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International Trade
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April 03, 2024
EU Probing Solar Project Under Foreign Subsidy Rules
European enforcers launched a pair of investigations Wednesday to assess whether companies bidding on a solar project in Romania received an unfair advantage through foreign subsidies.
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April 03, 2024
Nail Cos. Hammer Commerce's 'Death Penalty' Duties
Importers and Taiwanese nail producers railed against U.S. Department of Commerce penalties in back-to-back Federal Circuit hearings Wednesday, arguing that the agency repeatedly slammed companies with duties amounting to a death sentence despite minimal or no wrongdoing.
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April 03, 2024
Epoxy Cos. Say Unfair Trade Threatens Crucial Domestic Industry
Epoxy resin producers have called on U.S. officials to investigate rivals in Asia for unfair trade practices, arguing Wednesday that an influx of allegedly undervalued imports is threatening the domestic supply of an item with automotive, electronic and defense applications.
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April 03, 2024
Chiquita Says $6.9M Win Being Held Up By Banana Exporter
Chiquita Brands told a Florida federal court that an Ecuadorian banana exporter deserves to be fined for skirting court orders requiring the exporter to hand over financial information needed to execute a $6.9 million international arbitral award to Chiquita.
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April 03, 2024
Akin Adds Ex-Treasury Atty, Sanctions Expert In DC
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has hired a former top attorney for the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, who has joined the firm's international trade practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Wednesday.
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April 02, 2024
DC Circ. Says FCC Must Rethink Terms For Chinese Video Ban
The D.C. Circuit ordered the Federal Communications Commission to revise its definition of "critical infrastructure," but still upheld the agency's decision to ban the marketing and sale of video surveillance equipment from two Chinese manufacturers in a new ruling Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
CBP To Crack Down On 'Vague' Cargo Descriptions
Importers will have a harder time bringing in shipments that aren't descriptive enough for border officials to identify following an announcement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the agency will issue messages advising of noncompliance.
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April 02, 2024
Seattle Seaport Co. Defying Clean Water Act, Green Group Says
SSA Marine Inc. is allegedly violating the Clean Water Act by allowing excess contaminated stormwater from its port cargo facility to pollute Seattle's Duwamish River and Elliott Bay, according to a citizen lawsuit filed by an environmental group.
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April 02, 2024
Feds Back The Retooled Bribery Case Against Sen. Menendez
Federal prosecutors on Monday hit back at a "meritless" bid by Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife and business associates to ditch a superseding indictment for an elaborate bribery scheme, citing a plenitude of case law in an effort to knock down the defendants' assertions the retooled charges are "duplicitous" and lodged in the wrong court.
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April 02, 2024
Taiwanese Co. Rips Steel Nail Duty Based On Auto Records
A Taiwanese steel nail producer took the U.S. Department of Commerce to court over an anti-dumping duty rate that the company claims was improperly based on the financial records of a company that produces automobile parts.
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April 01, 2024
Inotiv Can't Toss Investor Suit Over Feds' 'Puppy Mill' Probe
Medical research services provider Inotiv Inc. must face a proposed investor class action accusing it of failing to disclose that subsidiaries it acquired had come under investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice for animal welfare and smuggling violations, an Indiana federal judge ruled while lamenting the "appalling" mistreatment of beagles that investigators had found.
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April 01, 2024
Intel Hid Chip Production Delays From Investors, 9th Circ. Told
Intel investors urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to revive a proposed class action alleging that the tech giant hid problems with the production of its highly anticipated new computer processors, arguing that Intel repeatedly assured investors that production was "on track," even when Intel management allegedly knew Intel wouldn't meet certain deadlines.
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April 01, 2024
Nat'l Security Info Ordered Sealed In $12M Somali Fraud Case
A Maryland federal judge has ordered protocols to seal confidential State Department materials amid the government's criminal fraud case charging a Maryland lawyer with misappropriating more than $12 million in Somali state assets.
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April 01, 2024
DC Circ. Rejects Navarro's Presidential Records Appeal
The D.C. Circuit on Monday ruled that the federal government can use a 1978 law governing the preservation of presidential records to force former Trump adviser Peter Navarro to turn over emails from his time at the White House.
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April 01, 2024
Feds Say Mexican Steel Wire Was Finished In US To Skirt Duty
The U.S. Department of Commerce preliminarily found on Monday that a Mexican steel company had been exporting unfinished steel wire to the U.S. for minor processing to avoid an anti-dumping duty on Mexican prestressed concrete steel wire.
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April 01, 2024
Digital Trade Groups Keep Pressing Biden To Oppose Barriers
U.S. technology industry groups are maintaining pressure on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to stand up to foreign policies that limit or jeopardize access to export markets, especially in the burgeoning digital trade space.
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April 01, 2024
Reduced Dolphin Threat Revives US-New Zealand Fish Trade
New Zealand's fisheries can begin shipping seafood to the U.S. again, after the U.S. Court of International Trade accepted a finding on Monday that the New Zealand government had taken steps to protect the endangered Maui dolphin from harmful fishing techniques.
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March 29, 2024
Argentine Gunmaker Accused of Hiding Light Trigger Defect
An Argentine gun manufacturer was hit with a lawsuit by a Georgia man who says that a dangerous defect in the design of a 9 mm pistol got him shot when the gun accidentally discharged.
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March 29, 2024
Navy Overspent $399M In Ukraine Funding In 2022, DOD Says
The U.S. Department of Defense said that lax financial controls in the U.S. Navy's budgeting system led it to overspend nearly $400 million in funds intended to help Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion, which has also increased the risk of triggering a possible Antideficiency Act violation in the future.
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March 29, 2024
DC Circ. Nixes Challenges To Gas Industry Projects
Federal energy regulators had broad discretion to approve "good cause" construction deadline extensions for a gas pipeline across New York state and a Texas Gulf Coast gas terminal expansion, according to a D.C. Circuit panel opinion on Friday that rejected conservation groups' challenges to the projects.
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March 29, 2024
Exxon Docs In $1.8B Case Should Be Unsealed, Judge Told
The government asked a Texas federal judge to wave away protests by Exxon Mobil Corp. to keep its documents sealed in a case over $1.8 billion in contested tax benefits for a joint venture with Qatar, saying Thursday that the energy giant threatens unnecessary disputes at trial.
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March 29, 2024
Lowe's Lies 'Destroyed' Vendor's Business, NC Suit Says
A home accents company alleged that Lowe's sought to "destroy" it with "bogus" complaints about product quality and the business' financial health, costing it tens of millions of dollars while usurping its business model.
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March 29, 2024
US Trade Report Excludes Barriers With 'Legitimate' Purposes
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative left out foreign trade barriers that the Biden administration believes serve "legitimate public purposes" from this year's National Trade Estimate report Friday, rejecting pressure from domestic industry associations.
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March 29, 2024
Up Next After Bankman-Fried Sentencing: FTX Cooperators
Now that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for an $11 billion fraud on the collapsed crypto exchange, it's time for the three top lieutenants who testified against him at trial to face their own judgments — and experts say the cooperators are well positioned to avoid jail time.
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March 29, 2024
Ferrosilicon Cos. Accuse Russia, 3 Others Of Unfair Trade
Two American ferrosilicon producers called for anti-dumping and countervailing duties on rival products from Russia and three other countries, which they said were underselling domestic ferrosilicon by unfair margins in the U.S. market.
Expert Analysis
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Trade Preference Program Revival: Is The Past Prologue?
Attorneys at Squire Patton discuss what Congress' past reauthorizations of the Generalized System of Preferences reveal about the prospects for its revitalization in the current term, why this oldest of U.S. trade preference programs should be protected, and how importers can utilize its advantages in the meantime.
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The Benefits Of Preparing OFAC's Blocked Property Report
Companies preparing to submit an annual report of blocked property, due Sept. 30 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, can use the process to reassess whether existing sanctions compliance measures are appropriate and make adjustments to address new risks, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Unfair Advantage, Buy American Waiver
In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways on one decision that considers unfair proposal development advantages in the context of an employee's access to nonpublic information in a prior federal government position, and another decision that reconsiders a contract award based on an inadequately supported waiver of Buy American Act restrictions.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.
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Industry Takeaways From OMB's Final Buy America Guidance
The Office of Management and Budget's recently released guidance on "Buy America" requirements for federal infrastructure projects provides clarity in certain areas but fails to address troublesome inconsistencies with state laws and international trade agreements, so manufacturers and suppliers will need to tread carefully as agencies implement the changes, say Amy Hoang and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth Shaw.
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Opinion
Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy
The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.
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Understanding China's Crypto-Blockchain Dichotomy
Even as China restricts cryptocurrency use, its actions frequently support blockchain as a complementary technology to real economy sectors, which is why the blockchain-cryptocurrency distinction is core to understanding the country's relationship with these technologies, say attorneys at Cravath.
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The Self-Disclosure Calculus After Tri-Seal Compliance Note
With the recent note from three government agencies emphasizing the incentives for voluntarily self-disclosing potential violations of sanctions, export control and other national security laws, companies’ risk-based analyses of whether to disclose even minor, technical offenses may shift, say attorneys at Akin.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.
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To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
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Defense Practice Pointers In Venezuela Bribe Case Dismissal
A Texas federal court’s recent dismissal of charges in U.S. v. Murta — one of over two dozen prosecutions targeting bribes paid to a Venezuelan state-owned oil company — highlights the complicated issues presented by cross-border investigations, and provides lessons for defense counsel representing foreign clients in U.S. prosecutions, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.
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Strategies For Enforcing Arbitral Awards Against Sovereigns
When a large project or investment in a foreign country is unexpectedly expropriated by a new government, companies often prevail in arbitration — but if the sovereign refuses to pay up, collecting the arbitral award may require persistence, creativity, and a mixture of hard and soft approaches, say Gabe Bluestone and Jeff Newton at OmniBridgeway.
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A Closer Look At China's Landmark Pharma Antitrust Ruling
The Supreme People's Court's recent decision in Yangtze River Pharma v. HIPI Pharma — the first antitrust litigation in China's active pharmaceutical ingredient sector — indicates a balanced regulatory approach between competition concerns and intellectual property rights protection, say analysts at The Brattle Group.
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Key Takeaways From Agencies' Tri-Seal Compliance Note
In light of a recent compliance note issued by three government agencies, private sector firms should weigh several important considerations in deciding whether to voluntarily self-disclose potential violations of sanctions, export controls and other national security laws, say attorneys at Schulte Roth.