Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled EU discusses eleventh package of EU sanctions against Russia on 12 May 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
Most major companies have implemented a compliance program but often struggle with two issues: ensuring the compliance program remains effective in light of their existing and changing landscape and making it more efficient by leveraging technology. The Compliance Cockpit specifically addresses both issues.
“Nearshoring” in Mexico is currently a hot topic for multinational companies considering moving business and manufacturing closer to home. COVID-19-era global supply chain disruptions and changes to the global economy are causing companies to reexamine their sourcing options and relocating to Mexico has much appeal. According to an analysis by the McKinsey Global Institute, in 2021, American investors put more money into Mexico – buying companies and financing projects – than into China.
On 4 May 2023, Royal Excelsior Virton, a professional football club in Belgium’s second division, announced that it lodged a complaint against competing club SK Lommel with the European Commission under the new Regulation 2022/2560 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (“FSR”). This appears to be the first time the Commission is publicly asked to initiate an ex officio investigation under the FSR.
The UK government announced on 15 March 2023 that customs valuation rulings, so-called Advance Valuation Rulings (AVR), would soon be a feature of the UK Customs regime. On 27 April 2023, the UK government published guidance on submitting applications for an AVR with the system going live. This is despite the necessary legislative amendments not yet coming into force.
The FCA has published a consultation paper (CP23/10) proposing major changes to the listing rules. The deadline for responses is Wednesday, 28 June 2023 and the FCA expects to publish a further consultation “in the autumn” which will include the proposed revised listing rules in full (the current consultation discusses the changes proposed but not specific drafting). The proposals relate to the rules as they apply to listings of equity shares in commercial companies, with no material changes currently proposed to the rules as they apply to non-equity securities nor the majority of other standard listed instruments (e.g., depositary receipts).
As a general rule on customs valuation, there are certain types of costs that should be added to the customs value. But sometimes the costs cannot be determined at the time of import (or at the time of import declaration). Thus, in 2016 the Indonesian Minister of Finance (MOF) issued MOF Regulation No. 67/PMK.04/2016 on Voluntary Declaration of Customs Value for Import Duty Calculation (“MOF Regulation 67”), which introduced ways to declare and pay those costs in the form of a voluntary declaration and voluntary payment mechanism. To provide legal certainty and improve compliance in relation to the mechanism of voluntary declaration and voluntary payment of customs value, the MOF issued a new regulation on voluntary declaration and voluntary payment, i.e., MOF Regulation No. 201/PMK.04/2020 (“MOF Regulation 201”), which came into force on 16 February 2021, and revoked MOF Regulation 67.
This article provides an overview of the global rise in human and labor rights legislation linked to trade measures. In particular, it examines: Canada’s efforts to enforce the existing import prohibitions on goods mined or manufactured with forced labor under the Customs Tariff; compliance under the recently passed Bill S-211, Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff which comes into force on 1 January 2024; and the need for Canadian businesses to develop compliance measures on the import prohibition under the Customs Tariff, the new reporting requirements under Bill S-211, and the importance of continuing enterprise and supply chain scrutiny.
In recent weeks, the EU Draft Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste as well as communiqués on the inspection of compliance with relevant standards or technical regulations for certain imported and/or exported products have been published in the commercial and trade sector. In addition, various amendments were made to the Customs Regulation, the Regulation on the Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade, and the Law on the Regulation of Retail Trade.
Under the FTC’s order, JAB must obtain the Commission’s prior notice provision and also a broad prior approval provision. That is a risk if the PE firms have a roll-up strategy, because it then requires future notification on acquisitions in the same space. This puts the firms at a disadvantage in a competitive auction setting.