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International Trade
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April 30, 2013
ITC Closes Probe Over LG Backlight Patent Claims
The U.S. International Trade Commission has ended a probe into whether LG Electronics Inc. violated a patent for backlighting technology used in liquid crystal displays, affirming an administrative law judge's ruling that the patent was not infringed, according to a notice Monday.
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April 29, 2013
Oil Brokers Ask Supreme Court To Revive Iraq Contract Suit
Two Cyprus-based oil brokers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a contract fight with the Republic of Iraq over the United Nations' Oil-for-Food program, arguing that the Ninth Circuit's decision to grant the Republic of Iraq immunity sets a dangerous precedent that could threaten future commercial transactions with foreign governments.
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April 29, 2013
Bose Settles Hitachi ITC Suit Over Rare-Earth Magnet Patents
Bose Corp. has agreed to settle claims brought by Hitachi Metals Inc. alleging the headphone and speaker maker imported products containing rare-earth magnets covered by Hitachi patents, according to documents filed Friday with the U.S. International Trade Commission.
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April 29, 2013
Total Expecting To Pay $398M To Settle FCPA Bribery Claims
French oil and gas giant Total SA on Monday said it had set aside $398 million to pay for an expected settlement with U.S. regulators over possible bribes made to Iranian officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
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April 29, 2013
Electrolux Disputes Duties On Washers From Mexico
Household appliance maker Electrolux Home Products Corp. NV on Friday filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging recently issued anti-dumping and countervailing duties on washing machines from Mexico, saying government findings that foreign imports harm American businesses aren't sufficiently backed by evidence.
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April 29, 2013
ITC To Review Decision Finding Cypress SRAM Patents Valid
The U.S. International Trade Commission said Friday that it would review a ruling from one of its administrative judges that declared valid four patents held by Cypress Semiconductor Corp. for static random access memory technology.
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April 26, 2013
Mexican Cucumber Suppliers Linked To Salmonella Outbreak
Federal officials on Thursday linked two Mexican cucumber suppliers and an Arizona distributor to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 73 people in 18 states.
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April 26, 2013
White House Names FTC's Shelanski To Lead Oversight Body
The White House on Thursday nominated Federal Trade Commission official and former Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP attorney Howard Shelanski to head the government oversight body that reviews all agency draft regulations before they are published.
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April 26, 2013
DC Circ. Says Energy Cos. Fighting SEC Rule In Wrong Court
The D.C. Circuit on Friday nixed an industry challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial rule requiring certain oil, gas and mining companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments, saying the dispute belongs in a lower court.
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April 26, 2013
Search For WTO Chief Down To Brazilian, Mexican Candidates
The World Trade Organization said Friday that Brazilian diplomat Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo and Mexico's former trade minister Herminio Blanco are the final two candidates in the running to succeed France's Pascal Lamy as director-general of the global trade organization.
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April 26, 2013
ITC Launches Probe Of Imported Sleep Aid Devices
The U.S. International Trade Commission has voted to investigate allegations by ResMed Corp. of California that medical devices Apex Medical Corp. and Medical Depot Inc. are importing from Asia infringe several of its patents, the commission announced Friday.
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April 26, 2013
Commerce Defends Chinese Furniture Duty Rates
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday urged a federal trade judge to affirm its level of anti-dumping duties on Chinese wooden furniture, hitting back at shippers who claimed the agency ignored a court order to reconsider the tariffs.
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April 25, 2013
LNG Venture Reaches Tentative Supply Deal With Petronet
Houston-based United LNG LP has crafted a preliminary deal to supply India's Petronet LNG with fuel from a Gulf of Mexico project that it is co-developing with Freeport McMoRan Energy LLC, the companies announced Thursday.
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April 25, 2013
CIT OKs Commerce's Exemption Of Hand Trucks From Duties
A federal trade judge on Wednesday approved the U.S. Department of Commerce's ruling that a line of WelCom Products Inc.'s hand trucks should be exempt from an anti-dumping duty on hand trucks imported from China, reversing an earlier finding that the devices fell within the duty order's scope.
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April 25, 2013
Venezuelan Importer Lands $31M In Tainted Chinese Milk Row
A Florida federal judge on Thursday ordered the part-owner of Miami-based Absolute Trading Co. to pay $31.5 million to a state-owned Venezuelan importer that claims the fraudulent transfer of those funds has allowed Absolute to avoid satisfying a $150 million judgment over tainted Chinese milk.
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April 25, 2013
Sens. Urge ITC To Keep Rebar Duties In Place
Ahead of a the U.S. International Trade Commission's ruling on whether to maintain existing anti-dumping duties on foreign imports of steel concrete rebar, a bipartisan group of senators warned Thursday that easing trade barriers could force America's steel industry to shed domestic jobs.
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April 25, 2013
EU Seal Import Ban Is Legal, Court Rules
A European Union court on Thursday upheld the bloc's prohibition on the import and sale of seal products, dismissing a lawsuit from Canadian Inuits who claimed the EU couldn't establish animal welfare laws.
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April 25, 2013
EU Committee Votes For US Free Trade Talks By June
European lawmakers gave the preliminary green light Thursday for talks on a comprehensive trade and investment deal with the U.S., putting negotiations on schedule to start in June.
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April 24, 2013
German Paper Producer Challenges Anti-Dumping Duties
A German paper company sued the federal government in the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday, accusing it of unlawfully imposing the highest anti-dumping duties possible on the company's paper products in an effort to protect its American competitors.
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April 24, 2013
FDA Unveils Tool To Detect Counterfeit Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday announced a new diagnostic device it is developing alongside several public and private entities to fight the proliferation of dangerous counterfeit malaria drugs and protect consumers from a broad range of bogus domestic and imported products.
Expert Analysis
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Ralls Case Shows Importance Of Proactively Engaging CFIUS
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently dismissed most claims of Chinese-owned Ralls Corporation’s civil action against an executive order that prohibits Ralls’ acquisition of four wind farm project companies in Oregon. The case exemplifies the importance of notifying and engaging the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States voluntarily before closing a transaction that may raise national security concerns, says Alexandra Lopez-Casero of Nixon Peabody LLP.
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More Trade Remedy Actions By WTO Members Is A Good Sign
Each of the trade remedies has seen the rise of many developing country users in the last 18 years. Is this a cause for concern or a positive sign that more World Trade Organization members are using the internationally negotiated tools within the WTO to address the occasional import problems that are raised by domestic producers and their workers? The answer is clearly the latter, says Terence Stewart of the Law Offices of Stewart and Stewart.
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Dissecting FATCA: Oil And Gas Trader Edition
Under the U.S. Department of Treasury's Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, foreign oil and gas traders must take steps now to ensure that they are on the correct path to compliance. On the other hand, the Treasury should issue additional guidance allowing withholding agents to apply for refunds on behalf of the recipients of withholdable payments. Otherwise, there may be too much administrative burden, creating a tax windfall for the Treasury, say attorneys with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
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10 Anti-Corruption Developments To Expect This Year
Based on anti-corruption enforcement in the United States and around the globe in 2012 and in the first two months of 2013, there are some Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and global anti-corruption developments we should expect as the year progresses, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
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Sharpen Your Pencils For Conflict Minerals Disclosures
As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-mandated conflict minerals disclosure deadline draws near, companies must push forward with their diligence and compliance efforts, using this as an opportunity to rethink certain aspects of their operations and derive efficiencies when possible, says Barbara Jones of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
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How PE Firms Can Avoid Getting Blindsided By The FCPA
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are now training their attention on how private equity firms exert oversight and control over their portfolios, with a particular emphasis on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues. PE firms should consider compliance strategies that reflect the specific anti-corruption risks of each part of the deal's life cycle, say attorneys with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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6 Areas Often Underestimated In Law Firm Mergers
While mergers in other industries are driven by cost efficiencies or economies of scale, law firm mergers are typically focused on the potential to leverage clients and the overall quality of the attorney population, branding and market position. As a result, full disclosure of third-party vendor or support function operating costs can be a secondary concern until after the deal closes. Firms need to hit the ground running the moment the merger is inked, says Matthew Sunderman of HBR Consulting LLC.
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Rare Guidance On FCPA’s Reach Over Foreign Nationals
Two recent district court decisions — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Straub and SEC v. Sharef — have shed light on the reach and scope of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act over foreign nationals. For companies and individuals operating abroad, these cases provide rare judicial guidance on the reach of the FCPA’s anti-bribery and record-keeping provisions, say James Dowden and Nick Berg of Ropes & Gray LLP.
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Don't Go Down With The Shipping Bankruptcy
Bankruptcies of international shipping companies involve unique legal and practical issues given the transitory nature of ships, the foreign domicile of most shipping companies, and the awkward intersection of bankruptcy and admiralty law. With the shipping industry depressed, and the number of major shipping insolvencies increasing, lawyers should realize that there are traps for the unwary, say Bruce Paulsen and John Ashmead of Seward & Kissel LLP.
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Pharma Cos., Scan Your Drugs For Proper Barcodes
Recently, the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration released a notice addressing concerns over electronic barcoding, an initiative for the agency to better supervise the supply chain of pharmaceutical products. Though the notice intends to clarify ambiguities arising from imposing electronic barcodes on imported drugs, it will potentially increase the complexity of supply chain management by foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers, says Katherine Wang of Ropes & Gray LLP.