International Trade
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May 26, 2017
Senators Renew Fight To Lift Cuba Embargo
The long-running legislative effort to liberalize U.S.-Cuba trade began anew on Thursday as a bipartisan group of 14 senators introduced a bill to lift the Cold War-era embargo on the island nation.
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May 26, 2017
2nd Circ. Won't Save Ex-Venezuela Ambassador's RICO Case
A former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela and anti-corruption consultant who accused two wealthy Venezuelans of paying bribes and defaming him failed to convince the Second Circuit to revive his case, with the court saying Friday the allegations underlying his racketeering suit were barely related.
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May 26, 2017
DC Circ. Erases $4M Iran Sanctions Penalty In Mixed Ruling
The D.C. Circuit on Friday affirmed the U.S. Treasury Department’s wide latitude to impose Iran sanctions but set aside a $4.07 million penalty against car accessory seller Epsilon Electronics after finding that the agency cut too many corners in its investigation of the company.
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May 26, 2017
Lawmakers Object To Trump's Weapons Sale To Saudi Arabia
A bipartisan handful in Congress objected to the Trump administration's March reversal of an Obama administration exclusion of precision-guided munitions in a long-planned $110 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, with the lawmakers expressing concerns about the monarchy's human rights record and alleged targeting of civilians while intervening in Yemen’s civil war.
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May 25, 2017
Commerce Begins Bombardier Probe After Boeing Petition
The U.S. Department of Commerce launched a pair of investigations over potential dumping and unfair subsidies in the Canadian commercial aircraft import market after receiving complaints about Bombardier Inc. from Boeing, according to federal notices to be published Friday.
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May 25, 2017
Senate Panel Tees Up Action On New Iran Sanctions Bill
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday approved legislation that would slap new sanctions on Iran in a move that could ratchet up tensions with Tehran as Iran and the U.S. continue to implement a landmark accord to stem the Middle Eastern nation’s nuclear program.
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May 25, 2017
Billionaire Developer Peppers Judge Ahead Of UN Bribe Trial
Chinese real estate billionaire Ng Lap Seng's legal team has lodged a flurry of letters ahead of the developer's Tuesday bribery trial, with the latest missive Thursday saying a key cooperating witness may have made undisclosed exculpatory statements during plea talks with prosecutors.
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May 25, 2017
DOJ To Send Fraud Prosecutor To UK Financial Watchdog
The U.S. Department of Justice expects to detail an anti-corruption prosecutor to Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority in the coming months in the first assignment of its kind, a high-ranking DOJ official said in a speech Wednesday.
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May 25, 2017
Crucial Ally Joins Suniva's Quest For Solar Cell Tariffs
Bankrupt U.S. solar panel maker Suniva Inc. earned support from a key ally in its bid for a safeguard tariff on competing imports Thursday as SolarWorld Americas Inc. — a veteran of the solar panel trade wars — joined the case as a co-petitioner.
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May 25, 2017
Pork Producers Don't Want Trump To Rock NAFTA Boat
The National Pork Producers Council on Thursday warned the Trump administration against making too many drastic changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement in upcoming negotiations, stressing the deal’s many benefits for its members, particularly the inroads it helped create in the Mexican market.
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May 24, 2017
Phony 5-Hour Energy Bottle Maker Gets Over 2 Years
A California federal judge sentenced a bottle maker on Wednesday to more than two years in prison for his role in a massive scheme to counterfeit 5-Hour Energy drinks, saying he must serve prison time even if he didn’t originally know conspirators had asked him to make packaging for phony products.
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May 24, 2017
Matsuo’s $4M Bid-Rigging Fine A ‘Sweetheart Deal’: Judge
A California federal judge called Matsuo Electric Co. Ltd.’s $4.17 million criminal fine a “sweetheart deal” at a Wednesday sentencing hearing on charges it fixed prices of electrolytic capacitors, and said he’d need information on the company’s financial status before deciding whether a five-year payment plan for the fine was necessary.
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May 24, 2017
NAFTA's Defining Feature May Be At Death's Door
The White House’s precise plan for updating the North American Free Trade Agreement remains up in the air, but the U.S. appears ready to discard the deal’s unique trade remedy arbitration system, a move that would be in keeping with the administration’s protectionist bent and upend decades of legal procedure.
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May 24, 2017
Atty Hits Back At Muzzling Motion In Chiquita MDL
An attorney accused of improperly copying Chiquita Brands International Inc. on privileged communications in a suit claiming the company paid off a paramilitary group responded to the allegations Wednesday in Florida federal court, saying the issue arises from his attempts to sort out duplicate claims and retainer agreements.
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May 24, 2017
Army Failed To Properly Track $1B In Equipment, OIG Says
The U.S. Army lacked effective controls for tracking more than $1 billion in equipment provided to the Iraqi government under a training and equipment fund meant to help in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, a watchdog said in a report made publicly available Wednesday.
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May 24, 2017
Taiwan Hit Hard By Change To 8-Nation Steel Dumping Order
The U.S. Department of Commerce is dramatically hiking an anti-dumping duty on certain steel products from a Taiwanese company, raising it from 7 percent to 75 percent in an amended final determination that affects imports from eight nations, according to a notice to be published in Thursday's Federal Register.
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May 24, 2017
US Steel Producers, Manufacturers Differ On Import Controls
Not everyone is excited by the prospect of a more aggressive approach to trade enforcement, with domestic manufacturers and foreign trade representatives speaking out Wednesday at a U.S. Department of Commerce public hearing on the national security impacts of steel imports.
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May 24, 2017
Mayer Brown Partner Confirmed As State Deputy Secretary
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will soon have his top deputy, after a Senate vote Wednesday confirmed Bush administration veteran and Mayer Brown LLP partner John Sullivan to the post.
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May 24, 2017
Ross Aims For June Finish On Steel Nat’l Security Probe
The U.S. Department of Commerce probe looking for national security impacts from steel imports under a rarely used enforcement mechanism dusted off by the Trump administration is looking at completion much faster than its 270-day statutory clock, Secretary Wilbur Ross said Wednesday.
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May 24, 2017
Pilots, Flight Attendants Urge Trump To Take On Gulf Carriers
North American pilot and flight attendant unions continued their fight Wednesday against illegal subsidies that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are allegedly pumping into three state-owned airlines, urging the Trump administration to enforce the U.S.’ Open Skies agreements to preserve competition for domestic carriers.
Editor's Picks
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Keep Up With The Latest NAFTA Developments
President Donald Trump has begun the process of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, fulfilling one of his bedrock campaign promises. As the administration prepares to reopen the agreement for the first time in 23 years, catch up on all of Law360’s latest coverage of NAFTA and what lies ahead for the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Expert Analysis
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My Milkshake Is Better Than Yours: Part 2
In the second installment of this two-part series on disruptive innovation among mid-size law firms, Jill Dessalines, founder of Strategic Advice for Successful Lawyers and former senior vice president at McKesson Corp., explores a number of ideas for keeping clients and maintaining market position.
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My Milkshake Is Better Than Yours: Part 1
As I sat there listening, incredulous to learn that "Milkshake" was not only a real song but also a chart-topper, it reminded me of Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen’s work on disruptive innovation — and how it pertains to mid-size law firms, says Jill Dessalines, founder of Strategic Advice for Successful Lawyers and former assistant general counsel of McKesson Corp.
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Attorneys, Your Input Is Needed On Deposition Rule
Every lawyer who’s handled a civil case in federal court knows about Rule 30(b)(6), governing deposition procedures. But for many real-world deposition dilemmas, the rule offers little guidance. Last year, an Advisory Committee on Civil Rules subcommittee began considering whether the rule should be amended. Now attorneys must advise the subcommittee how to proceed, says Frank Silvestri Jr. of Verrill Dana LLP.
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Sanctions And Export Control Risks For Health Care Cos.
Recent settlements suggest an emerging trend in which the U.S. government is bringing enforcement actions against health care companies for violating economic sanctions and export control laws. Many health care companies are large organizations with expansive international operations, distributors and end users, making them natural targets due to the laws' broad extraterritorial applications, say attorneys with Ropes & Gray LLP.
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A Win For Sovereign Immunity
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne should make it easier for foreign states and their agencies and instrumentalities to avoid unfounded suits under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. And plaintiffs can no longer avoid dismissal of their claims by asserting that a factual finding on jurisdiction would also decide a merits issue, say attorneys with White & Case LLP.
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Rules Of Origin For Automobiles Under A New NAFTA
As the Trump administration begins renegotiating NAFTA, auto industry stakeholders will wish to know whether the Trans-Pacific Partnership rules are to be emulated or avoided, says Dean Pinkert, a partner of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP and former vice chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission.
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How Client Feedback Programs Benefit Law Firms And Clients
Despite an increase in engagement with client feedback programs over the last 15 years, law firms — and their clients — have a way to go before realizing the maximum benefits such programs can deliver, says Elizabeth Duffy of Acritas US Inc.
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Where India's Companies Act Meets The FCPA
Under Indian law, companies that meet certain size or financial activity thresholds are required to set aside a fixed percentage of their net profits toward corporate social responsibility spending. While making these contributions, companies may find themselves exposed to significant risk under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, say David Simon and John Turlais of Foley & Lardner LLP and Sherbir Panag of the Law Offices of Panag & Babu.
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Solving The Legal Industry's Data Protection Breakdown
Most law firms today aren't using common security and data protection measures that other industries employ to protect sensitive data. Options like continuous data replication and backups have various pros and cons, but most importantly, law practices must understand the need for a two-tiered approach to data protection, says Jeff Ton of Bluelock LLC.
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What US Cos. Must Know About EU E-Commerce Rules: Part 2
U.S.-based companies distributing their products online or setting up e-retail platforms in the EU must pay particular attention to how they select online distribution partners, as well as what type of sales restrictions they impose or agree to, if they want to avoid legal trouble, says Enzo Marasà of Portolano Cavallo.