The Civil Aviation Law Regulations were amended in response to Mexico’s downgrade to Category 2 by the United States Federal Aviation Agency. These reforms propose measures to improve the safety of Mexican aviation and seek to correct the lack of compliance determined by the Federal Civil Aviation Agency with the safety standards imposed by the Convention on International Civil Aviation of the International Civil Aviation Organization. In addition, the reform incorporated provisions related to the operation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, better known as drones.
The Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries Code of Conduct was amended to provide clearer guidelines on the offering of educational materials and items of medical utility to Healthcare Professionals, and the initiation of donations to charitable organisations or institutions.
Our new report, The Future of Capital Raising in Biotech and Pharma, explores the changing landscape of how biotech and pharma companies are financing their growth, trends in the market and the biggest changes in the sector over recent years.
In addition to the traditional (corporate and/or securities-based) ratings commonly obtained by an issuer in connection with an international debt offering, corporates may now avail themselves of a new metric – the ESG rating. To date, there is no consensus on how ESG ratings, which assess a company’s ESG performance, are derived or what they reflect.
As more corporate bonds are issued linked to ESG ratings, these ratings will become more material, and a consensus around how ESG ratings should be disclosed and regulated will directly impact their reliability.
The business models of financial institutions are changing: how services are delivered, the ways in which they can earn revenue and the search for new ways to monetize value. COVID-19 has accelerated the take-up of digital transformation due to the need to conduct more business remotely through digital channels. Simultaneously, customers have shown a greater willingness to use technologies in which previously they may have lacked confidence.
Read our ninth installment focused on the impact of new technology on financial institutions.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the US State Department, and the US Commerce Department have issued rules adjusting maximum civil monetary penalties under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act – Improvements Act of 2015.
On February 2, 2022, the Department of State published a proposed rule that, most significantly, would amend provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations affecting how the nationality of foreign persons is determined for purposes of deemed exports/reexports.
On 24 January 2022, the Department of Homeland Security published in the Federal Register a request for public comments on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. US importers and other interested parties should consider submitting comments that will both inform the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force of the challenges companies face vetting their supply chains across industries, as well as provide insight into the effectiveness of various compliance-focused measures.
The US Trade Representative announced that it is seeking comments concerning the operation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with respect to automotive goods, including the implementation and enforcement of the USMCA rules of origin for automotive goods.
The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement is gathering momentum on streamlining intra-African trade across the continent, thereby providing exciting opportunities for pandemic recovery and growth.