CCCS publishes study on e-commerce platforms and updates guidelines
CCCS issues Guidelines on Price Transparency
CCCS issues COVID-19 guidance on collaborations for supply of essentials
CCCS ends probe into online food delivery and virtual kitchen sectors
Draft guideline on unfair trade practices for food delivery platform operators
OTCC announced amendments to the Unfair Guideline for Franchise
OTCC has completed a public consultation on its draft guidelines on unfair trade practices for food delivery platform operators. Further amendments to the OTCC’s guidance for franchise businesses clarify details of “fair practice” if a franchisor wishes to open another franchise outlet in the same locality as existing franchisees.
This update was published on 16 October 2020 as part of our quarterly newsletter, Asia Pacific Competition Highlights. Click here to access the full report, which covers the most notable antitrust developments across 11 Asia Pacific jurisdictions.
On 12 November 2020, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, submitted a draft bill to Congress that would prohibit the subcontracting of personnel and regulate the performance of specialized services and works. The draft bill, if passed, would reform the Federal Labor Law (FLL), the Social Security Law, the Law of the Institute of the National Workers’ Housing Fund (INFONAVIT), the Federal Fiscal Code, the Income Tax Law and the Value Added Tax Law.
On November 18, 2020, CBP issued CSMS #44905878 – GUIDANCE: Section 301 Tranche 3 – $200B Action Technical Amendment to Product Exclusion from China,reproduced below: Background On November 13, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published Federal Register (FR) Notice 85 FR 72748, announcing a technical amendment to amend a previously granted exclusion…
On November 13, 2020, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 13959, “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance…
The increase in legal and regulatory measures arising out of COVID-19 is truly proportional to the growth of the pandemic itself. Although the measures affect all industries, many of these have direct implications and relevance on the healthcare and life sciences sectors. While some industries and services are forced to shut down, companies in the healthcare and life sciences ambit are pushed to work even harder, innovate faster, collaborate and be resilient at an unprecedented pace.
Such measures aim to assure supplies of medicines and medical devices at home as well as to accelerate R&D through incentives. While the pandemic has put some clinical trials in jeopardy, many jurisdictions are now passing special regulations to protect patients while ensuring that ongoing trials can continue. Industry peers are “sharing” IP, be it through compulsory licensing or forced collaborative manufacturing arrangements. Many countries have adopted specific measures to broaden access to telemedicine, a trend expected to survive and grow well beyond the pandemic.
A recent study co-led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (the “Study”) has suggested that exposure to COVID-19 vaccine related misinformation could negatively impact the public’s willingness to undergo vaccination.
Products and services that are marketed as “eco-friendly” will be subject to a recently launched probe by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This is a rapidly growing sector — UK consumers spent GBP 41 billion on ethical goods and services in 2019, according to the CMA — and the credibility of claims on sustainability can be fundamental to brand value. A regulatory finding that such claims are false or misleading could prompt litigation by consumers that purchased the products based on those claims, as well as by shareholders impacted by a drop in share value caused by negative publicity.
B2B relationships, particularly in the retail sector, are often characterized by an economic imbalance between the contracting parties, resulting in one party being able to impose contractual terms that would not be possible under normal market circumstances. Therefore, on 21 March 2019, the Belgian Parliament passed a new act on the abuse of economic dependence, unfair terms and unfair practices in B2B relationships (the ‘Act’).
If you are a manufacturer of electric vehicles or related parts, you should be interested in the new incentives discussed below.
Against the backdrop of the Thai government’s policy to promote electric vehicles (EV) across the board and to create an EV manufacturing regional hub, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) recently announced a new investment promotion package for EV.