Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of May 31, 2023 (the "Deforestation Regulation" or "EUDR") aims to reduce the EU's role in cutting down woodlands and thereby to limit the impact of deforestation on greenhouse gas emissions....more
The Situation: The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") recently secured undertakings from fashion brands ASOS, Boohoo, and George at Asda to address allegedly misleading environmental claims. The CMA has also...more
5/22/2024
/ Advertising ,
Advertising Standards Authority ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Green Energy ,
Greenwashing ,
Section 5 ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Council of the European Union ("EU") approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CS3D") on March 15, 2024. The CS3D contains due diligence and governance obligations that will have an extensive impact...more
3/20/2024
/ Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Deal ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sustainability
The Development: On January 24, 2024, the European Commission ("EC") unveiled a package of five fresh initiatives aimed at strengthening the European Union's ("EU") economic security (the "Package"). This will likely increase...more
The Council of Europe and the European Parliament announced on December 14, 2023, that they reached a political agreement on the text of the upcoming European Union ("EU") Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive...more
The Development: The Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 (the "STCT Act") was signed into law on October 31, 2023, introducing a new investment screening regime in the Republic of Ireland ("Ireland") with a...more
On October 3, 2023, the European Commission ("Commission") unveiled a list of 10 technology areas qualified as "critical" to the European Union's ("EU") economic security, out of which four (Semiconductors, AI, Quantum...more
10/17/2023
/ 5G Network ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biotechnology ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Economic Reform ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment Controls ,
Risk Assessment ,
Semiconductors
In Short -
The Background: Luxembourg has introduced a new foreign direct investment regime with a suspensory mandatory notification requirement in relation to investments in a broad range of sectors....more
In Short -
The Situation: On July 13, 2023, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") issued a judgment (Case C-106/22 - Xella) clarifying the conditions under which EU Member States may screen and block foreign direct...more
In Short -
The Development: The new Belgian foreign direct investment screening law ("FDI Regime") imposes preclosing filing requirements on non-EU investments into various industry sectors in Belgium, including energy,...more
In Short -
The Development: On 1 June 2023, the Security Screening of Investment, Mergers and Acquisitions Act (Wet Veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames) ("the FDI Act") entered into force, introducing a...more
In Short -
The Situation: The European Union ("EU") has adopted a new regulation designed to tackle deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and globally by preventing European citizens from buying, using, and...more
In Short -
The Development: The European Commission ("EC") has published highly anticipated draft guidelines ("Draft Guidelines") detailing a new antitrust exemption for agreements in the agriculture and food supply chain...more
Since the United Kingdom implemented the National Security and Investment Act in January 2022 ("NSI Regime"), there has been a significant increase in state intervention in, and review of, business transactions in the United...more
On September 9, 2022, the French Ministry of Economy released its guidelines ("Guidelines") on the regulation of foreign direct investments ("FDI"). These Guidelines come a few months after the French Ministry of Economy made...more
In Short -
The Situation: The European Commission ("EC") is expected to release guidelines regarding a newly introduced exemption to the EU antitrust rules for certain agreements aimed at achieving the EU's sustainability...more
The EC recently found that Hungary's veto of Vienna Insurance Group's ("VIG") acquisition of the Hungarian subsidiaries of the AEGON Group, an insurance, pension fund, and asset management company, breached EU merger control...more
The EU General Court ("GC") annulled the European Commission's €1.06 billion antitrust fine imposed on Intel in 2009 for allegedly abusing its dominant position in x86 Central Processing Units ("CPUs") by offering loyalty...more
1/27/2022
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Technology Sector
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently issued a decision in In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation, reversing a $148 million price-fixing judgment against two Chinese exporters of vitamin C, remanding the...more
8/25/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Application of Foreign Laws ,
China ,
Comity ,
Conflicts of Laws ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign State Compulsion Doctrine ,
Multinationals ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act
The Background: The European Commission ("Commission") recently unveiled long-awaited draft revisions to its Vertical Block Exemption Regulation ("VBER") and Vertical Guidelines. The VBER includes safe harbors that exempt...more
8/12/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Trade ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
V-BER (Vertical Block Exemption Regulation)
New law regulates commercial dealings between suppliers and comparatively larger buyers of food and agricultural products.
Germany passed a new law, Agrarorganisationen-und-Lieferketten-Gesetz ("AgrarOLkG"), the...more
The 17th amendment to the German Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance ("AWV") adopted by the federal government on April 27, 2021, included—compared to the original draft—a number of changes relevant to M&A transactions with a...more
German financial institutions may need to consider a risk framework for monitoring their customers' compliance with social and environmental standards.
The German Federal Government recently proposed a draft act on...more
The changes will expand the notification requirements for tech-related transactions significantly.
The German federal government published a draft 17th amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance ("AWV"), which is...more
The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany's antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple...more