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International Trade
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January 31, 2024
Auto Parts Co. To Pay $3M To End China Import Duty Probe
An Oregon-based auto accessory manufacturer has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it intentionally underreported certain duties owed on aluminum parts from China, defrauding U.S. Customs and Border Protection and illegally undercutting American competitors, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
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January 31, 2024
Davis Polk, Latham Lead Amer Sports' Below-Range $1.4B IPO
Amer Sports Inc., which owns the iconic brands Wilson tennis rackets and Louisville Slugger baseball bats, priced its initial public offering Wednesday at just under $1.4 billion, below its price range, represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and underwriters counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.
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January 31, 2024
Worker-Centered Trade Faces Headwinds From Lawmakers
President Joe Biden's goal to recalibrate international trade to support middle-class jobs is facing headwinds following a series of trade negotiation setbacks, an exodus of high-level staffers, and now a congressional threat to his nomination of a deputy trade representative.
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January 31, 2024
Huawei Faces Civil RICO Suit From Netgear
A major U.S. company is suing Huawei in California federal court under racketeering laws, arguing that the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated telecom giant is using infringement suits in Germany and China to demand "excessive and discriminatory royalties."
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January 31, 2024
Suit Says Oreo Maker 'Greenwashes' Deforesting And Child Labor
The maker of Oreos and Clif Bars "greenwashes" its cocoa-containing food products with deceptive labeling that hides evidence of environmental degradation, child labor and child slavery in its supply chain, a proposed class action claims.
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January 31, 2024
Biden Climate Team Gains New Int'l Aide, EPA Air Leader
In significant moves for the Biden administration's climate agenda, the White House on Wednesday said John Podesta will replace John Kerry as President Joe Biden's top international climate change policy adviser and the U.S. Senate confirmed Biden's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency's air office.
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January 31, 2024
Watchdog Calls For Written Guidance On Autos
A government watchdog report Wednesday urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to develop written guidance to better partner with other federal offices on the Interagency Committee on Trade in Automotive Goods, which provides advice on regional trade rules.
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January 31, 2024
Feds Urged To Adopt EV Battery Tracing For Tax Credit Rules
A mechanism to trace the source of battery materials in electric vehicles would help enforce manufacturers' compliance with the domestic content requirements that are now linked to the EV consumer tax credit, stakeholders told U.S. Treasury Department and IRS officials Wednesday.
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January 31, 2024
US Tells Fed. Circ. Greece's $23M Arms Sale Suit Was Late
Federal attorneys urged the Federal Circuit against reviving the Greek government's $23 million lawsuit over a decades-old arms sale, saying the claims court correctly determined that Greece had waited too long to file the case.
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January 31, 2024
Treasury Aims To Finish Credit Monetization Rules In 2024
The U.S. Department of the Treasury aims to issue final rules this year on two new ways to monetize tax credits tied to clean energy construction projects, known as the direct pay and transferability methods, an official said.
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January 30, 2024
Ex-Pfizer Compliance Officer Revamps Whistleblower Suit
A former Pfizer compliance officer said he endured harassment and discrimination before being fired in retaliation for reporting the pharmaceutical giant to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over concerns that it was potentially violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to an amended complaint filed in California federal court.
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January 30, 2024
Clorox, Brita Can't Beat Filter 'Patent Ambush' Antitrust Suit
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Clorox Co. and its Brita brand must face an antitrust lawsuit accusing the companies of engaging in a "patent ambush" to corner the market on home water filters, saying there is not enough overlap between the antitrust suit and Brita's patent infringement suit in Delaware to either dismiss or transfer venues.
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January 30, 2024
Trader Joe's Supplier Wins Contract Claim Over Bony Birds
A Washington federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a poultry supplier breached its contract by selling a Trader Joe's chicken burger manufacturer a "boneless" shipment that contained bone fragments, while ruling that a jury should decide other issues in the supply chain suit, including whether the batch was wrongly characterized as "breast trim."
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January 30, 2024
VW Says Supplier Ignoring 8 Years Of Litigation In Germany
Volkswagen is urging a Texas federal court to toss a case accusing it of keeping a stranglehold on its suppliers, saying it has already been embroiled in litigation in Germany for eight years with the company bringing the claims.
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January 30, 2024
4th Circ. Revives Combat IP Theft Suit Against Israeli Co.
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived an American combat training company's trade secret theft lawsuit against an Israeli company, its U.S. affiliate, a military officer and the Israeli Ministry of Defense, finding the trial court wrongly relied on a prior judgment, which didn't address the Delaware-based affiliate.
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January 30, 2024
WeChat And DHgate Listed On USTR's Counterfeiting Report
The latest counterfeiting report from the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday found that Chinese platforms like WeChat and DHgate have continued to cost the U.S. billions of dollars through the sale of counterfeit products in 2023 and highlighted growing concerns about the promotion of fake products by social media influencers.
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January 30, 2024
Texas Co. To Pay Record $2M For False 'Made In USA' Labels
Tractor maker Kubota North America Corp. will pay $2 million for labeling imported replacement parts as made in the United States in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, a record sum for such mislabeling.
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January 30, 2024
5th Circ. Tosses $200M Vessel Explosion Award Confirmation
A Louisiana federal court couldn't confirm $200 million awarded to a German shipowner for a deadly chemical explosion on its vessel because MSC, the Swiss shipping giant liable for the disaster, doesn't have a connection to the Pelican State, according to a Fifth Circuit panel.
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January 30, 2024
Justices Urged To Review Nix Of FCA Sanction Evasion Suit
A Wyoming company urged the U.S. Supreme Court to look into whether lower courts and the U.S. Department of Justice unlawfully snubbed its allegations that London's Standard Chartered Bank cleared roughly $56 billion in violation of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran.
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January 30, 2024
Global Anti-Corruption Fight Is Fizzling, Study Says
Efforts to combat corruption in the public sector have stalled in the U.S. and globally while some developed countries, including the United Kingdom and Iceland, appear to be drifting backward, according to an annual study released Tuesday.
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January 29, 2024
Solar Importers Call To End Suit Over Tariff Reprieve
Solar energy industry groups and equipment suppliers have piled up motions to intervene in support of the government in a case challenging President Joe Biden's pause on solar circumvention tariffs, with two calling to toss the suit altogether.
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January 29, 2024
Don't Keep Us Out Of ITC, Startup Says In Apple Watch Row
A Silicon Valley medical device startup that wants the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban certain health-related features from being employed by new Apple Watches is arguing that this dispute is important to ensure that other startups that don't make products can litigate their grievances with tech giants at the Washington, D.C.-based commission.
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January 29, 2024
Judge 'Mystified' At Bid To Block Crystals in Watch Duty Suit
The U.S. Court of International Trade on Monday refused to stop a watch importer from submitting crystal samples into evidence in the importer's lawsuit challenging U.S. duty classifications for Swiss-made Richard Mille watches, saying it wasn't clear why the government wanted them out.
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January 29, 2024
Feds Say Staples Rerouted To Skirt Duties On Chinese Goods
The U.S. Department of Commerce found that overseas staple producers were routing their products through Vietnam and Thailand to skirt triple-digit antidumping and countervailing tariffs on Chinese staples.
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January 29, 2024
Fed. Circ. Told Duty Expansion Was Based On Wrong Sources
An automotive supplier pressed the Federal Circuit to free its heat-treated aluminum imports from tariffs targeting Chinese aluminum, arguing that the U.S. Department of Commerce incorrectly relied on a nonpublic source to pull its imports under the duties' umbrella.
Expert Analysis
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Environmental Justice Takes Center Stage At FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's forthcoming policy statement on addressing environmental justice community impacts could play a key role in informing how developers and affected communities approach energy projects for years to come, say Emily Mallen, Ben Reiter and Angelica Gonzalez at Akin.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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Fla. Foreign Real Estate Law Brings Broad Investment Risks
Last month, Florida became the latest state to enact legislation prohibiting Chinese investors from acquiring certain interests in real property, introducing significant legal uncertainty and consequences for real estate stakeholders and the private equity industry, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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3 Developments That May Usher In A Nuclear Energy Revival
A recent advancement in nuclear energy technology, targeted provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and a new G7 agreement on nuclear fuel supply chains may give nuclear power a seat at the table as a viable, zero-carbon energy source, say attorneys at Vinson & Elkins.
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Sanctions Compliance In Era Of Record Enforcement Action
The recent record-breaking penalties in separate actions against British American Tobacco and Seagate amid a sanctions violation crackdown are a reminder to prioritize factors emphasized by the National Security Division and other enforcement agencies, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.
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5 Insider-Threat Reminders After Recent DOJ Prosecutions
Three recent U.S. Department of Justice actions may well lead to much greater scrutiny of companies in which insiders engage in a variety of corporate misconduct, including conducting or enabling cybercrimes, which will likely fall not just on government contractors, but across industries and geographies, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
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What Tax-Exempt Orgs. Need From Energy Credit Guidance
Guidance clarifying the Inflation Reduction Act’s credit regime, expected from the U.S. Department of the Treasury this summer, should help tax-exempt organizations determine the benefits of clean energy projects and integrate alternative energy investments into their activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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FCA Can Be An Effective Tool For Fighting Customs Fraud
Appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit may affect the scienter and jurisdictional aspects of False Claims Act cases alleging customs fraud, which can provide an avenue to alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection and potentially help clients to recover losses from unfair competitors, say Ellen London at London & Stout and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Li Yu.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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Would Congress' Proposed ITC Reforms Thwart NPEs?
The recently reintroduced Advancing America's Interests Act intends to curb the growth of nonpracticing entity activity at the U.S. International Trade Commission, and a closer examination of three provisions shows where it may be successful and where pitfalls could exist, say attorneys at Axinn.