Three nearly simultaneous actions of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) confirmed its intentions with respect to employee noncompetes. In the first two related actions, the FTC indicated it will not defend its 2024 rule...more
9/10/2025
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Appeals ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request For Information ,
Restrictive Covenants
On August 29, 2025, during a speech at Ohio State University Law School, Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater announced the creation of a “Comply With Care” task force within the Antitrust Division of the Department of...more
9/4/2025
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Privilege Logs
The release of the “America First” investment policy memorandum on Feb. 21 was a glimpse into the Trump administration’s approach to foreign investment oversight, particularly for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the...more
8/28/2025
/ America First Trade Policy ,
Brownfield Properties ,
CFIUS ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Greenfield Projects ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trump Administration
On August 6, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) released the unclassified version of its Annual Report to Congress for Calendar Year (CY) 2024 (Report), depicting trends in the number of filings through...more
On August 11, President Trump issued an executive order, "Further Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Ongoing Discussions With the People's Republic of China" (Order), extending the suspension of heightened tariffs...more
8/19/2025
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
“Secondary tariffs” strike again, with India now squarely in the crosshairs of the latest U.S. trade action. On August 6, President Trump issued an executive order “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of...more
8/8/2025
/ Ad Valorem Tax ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Effective Date ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
India ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Russia ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On July 31, 2025, President Trump issued two executive orders that further refine U.S. trade policy. The first executive order, “Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates” (the RT Order), adjusts tariff rates for various...more
8/4/2025
/ Canada ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
Popular ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On July 30, President Trump took two actions that represent a significant escalation in the administration’s evolving trade strategy: (1) a presidential proclamation (the proclamation) imposing a 50% ad valorem tariff on...more
8/4/2025
/ Commodities ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Metals ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Section 232 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies
On July 8, in the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) designation of July as “Made in the USA” (MUSA) Month, the FTC issued warning letters to four companies suspected of violating the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule...more
Shortly before the scheduled start of the trial, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (Division) reached a settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Juniper Networks (Juniper), allowing their $14...more
On May 28, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the tariffs imposed by President Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful. In the case of V.O.S. v. United States, the court...more
6/13/2025
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Judicial Authority ,
Mexico ,
Real Estate Development ,
Section 301 ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Taxation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) Bill Rinner’s stated goal for his June 4 speech was to provide insight into how the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, will “handle merger review to ensure procedural fairness...more
6/11/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Trump Administration
On May 31, 2025, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice extending specific product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. This extension affects 164...more
6/6/2025
/ China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Foreign Relations ,
Imports ,
Retail Market ,
Section 301 ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On June 2, the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, agreed to its first settlement of a merger challenged under the new administration, less than one week after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into its first...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has agreed to accept the new administration's first settlement of a merger-enforcement challenge. The settlement includes the divestiture of three businesses and will allow Synopsys, Inc. to...more
6/3/2025
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Divestiture ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Software ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In this episode, guest hosts Dan Anziska and Coby Beck join Bill Derasmo for an interview with Danielle Spalding, vice president of communications and public affairs at Cirba Solutions. Spalding discusses the importance of...more
On May 12, President Trump issued an executive order, “Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Discussions with the People’s Republic of China” (the Order), temporarily lowering reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports that...more
5/15/2025
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Imports ,
order ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On April 11, the White House released a Presidential Memorandum, “Clarification of Exceptions Under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as Amended,” which exempts a list of semiconductors and electronics from reciprocal...more
4/16/2025
/ Cell Phones ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Imports ,
Innovative Technology ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Semiconductors ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wireless Technology
President Trump signed a new executive order, “Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment” (the Order) on April 9, marking yet another significant shift in U.S. trade policy. The...more
4/14/2025
/ China ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Imports ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On February 10, President Trump issued Proclamations 10896, “Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States” and 10895 “Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States,” (together, Proclamations), reasserting U.S....more
4/11/2025
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Construction Project ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Foreign Trade Zones ,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On March 26, President Trump issued Proclamation 10908, “Adjusting Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts Into the United States” (Proclamation), imposing a 25% additional tariff on imports of passenger vehicles, light...more
4/9/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Foreign Trade Zones ,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Japan ,
Mexico ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Section 232 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On April 2, President Trump declared “Liberation Day” and unveiled a series of sweeping tariff measures aimed at addressing trade imbalances and foreign trade practices while boosting domestic manufacturing. Marking the...more
4/8/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
Popular ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
As outlined in our recent publication, the United States imposed a 25% additional tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico starting March 4, with a 10% tariff specifically on Canadian energy products and potash (the...more
3/17/2025
/ Ad Valorem Tax ,
Canada ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Energy Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Mexico ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On Nov. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court declined certiorari for the U.S. v. Brewbaker decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, leaving undisturbed the ruling that heightens the burden on antitrust prosecutors...more
3/7/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Horizontal Agreements ,
SCOTUS ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unfair Competition ,
Vertical Agreement
At the end of the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Stowe, and several of its affiliates (Welsh Carson), resolving what the...more