International Trade

Late in the night of October 5, 2015, twelve countries concluded negotiations on a groundbreaking free-trade agreement to liberalize trade. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free-trade agreement between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam.

The TPP, which still requires approval from Congress, is part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to gain market access in the growing economies of Asia and balancing out China’s increasing economic influence. While China, South Korea and other major players in Asia are not parties to the agreement, there is hope that they will choose to join. Several nations, including Indonesia and the Philippines, have already expressed interest in joining the agreement once it goes into effect.

Like all free-trade agreements, the TPP requires the countries involved to substantially reduce barriers to trade, including tariffs on goods and services. While some tariffs will be eliminated entirely, tariffs on politically sensitive goods such as automobiles, types of apparel and dairy products will drop more gradually.Continue Reading The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Impact on Trade and Procurement

On September 9, 2015, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department), Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issued a memorandum to all U.S. Attorneys regarding individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing (Yates Memo).

The point of the Yates Memo is clear: while DOJ will continue to pursue companies for corporate wrongdoing, the Department will also simultaneously pursue charges against individual employees. According to the Yates Memo, “[b]ecause a corporation only acts through individuals, investigating the conduct of individuals is the most efficient and effective way to determine the facts and extent of any corporate misconduct.”

And the ultimate target of these efforts? Corporate executives. The DOJ understands that lower-level employees facing individual civil or criminal liability are likely to cooperate against their superiors, thereby facilitating DOJ’s ability to obtain information necessary to prosecute individuals further up the corporate ladder.Continue Reading DOJ Targets Corporate Executives

Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Thad McBride and Cheryl Palmeri authored “International trade and commercial transactions in the United States: overview,” a Q&A guide to the regulation of international trade and commercial transactions in the United States. The guide includes information related to the following categories:

  1. Recent trends
  2. Contracts for the sale of goods
  3. Storage

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Since our update in April of this year, the U.S. government has continued to aggressively modify and enforce its various sanctions programs. And this trend shows no signs of slowing in the months to come.

As in the first quarter of 2015, the last three months were marked by a combination of broad policy changes, individual designations and removals, and various enforcement actions. While recent developments did not include the overhaul of any sanctions program akin to the Cuba amendments in January, they did set the stage for significant changes in the future.

Here, we consider notable U.S. sanctions developments in the past quarter, and offer our thoughts on what is to come.Continue Reading Keeping Up the Pace: U.S. Sanctions Post a Busy Second Quarter

In the first three months of 2015, the U.S. government has been – as usual – quite busy on the sanctions front.  The United States has eased sanctions on Cuba, expanded sanctions on North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, and introduced sanctions against cyber criminals.  And that does not even include Iran (with which preliminary agreement was reached on April 2) or continued, aggressive enforcement against sanctions violators.

What follows is our effort to briefly summarize key sanctions developments since the beginning of the year, and to offer predictions about potential new developments in the coming months.Continue Reading Sanctions Update: First Quarter 2015 Brings New Restrictions, Potential Relief

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

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