On July 31, the Mexican Ministry of Commerce submitted to the Senate the Priorities of Mexico in the Negotiations for theModernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)(the “Position Paper”) ...
It's a quiet Friday afternoon edging uneventfully toward the end of the day when a client calls: they’re interested in acquiring a U.S.-based widget maker. After your internal conflict check clears, reality hits – what do you do now? Whether your client is a foreign (non-U.S.) business targeting a U.S.-based company, or the U.S. target of a foreign purchaser, your deal may have Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) implications ...
Like any good negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in setting out U.S. objectives for the renegotiation of NAFTA, offered only a glimpse of what the U.S. actually will be pushing for when three-country talks among Canada, Mexico and the United States begin in Washington, DC, on August 16. The U.S ...
In November of 2016, San Francisco residents voted to pass a new law ("Proposition E"), effective July 1, 2017, that transfers back responsibility from private property owners to the City of San Francisco to maintain and care for street trees and surrounding sidewalks damaged by the trees. The City had taken care of trees several decades ago, but then shifted responsibility back to property owners after that (during a time of budget crisis) ...
On June 17, the Trump Administration announced a new policy on Cuba, partially reversing certain of the market-opening measures that had been adopted by the Obama Administration during its final two years ...
Getting the Deal Through – Shipbuilding is part of the series of Getting the Deal Through law guides published by Law Business Research that provide an overview of specialist areas of the law in a variety of international jurisdictions.It is published annually and the sixth edition, published in June 2017, covers 14 jurisdictions. Leading practitioners from each jurisdiction answer the same key questions ...
The shock result in the UK General Election has caused further political and economic upheaval with no single party controlling the House of Commons. Serious questions are now being raised over the UK’s approach to Brexit with negotiations set to commence next week ...
FBC & Co examine the business and legal aspects of investing in one of the world’s most technologically advanced economies. Established in 1948, Israel is the world’s only Jewish state, and the sole democracy in its vicinity. Israel has a diverse open market economy. Being a relatively young state, Israel is recognized as a developed market by many major indices. Israel has been a member of the high-income sector of the OECD since 2010 ...
India and Japan share a long history. Buddhism, which was born in India, travelled to Japan around the 6th century. The first major interaction between Japan and India seems to have been Japanese assistance to Shri Subhash Chandra Bose in the fight for Indian independence (1943-45). Post WWII, Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April, 1952 ...
Changes to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been anticipated since the moment of President Trump’s election. When U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified Congress of the Administration’s intent to renegotiate NAFTA, he triggered the 90-day consultation period before formal negotiations can begin ...
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has published in the Federal Register a Notice of a “Request for Comments on Negotiating Objectives Regarding Modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement With Canada and Mexico.” In the Notice, USTR advises that it will accept written comments by June 12, 2017 and will hold a public hearing at the U.S ...
The Macedonian Competition Commission imposed a EUR 5.8 million fine on PIVARA SKOPJE AD and EUR 2.7 million on PRILEPSKA PIVARNICA AD, for allegedly entering into restrictive agreements with their distributors. According to the Commission, PIVARA SKOPJE AD entered into sales and distribution agreements which contain resale price maintenance provisions, limiting the distributors to freely set their resale price ...
"WHAT BELT AND ROAD SNUB MEANS FOR SINGAPORE’S TIES WITH CHINA" Thus the headline from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on 18 May 2017.China had concluded its Belt and Road Forum, to which 29 other heads of government were invited. Only 3 from 10-member ASEAN were excluded: Singapore, Thailand and Brunei. Even smaller nations, with less-established diplomatic ties to Beijing, sent their heads of government ...
Once the new Commercial Companies Law was enacted as Federal Law No. 2 it gave existing companies time to achieve compliance with its terms. Article 374 provides that a further one-year extension could be granted by Resolution of the Cabinet, and such an extension was in fact granted. Article 374 also provides that a company that fails to achieve compliance shall be deemed dissolved ...
ANGOLA: Budget Law, 2017 details publishedOn 10 February 2017, the provisions of Budget Law, 2017, enacted on 31 December 2016, were published. In terms of the Budget Law, 2017 the 10% withholding tax on technical services and management fees paid to non-residents for the provision of foreign technical assistance or management services (Contribuição Especial sobre as Operações Cambiais de Invisíveis Correntes), which was introduced by Law No ...
In the 2017 South African Budget Review, specific statements were made from a tax and exchange control perspective in relation to fund managers. We briefly consider below whether these statements constitute a relaxation of the exchange control restrictions applicable to South African residents, and the taxes to be considered ...
As published in international media, Brazil is still facing economic problems related, for example, to economic growth rate and unemployment. However, Brazil remains a country where investment opportunities continue to exist. Brazil has the advantage of having a large internal market due to the size of its population and of being well positioned geographically in South America, so the country can be a platform for the export of products to other countries in the region ...
On the eve of the provisional entry into force of the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement, understanding its implications should be a top priority for any company wishing to expand its activities over the course of the next few years. The vote held at the European Parliament in favour of the ratification of the Agreement makes its entry into force imminent ...
Resale price maintenance and price-fixing has been and still is under scrutiny by the Croatian Competition Agency (the "Agency"). Carrying on from a number of high-profile cases, in February 2017 the Agency fined Gorenje Zagreb, a subsidiary of Slovenia's premier manufacturer of household appliances for HRK 1,557,000 (approximately EUR 206,000) ...
In our previous articles (part one, part two and part three), we discussed ways in which trademarks are maintained and protected through filings that are mandatory and which filings would result in abandonment or cancellation if not timely submitted. There are also optional filings a trademark owner can take advantage of to optimize and secure its rights under a U.S. trademark registration. An Affidavit of Incontestability Under Section 15 is one such method ...
The February issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) includes an international briefing article by SyCipLaw partner Aaron Roi B. Riturban entitled “Philippines: Promoting foreign investment”. The article focuses on Republic Act no. 10881, which lifts the foreign investment limitations found in laws governing adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies, and investment houses. Read the article online at the IFLR website ...
ARIPO Developments: Amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization’s (“ARIPO’s”) amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the “Protocol”), came into effect on 1 January 2017 and includes some important changes ...
The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 – what you need to knowDo LLPs have independent legal personality? The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 (the “Act”) came into force on 3 January 2017, and provides for the establishment of limited liability partnership (“LLP”) structures in Mauritius. The LLP is a welcome and awaited addition to the various types of vehicles that can be created in Mauritius ...
In its most important constitutional judgment ever, the UK Supreme Court has this morning confirmed that the UK Parliament in Westminster, rather than the British Government, must decide on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The Court has in this respect upheld the decision of the High Court as reported in our “Brexit Update ...
