the options the UK government was … Continue Reading
Developments in product liability regimes around the world should be of interest to any company with a global supply chain. In particular, as companies continue to source ever more materials from Asia, it is important to be aware of the product liability legal landscape in those countries. Our colleague, Bindu Janardhanan, has written a chapter … Continue Reading
Since taking office in January 2017, President Trump has made use of several provisions of US law – including Section 301, targeting unfair trade practices, and Section 232, targeting threats to national security – to bring trading partners to the negotiating table. Major developments over the last two weeks could impact global supply chains across a wide range … Continue Reading
On May 2, 2019, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released guidance on effective sanctions compliance programs. This guidance is useful for any company with an international supply chain, as both U.S. and foreign companies may be subject to, and at risk for violating, U.S. sanctions law. As a recent example, e.l.f. Cosmetics … Continue Reading
As a tactic in the ongoing civilian aircraft subsidies dispute between the US and the EU at the World Trade Organization, the US government has proposed a preliminary list to tax about US$11 billion worth of products exported to the US from the EU. The product list includes two sections, one focusing specifically on products … Continue Reading
