In the over five months since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ("UFLPA") entered into force, companies have grappled with how to assess and mitigate compliance risks. Lack of transparency by US Customs and Border...more
The Annual Report season will soon be upon us, and it is important to assess a company's risk factors at the outset and whether recent developments, including those relating to macroeconomic, geopolitical, and public health...more
11/1/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Global Economy ,
Human Capital ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Market Conditions ,
Military Conflict ,
Price Inflation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Factors ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Supply Chain ,
Ukraine ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
The rebuttable presumption of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ("UFLPA") took effect on June 21, 2022. As a reminder, under this presumption for purposes of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, goods produced in the...more
10/4/2022
/ China ,
Compliance ,
Contract Terms ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Enforcement ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
On June 21, 2022, US Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") began to enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ("UFLPA"), which prohibits the importation of goods produced wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur...more
On March 25, 2021, the United States imposed sanctions on Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited ("MEHL") and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited ("MEC"), Burma's two largest military conglomerates. On the same day,...more
On February 1, 2021, the Burmese military announced that it had seized control of the country from the country's democratically elected government.1 In response to the coup, the US has so far designated 12 individuals and...more
3/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Burma ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Myanmar ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List
On February 24, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) directing federal agencies to perform a 100-day review of "supply chain risks" for four classes of products: (1) semiconductors; (2) high-capacity batteries,...more
On 2 March 2021, the United States and European Union ("EU") imposed coordinated sanctions in response to the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition politician Aleksey Navalny (and the related US determination that...more
The override of former President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 resulted in the enactment of broad amendments to the US anti-money laundering regime. Of particular note is the inclusion of the...more
1/28/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Covered Entities ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
FinCEN ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
NDAA ,
Shell Corporations ,
Special Purpose Vehicles
On December 23, 2020, the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") issued a final rule creating a "Military End User List" ("MEU List") under the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"). The final...more
1/8/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Exceptions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
General Licenses ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Pay attention to sanctions and debarment risks amid new COVID-19 financing opportunities.
In recent weeks, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) have greenlit...more
9/26/2020
/ Africa ,
African Development Bank (AfDB) ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Economic Development ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financing ,
Foreign Investment ,
MDBs ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sanction Suspensions ,
Suspensions & Debarments ,
World Bank
These are unprecedented times, and companies are facing important issues as they navigate the current economic, political, and social climate. The COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement have put the spotlight on...more
8/17/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Black Lives Matter ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Ethical Standards ,
Filing Requirements ,
Fortune 100 ,
Green Finance ,
Human Capital ,
Popular ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Socially Responsible Investments ,
Surveys ,
Sustainability ,
Workplace Safety
Thoughtful business participation in benchmark reviews.
If one or more human rights and ESG benchmarks review—or could soon review—your industry, it may make business sense to participate thoughtfully and/or disclose...more
On January 10, 2020, the President signed a new Executive Order (EO), "Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran," targeting Iran's construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles industries. On the same...more
1/15/2020
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Blocked Person ,
Construction Industry ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Metals ,
Mining ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Steel Industry ,
Textiles ,
Trump Administration
The strategic value of paying attention to areas that benchmarks assess -
Some companies are skeptical about engaging with human rights and ESG benchmarking, because they question whether human rights and ESG disclosures...more
1/14/2020
/ Benchmarking ,
Benchmarks ,
Business Strategies ,
Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Data Privacy ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Human Rights ,
Investors ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholders ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency ,
Transparency in Supply Chains Act
What businesses need to know for a strategic approach -
Benchmarks focus on human rights, labor rights, political rights, “digital rights” (human rights in the Internet era) and wider sustainability efforts. They...more
1/13/2020
/ Benchmarks ,
Corporate Governance ,
Digital Rights ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Human Rights ,
Labor Policies ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Sustainability
What businesses need to know for a strategic approach -
In an increasing number of sectors, companies’ operations and disclosures are publicly evaluated by “benchmarks” that compare their performance on human rights and...more
In light of the heightened focus on environmental and social (“E&S”) disclosure, White & Case’s Public Company Advisory Group conducted a survey of E&S website disclosures of 84 small- and mid-cap US public reporting...more
12/5/2019
/ Capitalization ,
Common Reporting Standard (CRS) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
Public Disclosure ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retailers ,
Services ,
Surveys ,
Sustainability ,
Technology Sector ,
Websites
On November 27, 2019, the US Department of Commerce (Commerce) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on the implementation of Executive Order 13873 (the EO), "Securing the Information and Communications Technology and...more
12/3/2019
/ Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Public Comment ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
As corporate responsibility evolves, and the focus on corporate sustainability grows, more businesses in the mining and metals and related sectors are referencing the long-term potential of blockchain technology and platforms...more
10/22/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Blockchain ,
Compliance ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Extractive Industry Transparency Rule ,
Human Rights ,
Innovative Technology ,
Internet of Things ,
Metals ,
Minerals ,
Mining ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency
On August 2, 2019, the United States announced the imposition of additional sanctions on the Russian Federation under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act)....more
8/8/2019
/ Banks ,
Biological-Weapons ,
Bonds ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Chemical Warfare ,
Chemical Weapons ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration
On May 8, 2019, following Iran's announcement that it intends to suspend certain nuclear proliferation-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States issued a new Executive order...more
5/14/2019
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
Blocking Statutes ,
CAPTA List ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
France ,
Germany ,
IFCA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Metals ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
SDN List ,
Steel Industry ,
Suspensions ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Waivers
A Taiwanese-owned, Vanuatu-flagged fishing vessel is the first known enforcement target of its kind by US Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") in its efforts to halt the importation of goods produced with forced labor....more
4/11/2019
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Trafficking ,
Imports ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Restricted Goods ,
Supply Chain ,
Taiwan ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act ,
Vessels ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
Mounting pressure on businesses to gain clarity on their social and environmental footprint will challenge corporate operations in 2019. New risks are present but there are also opportunities for companies willing actively to...more
4/5/2019
/ Benchmarking ,
Climate Change ,
Common Law Torts ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Human Rights ,
Investors ,
Mass Tort Litigation ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Native American Issues ,
Parent Corporation ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Resource Extraction ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Transparency
On 31 January 2019, France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the "E3") announced the registration in France of INSTEX SAS ("Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges"), which is a special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating...more
2/14/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
FATF ,
France ,
Germany ,
INSTEX ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
UK ,
United Nations