On May 8, 2025, the U.K. and U.S. announced a trade deal to reduce or remove tariffs on each other’s exports, including on cars, steel and aluminum, and released the general terms for a potential U.K.-U.S. trade agreement....more
7/8/2025
/ Appeals ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
US Trade Policies
President Trump’s new tariff regime has applied new, substantial tariffs to imports from every country on the globe....more
While the recent imposition of US tariffs on aluminium and steel imports and the EU’s subsequent response may evoke a sense of déjà vu from the first Trump administration, the European Union (EU) has more arrows in its quiver...more
4/1/2025
/ Coercion ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
Key Points -
- New laws in major jurisdictions make it vital that companies examine their supply chains closely for legal vulnerabilities. This entails due diligence on environmental and human rights issues, and compliance...more
Boards face a multitude of challenges, and opportunities, with the change in administrations. As we describe in the latest issue of The Informed Board, the new administration is forcing companies to reexamine their approaches...more
2/20/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Multinationals ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
On February 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on almost all imports from Canada, Mexico and China. Tariffs on China became effective on February 4, 2025, while Canada and Mexico reached...more
2/7/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Opioid ,
Popular ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration
A number of jurisdictions globally are enhancing their supply chain-related regulations. The European Union’s latest regulation in this respect, the EU Forced Labour Regulation (FLR), was adopted on 19 November 2024. The FLR...more
12/12/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Forced Labor ,
Imports ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Bans ,
UK
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has opened a process whereby parties can request exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for imports of certain Chinese-origin machinery used in manufacturing. The launch of this...more
When the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Act) came into force, it was considered a landmark legal development globally. The UK was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce a legal requirement concerning transparency in supply...more
9/19/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Human Rights ,
Human Trafficking ,
International Trade ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On May 14, 2024, President Joe Biden announced that he had directed the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to add or increase tariffs on a range of goods originating from China, including electric vehicles (EVs),...more
5/15/2024
/ Batteries ,
Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
China ,
Electric Vehicles ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Key Points -
- In light of the vigorous enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, boards in their oversight role should ensure that their companies conduct heightened diligence on their supply chains, including...more
2/13/2024
/ Canada ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Forced Labor ,
Germany ,
Imports ,
NGOs ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
US Trade Policies ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enforcement landscape continues to evolve, as evident in several recent developments:
On October 24, 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (the Commission)...more
Over the past few weeks, the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) has signaled a shift in its strategy for enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). On July 26, 2023, the FLETF issued its...more
8/23/2023
/ China ,
Enforcement ,
Entity List ,
Forced Labor ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
On June 21, 2022, a key element of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) went into effect: the rebuttable presumption. Going forward, any imports of goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the...more
Bipartisan, bicameral support is mounting for legislation that would create a mandatory outbound investment screening regime to review U.S. investments in China and other countries identified by Congress as countries of...more
Takeaways -
As a national and economic security initiative, the Biden administration is developing policies to protect several critical supply chains.
The Commerce Department is expected to take further measures to...more
On December 16, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that effectively prohibits imports of goods made either wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) of China. The prohibition relies on a...more
12/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Imports ,
Solar Energy ,
Supply Chain ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
On October 4, 2021, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the restart of an exclusion process that could lead to the reinstatement of certain exemptions from tariffs imposed on Chinese imports under Section 301 of...more
10/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Exclusions ,
Imports ,
Public Comment ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Takeaways
- Tariffs and other restrictions on trade with China are unlikely to change significantly under the Biden administration, so companies will have to adapt their operations and supply chains accordingly.
- A...more