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Welcome to our first Virtual Year-End Review of Import/Export Developments Conference, a virtual offering for all our clients and friends worldwide. Baker McKenzie’s international trade compliance lawyers from around the world discussed the major global legislative, judicial and administrative activities and trends in export controls, trade sanctions, customs compliance, and import requirements in nine one-hour sessions which took place from 17 to 19 November 2020.

Below you will find the recordings and topics discussed in each of the sessions.

Day One – November 17, 2020

Introduction and Overview

Topics discussed:

  • Current Worldwide Trade & Investment Environment
  • New Administration’s Trade Policy Objectives and Prospects
  • Foreign Investment Regulatory Developments

Speakers: John McKenzie, Mattias Hedwall, Rod Hunter, Anahita Thoms, Junko Suetomi, Ben Smith

Export Control Developments

Topics discussed:

  • The Military End-User Licensing Requirements for China, Russia and Venezuela
  • The New “Foreign Direct Product” Rule
  • Entity List Restrictions
  • Change in the Status of Hong Kong for Export Control Purposes
  • Update on the Emerging and Foundational Technologies Export Control Initiative
  • European Union Export Control Developments
  • The Export Control Implications of Brexit

Speakers: Nick Coward, Alison Stafford Powell, Paul Amberg, Ben Smith

Focus on China

Topics discussed:

  • The Chinese National Security Law and Hong Kong
  • The New Chinese Export Control Regulations and Update on the China Technology Transfer Catalogue
  • The Regulations Implementing China’s “Unreliable Entity List”
  • Executive Order 13943: Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain
  • Section 889 of the NDAA for 2019: U.S. Government restrictions on procurement of “covered telecommunications equipment and services” from specified Chinese suppliers
  • Human Rights Abuses involving Minority Population of Xinjiang Province
  • Status Report and Prospects of the “Phase One Trade Agreement”

Speakers: John McKenzie, Jon Cowley, Alison Stafford Powell, Weng Keong Kok

Day Two – November 18, 2020

Economic Sanctions Developments

Topics discussed:

  • Hong Kong Autonomy Act
  • Iran Sanctions
  • Update on Venezuelan Sanctions
  • Update on Russian Sanctions
  • Emerging Sanctions Issues: Cybersecurity, Human Rights, Election Interference
  • OFAC Developments
  • Status Report on Pending Litigation under the Helms-Burton Act involving investments in Cuba

Speakers: Alison Stafford Powell, Janet Kim, Alex Lamy, Ben Smith, Vladimir Efremov

Export Control and Economic Sanctions Enforcement Developments

Topics discussed:

  • Department of Justice Voluntary Disclosure Guidelines
  • Recent Export Control and Economic Sanctions Enforcement Actions
  • EU Economic Sanctions Enforcement Actions
  • Handling an Export Control or Economic Sanctions Enforcement Investigation
  • The Role of Banks in Economic Sanctions Enforcement

Speakers: Alison Stafford Powell, Jessica Nall, Terry Gilroy, Tristan Grimmer

Trade Agreements Developments

Topics discussed:

  • USMCA
  • Brexit
  • Prospects for a United States-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement
  • Transpacific Partnership (without the United States)

Speakers: John McKenzie, Adriana Ibarra, Stuart Seidel, Paul Burns, Jenny Revis

Day Three – November 19, 2020

Import and Customs Developments: United States

Topics discussed:

  • Overview of United States Customs Developments
  • Update on Section 301 Duties on Products of China
  • The Digital Services Tax Dispute
  • Transfer Pricing and Customs Valuation

Speakers: John McKenzie, Stuart Seidel, Christine Streatfeild, Juliana Marques

Import and Customs Developments: International 

Topics discussed:

  • European Customs Developments
  • Import Developments in North America
  • Compliance Challenges in Importing into Brazil
  • Asia/Pacific Customs Developments

Speakers: John McKenzie, Jenny Revis, Brian Cacic, Jose Hoyos, Alessandra Machado, Ivy Tan, Junko Suetomi

Rebuilding International Supply Chains

Topics discussed:

  • Continued Pressure to Reduce Dependency on China
  • Forced Labor and Modern Slavery and Trafficking Legislation
  • Screening Parties against the OFAC SDN List
  • Compliance Challenges and Due Diligence of Suppliers and Customers under the FCPA
  • Supply Chains Reimagined and the “Extended Enterprise”

Speakers: Alison Stafford Powell, Anne Petterd, Aleesha Fowler, Kerry Contini, Helena Engfeldt

Author

Paul Amberg is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Amsterdam office, where he handles international trade and compliance issues. He advises multinational companies on export controls, trade sanctions, antiboycott rules, customs laws, anticorruption laws, and commercial law matters.

Author

Paul Burns has over 30 years of experience advising clients on all aspects of international trade and commodity tax, including significant experience advising on Canadian customs and export control matters. For many years, he served as the Practice Group Coordinator of the International Commercial Practice Group in Baker & McKenzie’s Toronto office.

Author

Brian Cacic assists clients on all substantive Canadian customs, trade sanctions and export controls issues, including complex customs valuation, tariff classification, rules of origin, marking, remissions and drawbacks. He assists clients to develop and implement effective customs and trade compliance programs, and he regularly conducts internal compliance reviews, prepares voluntary disclosures, and represents clients in Canadian customs compliance audits and enforcement actions. He also provides trade compliance and regulatory advice in connection with corporate restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, and advises clients on trade-related legislative matters.

Author

Kerry Contini is a partner in the Firm’s Outbound Trade Practice Group in Washington, DC. She has served as co-chair of the Firm's Pro Bono committee for several years and has managed award-winning pro bono work involving Baker McKenzie professionals in North America, Europe and Asia. She has written on export controls and trade sanctions issues for several publications, including The Export Practitioner and Ethisphere. Kerry is a co-chair of the Export Controls and Sanctions Section of the Association of Women in International Trade. She joined the Firm as a summer associate in 2005 and became a full-time associate in 2006.

Author

Nicholas Coward is a partner in Baker McKenzie´s Washington office and serves as chair the Firm’s Global Trade and Commerce Practice Group. He has also chaired the North American International Commercial Practice Group. He has over 30 years experience practicing in the areas of US export controls, trade sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr. Coward served on the Washington Office management committee from 1990 to 2002 including two terms as managing partner and served on the Firm’s Executive Committee from 2002 to 2007.

Author

Jon Cowley is a member of Baker McKenzie's Hong Kong office. Jon's practice focuses on Asia-Pacific customs and trade matters, including controversy and audit support, duty and indirect tax planning, supply chain structuring and trade compliance advice. Jon returned to Baker McKenzie after spending five years as Assistant General Counsel for Customs and International Trade at a major consumer product company, where he advised the business on trade and customs issues globally. He previously was a member of Baker McKenzie’s International Trade Controversies and Planning practice in Hong Kong, where he assisted multinational companies with China customs, export control, encryption, indirect tax and cross-border regulatory matters. Earlier in his career, Jon was a trade advisor with consulting firms in Silicon Valley and Chicago.

Author

Helena Engfeldt is an associate in Baker McKenzie's International/Commercial Practice Group in San Francisco. Before joining the Firm, she was a Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. While attending Berkeley Law, Ms. Engfeldt was awarded the Dr. Tech. Marcus Wallenberg Foundation Fellowship and the Sweden America Foundation Fellowship.

Author

Aleesha Fowler is an associate in the Washington, DC office. She represents domestic and international corporate clients on a range of litigation and compliance matters, including criminal and civil investigations brought by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. She regularly advises clients on white collar criminal matters, and has significant experience in handling investigations that raise issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the US False Claims Act. Aleesha's pro bono practice is focused on providing legal advice and representation to incarcerated clients seeking parole and other available remedies.

Author

Terry Gilroy is a partner in the New York office of Baker McKenzie and a member of the Compliance and Investigations Practice Group. Prior to joining the Firm in 2018, Terry served as Americas Head of the Financial Crime Legal function at Barclays. Terry advises businesses and individuals on white collar and financial crime issues and has significant experience conducting investigations relating to compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and related bribery and corruption statutes, economic sanctions regulations as administered by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and statutes. Terry spent six years on active duty in the United States Army as a Field Artillery officer.

Author

Mattias Hedwall heads Baker Mckenzie's Global International Commercial & Trade Group and supervises the International Commercial & Trade Group in Stockholm. He joined Baker McKenzie in 1996 and has more than two decades of legal experience. Mattias has for many years been on the Stockholm office’s board of directors and is currently the chairman of the board. Mattias has authored a number of articles on Swedish and International Business and Commercial law, and has published a handbook on commercial contracts. He gives presentations and trainings on focus areas where he is experienced. Mattias supervises the Baker McKenzie co-operation with Stockholm School of Economics (Sw. Handelshögskolan).

Author

José has been a member of the Foreign Trade Practice Group since 2000. He is experienced in foreign trade and customs matters, free trade agreements (FTA), regulatory matters, consumer protection and export controls. He has contributed to several publications related to foreign trade and customs matters and is a professor of international trade law at the Universidad Panamericana.

Author

Rod Hunter, a partner based in the Washington, DC office of Baker McKenzie, practices trade and investment law. He previously served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and senior director for international economics at the National Security Council (NSC), the White House office that coordinates trade policy and supervises CFIUS. In that role, he managed CFIUS cases, including negotiating resolution of the most sensitive cases. A recognized expert in the field, he has testified before Congress during the legislative process leading to recent amendments to CFIUS’ authorizing legislation. Previously, in addition to coordinating U.S. trade policy at the White House’s NSC, he served as senior counsel at the US Trade Representative’s office, where he litigated cases before the World Trade Organization. He has also taught trade law and policy at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and has testified before the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Earlier in his career, Rod practiced regulatory law in Brussels, Belgium for a decade, served as a judicial clerk to Judge Boyce F. Martin, US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, served as an associate to Chief Justice Sir Anthony Mason, High Court of Australia and served as an assistant to Senator John W. Warner, US Senate.

Author

Adriana has over twenty years of experience in customs and foreign trade matters. She joined Baker McKenzie in 2001, became National Partner in 2005 and a Principal in 2018. She has prior experience working as legal director of Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures and Safeguards in the Mexican Ministry of Economy where she participated in the negotiation of several free trade agreements (FTAs) and in the first dispute settlement resolution cases initiated by Mexico against the US under the NAFTA. Adriana has been ranked a leading practitioner by Chambers and Partners at Chambers Global and Chambers Latin America as well as Legal 500 for ten consecutive years. She was an associate in our Guadalajara and Washington, D.C. offices and currently Heads the Firm’s North America International Commercial Practice Group in Mexico City.

Author

Janet Kim is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Washington, DC office. Ms. Kim advises clients — including US and foreign companies —on outbound compliance issues arising from the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as in criminal and regulatory proceedings, internal investigations and compliance reviews relating to these areas of law. She also advises on the application of these laws in cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and joint venture arrangements. Additionally, Ms. Kim helps develop and implement workable, risk-based compliance programs for companies in a wide range of industries.

Author

Weng Keong is an associate with Baker McKenzie's Hong Kong office. His practice focuses on Singapore, Hong Kong, and China trade and customs matters. He provides advice on supply chain structures, rules of origin, customs valuation, indirect tax, FTAs, WTO rules, export controls, sanctions, and product regulatory compliance.

Author

Alexandre Lamy joined Baker McKenzie in 2009 and currently works in the Firm's International Trade Practice Group. He assists clients with sanctions and export controls (Export Administration Regulations (EAR); International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)) and he advises clients on corporate compliance matters. Since August 2011, Alex has served on the steering group for the ABA Section of International Law’s Export Controls & Economic Sanctions Committee and is currently a Vice Chair of the Committee. He has organized several events regarding recent developments in US trade sanctions and export controls for the Committee.

Author

Juliana Marques is an associate in the Firm’s San Francisco office, where her practice involves all areas of domestic and international tax law. She also worked in the Firm's Chicago office for 10 months.

Author

Jess is a technology investigations partner practicing at the forefront of government enforcement in the technology industry. Jess leads Baker McKenzie's investigations and compliance practice on the West Coast.
For more than two decades, Jess has defended companies and individuals in government investigations and conducted internal investigations involving cutting-edge technology issues including AI, cybersecurity, and alleged misuse of all kinds of data. Jess has defended companies and individuals across the Asia Pacific region since the first DOJ Antitrust cartel investigations in 2003, and has a deep understanding of cultural issues impacting investigations in that region and across the globe.
Jess has been recognized by Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500, and Global Investigations Review for internal investigations and defense in cases involving White Collar Crime & Government Investigations.

Author

Author

Ben Smith is a Partner in Baker McKenzie’s London office and a member of the firm’s Compliance & Investigations and International Trade practice groups. Both these practices are ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500 UK. Ben joined the London office of Baker & McKenzie in September 2007. He has also worked in Baker McKenzie's San Francisco and Brussels offices, as well as on secondment to the legal and compliance teams at three FTSE 100 UK plcs. The Legal 500 UK ranked Ben as a “Rising Star”, noting “Ben Smith is a pleasure to work with. Professional, knowledgeable and always ready to assist with practical solutions.”

Author

Alison Stafford Powell has considerable experience counseling US and non-US companies on cross-border outbound trade compliance in the areas of export controls, trade and financial sanctions, anti-terrorism controls, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering rules, US anti-boycott laws, and US foreign investment restrictions under the Exon-Florio Provision. With a background also in EU and UK trade restrictions, she routinely advises non-US companies on reconciling US and EU trade regulations and on the extra-territorial impact of US trade restrictions. She is a dual US/English qualified lawyer and has worked in the Firm’s London, Washington, DC and Palo Alto offices since 1996.

Author

Christine Streatfeild is a partner in the IPTech Practice Group. She has a broad range of trade, regulatory, and litigation experience, most frequently representing clients in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, safeguard measures, duties imposed for national security purposes (Section 232 duties), and Section 337 intellectual property and trade secrets disputes. She appears before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), US Department of Commerce (DOC), and the federal courts. She also routinely advises companies regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on issues affecting mergers, acquisitions, licensing, and compliance. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Ms. Streatfeild served as the acting deputy director of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and in the Environment and Natural Resources division of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the Krieger School, Johns Hopkins University, where she taught Global Trade, Policy and Competition.

Author

Junko Suetomi is a partner in Baker McKenzie Tokyo. Prior to joining the Firm, she worked in the WTO Dispute Settlement Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Economic Bureau. She has also worked for a global law firm in Washington, DC and New York, and served as a court-appointed defense attorney in many criminal cases. Junko is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific, Best Lawyers, Who's Who Legal and other legal directories. She is the Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Tokyo Bar Association and a part-time lecturer at Waseda University. She was a legal advisor to the Ministry of Finance Japan's Office of Trade Remedy Affairs, Tariff Policy and Legal Division, Customs and Tariff Bureau from 2016 to 2019. She has served as an expert member of the Ministry's Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions since 13 March 2019.

Author

Anahita Thoms ist Partner bei Baker & McKenzie Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern mbB