Perspectives on International Trade & Investment

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is in the final stages of seeking input from business, government, and civil society on a new work program known as the Accountability and Remedy Project.

Earlier today, the United States, China, France, Russia, UK, and Germany (the “P5+1” nations) reached a historic final agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief: the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Agreement (JCPOA).

On June 25, 2015, the US House of Representatives passed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (the Act includes a Generalized System of Preferences renewal provision). President Obama is expected to sign the Act into law soon.

On June 24, the US Senate passed the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act, which will empower the Obama Administration to negotiate new trade agreements with its Pacific Rim and European Union trading partners based on strong congressional parameters.

In this episode of Fashion Counsel, Partner Anthony Lupo talks with former Senator Byron Dorgan, Senior Policy Advisor in the Government Relations practice.

The following alert is the fourth installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

The 2015 edition of Legal 500 US has rated 50 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as national leaders in their field. In addition, 15 of the firm’s practice areas were ranked among the best in the country.

Last week, the US Department of Justice in New York unsealed a 47-count indictment against 14 defendants and at the same time numerous FIFA officials and other persons were arrested as they gathered for annual FIFA meeting in Zurich.

Canada’s National Contact Point (NCP) recently sanctioned China Gold International Resources Corp. Ltd. (China Gold) for its unwillingness to participate in consultations under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) regarding China Gold’s mining activities in Tibet.

According to Lumber Liquidators’ most recent Securities and Exchange (SEC) disclosures, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is pursuing criminal charges against the company under the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3371-3378) for allegedly importing products containing illegally harvested wood.

On May 5, 2015, the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued proposed rules concerning the transfer of certain items from US Munitions List Category XII to the Commerce Control List as part of the President’s Export Control Reform Initiative.

This is the third installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has informed a US district court that it may not be proposing regulations requiring energy and mining companies to disclose payments to governments for the extraction of natural resources until spring 2016.

Iran and the United States, along with Russia, China, France, the UK, and Germany announced that they have reached an agreement on the key parameters for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding the Iran nuclear program in exchange for the termination of certain sanctions.

The second installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized Arent Fox’s Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, and International Trade practices in its annual worldwide rankings of top law firms.

Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, and International Trade practices recognized.

The stakeholder engagement process supporting the Obama Administration’s plans to develop a National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (NAP) is well underway. Two stakeholder meetings have already occurred in New York City and Berkeley, California.

Based on recent votes in Congress, the possibility of a partial shutdown of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities for at least a brief period of time is looming larger. On February 27, 2015, Congress extended DHS funding for one week.

The US National Contact Point recently issued a Final Statement regarding complaints by two international labor unions that Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) engaged in conduct inconsistent with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines).

The long-awaited final Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) provisions modifying the Human Trafficking regulations were published on January 29, 2015.

In September 2014, Arent Fox reported about a US court case with which every corporate officer of a company doing business in the United States should become familiar.

Many companies and other stakeholders have chosen to participate in the United Nations (UN) Global Compact as a means of demonstrating their commitment to integrating universal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles into their business practices.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations can lead to significant collateral consequences.