On 22 February 2023, the US Department of Justice announced a new voluntary self-disclosure policy for corporate criminal enforcement in all United States Attorneys’ Offices around the country. USAOs are often the front line of DOJ’s enforcement efforts, prosecuting federal criminal cases in each of the 94 federal judicial districts across the country. This includes the prosecution of many criminal violations of US sanctions and export controls.
The UK’s trade remedies body, the Trade Remedies Authority announced on 22 February that it has begun a reconsideration of its recommendation in Case AD0012, concerning imports of certain aluminium extrusions originating in China. Notably, this was the TRA’s first anti-dumping investigation in response to an application from UK industry. A reconsideration application is a request for the TRA to review its findings in a concluded investigation.
The publication of the July 2022 version of the European Commission’s Blue Guide on the implementation of European Union product rules aims to adapt to changes in European legislation on the marketing of products within the EU. In this sense, the aim is to improve the understanding of EU legislation and its application in the fields that make up the single market. The Guide is for guidance only, which means that it has no legal force. Among the most relevant changes are the introduction of specific sections on product repairs, software, online sales and Brexit.
The IRS is laying the groundwork for more aggressive and contentious transfer pricing controversies, recently revealing that it will more actively consider applying the economic substance doctrine and related penalties in those cases. It is unclear how the IRS would apply the doctrine to otherwise economically meaningful related party arrangements, but the IRS’s shot across the bow should be taken seriously, and the new approach will likely soon be made manifest at the examination stage.
On 3 March 2023, Brazil issued two new decrees regarding the organizational structure and attributes of the Foreign Trade Chamber and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. These are the two main bodies responsible for, among other things, defining Brazil’s foreign trade policies, including the application of trade defense measures.
Download Baker McKenzie’s latest “Doing Business in Mexico” publication, which looks at foreign investment law, competition law, IMMEX, the Maquiladora Program, company law, taxes, international trade, labor law, the environment, intellectual property, and real estate.
Join Baker McKenzie for a webinar on Forced labor developments in Mexico, Canada and the United States on Thursday, 23 March 2023 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am Central Time. In this webinar, the panelists will discuss Mexico’s implementation of the new Forced Labor Regulation, Canada’s implementation of supply chain transparency legislation, US forced labor enforcement trends, customs forced labor best practices and supply chain due diligence recommendations.
On 27 January 2023, the Draft Law on the Restructuring of Certain Receivables and Amending Certain Laws was submitted to the Turkish Parliament. It includes provisions regarding the restructuring of various public receivables, including customs receivables.
After much anticipation since the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement entered into force, on 17 February 2023, the Ministry of Economy published in the Federal Official Gazette an administrative regulation that sets forth the goods, which importation of is subject to regulation by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, which prohibits the importation of goods produced with forced labor.
With the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 on fertilizer products, the regulatory framework for fertilizer products within the European Union has been updated. However, national regulations may continue to be used on an optional basis. This Regulation has extended the categories of fertilizers covered and it also provides for a number of obligations for manufacturers, importers and distributors of fertilizers, including the declaration of conformity and the CE marking. Finally, guidelines have also been established for the conformity assessment of these products.