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International Trade

  • July 21, 2017

    Intel, Apple Tag Qualcomm As 'Monopolist' In IP War At ITC

    Apple and Intel hit hard at Qualcomm in public statements filed Thursday with the U.S. International Trade Commission in a case where the chipmaker is seeking to bar iPhones that allegedly infringe its patents, with both companies accusing Qualcomm of seeking a monopoly on the technology.

  • July 21, 2017

    Man Gets 3 Yrs. For Role In Electronics Smuggling Scheme

    An Italian national who copped to smuggling counterfeit electronics, including fake Apple phones and tablets and items bearing phony Sony labels, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison Friday, authorities from multiple agencies announced.

  • July 21, 2017

    Commerce Finalizes Up To 32% Tariff On Taiwanese Rebar

    The U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday unveiled new tariffs on Taiwanese exporters after determining the companies had been selling steel rebar at unfairly low prices, levying final dumping rates ranging from about 3 to 32 percent in a probe launched by the Rebar Trade Action Coalition.

  • July 21, 2017

    Judge Overturns Lengthy Debarment On DOD Food Contractor

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge has overturned a 15-year federal contracting debarment issued by the U.S. Department of Defense’s logistics agency to a food exporter and its owners after related overcharging cases, ruling the DLA lacked evidence for the necessary “aggravating circumstances” to justify the lengthy exclusion.

  • July 21, 2017

    'Wife' A Job Title At Billionaire's News Co., UN Jury Hears

    A billionaire Chinese real estate boss accused of bribing United Nations officials pumped millions of dollars into his New York news outfit, using it to make fat payments to hangers-on including the wife of late General Assembly President John Ashe, an accountant testified on Friday.

  • July 21, 2017

    White House Will Probe Defense Industry Amid Trade Fears

    President Donald Trump ordered a thorough review of the national defense industrial base Friday, as the government seeks to gather information about whether U.S. companies can meet the commercial demand for national security goods including steel, circuit boards and flat-panel displays.

  • July 21, 2017

    Trump Fleshes Out USTR Team With Arbitration Specialist

    President Donald Trump unveiled another potential addition to his trade team on Thursday, nominating a Williams & Connolly LLP international arbitration attorney to serve as a deputy U.S. trade representative.

  • July 20, 2017

    China To Allow US Rice Exports After USDA Agreement

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has finalized an agreement with Chinese officials granting American farmers their first opportunity to export rice to the Asian nation, the agency announced Thursday.

  • July 20, 2017

    Iran's President Promises Retribution For New US Sanctions

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said he plans to retaliate against U.S. sanctions announced this week by the Trump administration, according to the country’s state-owned media.

  • July 20, 2017

    WTO Dispute Roundup: Members Tackle In-House Challenges

    In Law360's latest look at the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body, the delegations remain at an impasse over the appointment of new Appellate Body members and take stock of their collective effort to combat the many delays caused by a logjam of complex cases.

  • July 20, 2017

    Chinese Co. Challenges Solar Cell Anti-Dumping Duty At CIT

    Ningbo Qixin Solar Electrical Appliance Co. brought a U.S. Court of International Trade challenge against the U.S. Department of Commerce's final determination in its review of an anti-dumping duty on solar cells from the People's Republic of China, asserting that the department erred by not granting it separate rate status and that the determination was unjustified.

  • July 20, 2017

    Exxon Sues Over $2M Fine For Russian Sanctions Violations

    Exxon Mobil Corp. fired off a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, hours after OFAC announced what Exxon called a “fundamentally unfair” $2 million fine on the oil giant for allegedly violating Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia.

  • July 20, 2017

    Lab Test Keeps Trader Joe's Truffle Kerfuffle Simmering

    A Manhattan federal judge told Trader Joe's Co. on Thursday not to bother filing a dismissal bid, after would-be classes of cheated condiment connoisseurs in New York and California said tests prove the grocery giant sold imported truffle-flavored olive oil that contains no "black truffle whatsoever."

  • July 19, 2017

    US Will Host First Round Of NAFTA Talks Next Month

    The effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement will begin in earnest on Aug. 16 with an opening round of talks in Washington, D.C., the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Wednesday.

  • July 19, 2017

    ITC Finds Diebold ATMs Infringe Hyosung Patent

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that financial services company Diebold Nixdorf Inc. imported ATMs that infringe various claims of a patent belonging to Nautilus Hyosung America, prohibiting future entry of the ATMs into the U.S.

  • July 19, 2017

    Infamous Lobster Thief Faces Arrest For Dodging Restitution

    A Manhattan federal judge ordered Arnold M. Bengis, who plundered South African lobster fisheries from 1987 until 2001, to serve 57 months in prison and to forfeit an additional $37.3 million at a Wednesday resentencing convened after Bengis dodged his obligation to pay back the victims of his massive exploitation.

  • July 19, 2017

    Fed. Circ. Affirms ITC Infringement Ruling On Dental Patents

    The Federal Circuit upheld a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a dental supply company and its U.S. subsidiary imported dental implants that infringe patents held by Nobel Biocare Services AG and that prohibited entry of the products into the U.S., according to an order issued Wednesday.

  • July 19, 2017

    Enforcement Hawks Back Stiff Steel, Aluminum Curbs

    A group of trade enforcement advocates on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to hold firm and pursue formidable import restrictions in its national security probes of foreign steel and aluminum, telling the White House to ignore “vague speculation about trade retaliation” from opponents.

  • July 18, 2017

    Trump Recertifies Iran Nuke Deal, Pushes For New Sanctions

    The Trump administration Monday for the second time recertified Iran’s compliance with the 2015 international agreement to curtail its nuclear program, even as it looked to hit Iran with additional sanctions related to its military programs and human rights abuses.

  • July 18, 2017

    Container Store Wins Customs Battle At Fed. Circ.

    The Container Store notched a victory at the Federal Circuit on Tuesday after convincing a panel of judges that parts of its Elfa shelving system should be duty-free and that the U.S. Court of International Trade had classified them under the wrong import category.

Expert Analysis

  • OFAC Continues To Pursue Oil And Gas Companies

    Michael Casey

    The ExxonMobil penalty is the latest in a string of recent, increasingly aggressive U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control enforcement actions targeting nonfinancial institutions and particularly entities operating in the oil and gas industry, say attorneys with Ropes & Gray LLP.

  • The Elephant In The Room: Advancing Women To Partnership

    Anusia Gillespie

    Despite more focus and investment, the numbers continue to show little progress in advancing women to the top tiers of firm leadership. Considering the irreversible nature of the transformation of the market for top talent, it is time to start experimenting and innovating from the core, rather than from the periphery, say Anusia Gillespie and Scott Westfahl of Harvard Law School.

  • How Midsize Law Firms Can Minimize Cybersecurity Threats

    K. Stefan Chin

    It can be challenging for midsize law firms to develop an enterprise cybersecurity program that mitigates the eminent threat of data breach and meets the regulatory and compliance requirements of the firm and its clients. This challenge becomes daunting when considering the steady rise in client audits, say K. Stefan Chin of Peckar & Abramson PC and John Sweeney of Logicforce.

  • High Court Signals Interest In Vitamin C Price-Fix Case

    Nicholas Melzer

    For all companies engaged in international commerce, guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Second Circuit's controversial decision in the Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation would be welcome. If the Supreme Court's recent request for input from the acting solicitor general is any indication, the court may agree, say Nicholas Melzer and Janet Chung of Holland & Knight LLP.

  • Weekly Column

    Innovating For Wise Juries: Matching Experts

    Stephen Susman

    In the penultimate installment of this series, Stephen Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and Dr. Roy Futterman of the NYU School of Law Civil Jury Project answer a question on many legal analysts’ minds: What if both sides’ expert witnesses sat in a hot tub discussing the case while a jury watched?

  • The CFIUS Calculus Has Changed — In More Ways Than One

    Stephen Heifetz

    Recent unwritten changes to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, made in the name of national security, may undermine the committee's original purpose, says Stephen Heifetz, a partner with Steptoe & Johnson LLP who previously served as the Department of Homeland Security’s CFIUS representative.

  • Rebuttal

    The Rise Of Midsize Firms

    Ronald Shechtman

    Recently, this publication featured an op-ed in which one law firm partner contended that midsize firms will be the next casualty of the legal market, due to a supposed inability to compete with BigLaw or boutique firms for business. Though we can expect to see Am Law firms continue to lead the market in megadeals and life-or-death litigations, by all indications midsize is on the rise, says Ronald Shechtman of Pryor Cashman LLP.

  • 7 Steps To Protect Your Company From Export Violations

    Thomas McVey

    Thomas McVey, chairman of the international practice group at Williams Mullen, reviews the steps to consider in addressing potential violations under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Regulations and the sanctions programs of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

  • 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Submitting Litigation AFA

    Gregory Lantier

    Outside counsel should be able to articulate why she is proposing an alternative fee arrangement for this matter. If the client has not requested an AFA or the case is unusually difficult to budget with accuracy, this might not be the case to propose an AFA, say attorneys with WilmerHale.

  • How Mobile Apps Can Benefit Your Practice

    Sean Cleary.jpg

    Despite the boom in mobile application development, many lawyers are still reluctant when it comes to using apps in their daily work. Attorney Sean Cleary explores the benefits and shares some recommendations for apps geared toward attorneys.