On 29 June 2022, the European Commission revealed its updated Blue Guide on the implementation of product rules in the EU. This contains some important changes, reflecting current market surveillance rules, and fills some...more
As the importance of sustainability and eco-friendliness grows among consumers worldwide, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concerns that an increasing number of businesses misleadingly market their products...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
8/3/2021
/ Data Protection ,
Dispute Resolution ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
Member State ,
State Aid ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Withdrawal Agreement
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
On 26 May 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority announced that it would not undertake a market investigation reference on the back of its study into the electric vehicle charging market and will instead propose a...more
It has now been a year since the UK exited the EU and a matter of months since the transition period came to an end. For the most part, there have not been major changes to environmental regulation in the UK. Instead, the UK...more
In this alert, we focus on the key takeaways for trade in goods under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement ("EU-UK TCA"). Bilateral trade between the UK and EU will be duty free and quota free provided the relevant...more
1/4/2021
/ Cooperation Agreement ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customs ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
WTO
In September 2020, the UK and the EU announced initiatives to strengthen human rights due diligence and reporting. The UK Home Office will bolster the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) to enhance transparency in both the...more
The Government's proposed Internal Market Bill has prompted much debate regarding the UK's approach to international law, as well as the internal constitutional architecture of the UK. The EU has raised the prospect of a...more
9/23/2020
/ Belfast/Good Friday Agreement ,
Customs ,
Dispute Resolution ,
EU ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Northern Ireland ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Subsidies ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Withdrawal Agreement
Over four months into the formal bilateral negotiations between the EU and the UK to reach agreement on their future relationship, is there land ahoy? What are the realistic chances of a deal by the end of this year?...more
8/3/2020
/ Bilateral Agreements ,
Boris Johnson ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Fishing Industry ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
State Aid ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Withdrawal Agreement
On 6 July 2020, the UK adopted its first autonomous sanctions regime, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on 47 individuals and two entities across the world accused of serious human rights violations. The new regime marks...more
Business goes on as much as possible, despite the COVID-19 pandemic – and one question is how this affects Brexit. While a "Hard Brexit" was avoided when the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, a common misconception is that...more
France, Germany and the United Kingdom, known as the “E3”, announced on 14 January 2020 that they had triggered the dispute resolution mechanism under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) due to concerns about...more
1/17/2020
/ China ,
Dispute Resolution ,
E3+3 ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Failure to Perform ,
France ,
Germany ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Russia ,
UK ,
UN Security Council ,
United Nations ,
Winding Down
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
Setting the scene
The long anticipated European Commission (DG COMP) report on "EU loan syndication and its impact on competition in credit markets" (see here) has finally been published. The study primarily focuses on the...more
4/15/2019
/ Anticompetitive Agreements ,
Banks ,
Borrowers ,
Competition ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Duty of Care ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
France ,
Germany ,
Hedging ,
Impact Assessments ,
Information Reports ,
Infrastructure ,
Interest Rates ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Loans ,
Netherlands ,
Poland ,
Risk Management ,
Spain ,
Syndicated Loans ,
UK
The United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) will inevitably result in difficulties for businesses using UK content in their products for export under EU Free Trade Agreements, or for UK businesses using EU content...more
4/2/2019
/ Component Parts Doctrine ,
Country of Origin ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Contracts ,
Tariffs ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
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
Competition authorities around the world typically place considerable weight on parties' internal documents when assessing the potential effects of a merger. Such documents, many of which can pre-date the companies' decision...more
The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 requires Parliament to pass a motion approving the withdrawal agreement and the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU. This so-called 'meaningful vote' was due to take...more