In less than three months, two federal courts of appeals have held that ERISA’s actuarial-equivalence requirement mandates reasonable actuarial assumptions, rather than assumptions that simply produce mathematically equivalent optional forms of benefits to the default form of payment. In Reichert
On July 15, 2026, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, it was imposing a 25% tariff on certain imports of Brazilian goods. The announcement came at
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) on July 13, 2026, to launch a Section 201 global safeguard investigation into lamb meat imports after domestic sheep producers filed a petition last year
On July 9, 2026, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation, pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, ordering the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to continue negotiating agreements with trading partners to address
On July 8, 2026, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, President Donald Trump announced his intention to remove Syria from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, a significant move that would assist Syria’s efforts to re-engage in the global
On July 7, 2026, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) revoked Iran-related General License X and issued Iran-related General License X1, for the “Revocation and Wind Down of June 21, 2026 Authorization for the
Alternative assets are nothing new for retirement plans. Defined benefit plans have held private equity, real estate, and commodities for decades, and ERISA itself imposes no restriction on the types of assets a plan may hold. What is new is
On July 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an Order announcing resolution of all pending but stayed China Section 301 cases because of the June 15, 2026 U.S. Supreme Court decision denying the petition for a
On June 29, 2026, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) initiated an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, to determine the effects on the national security of imports of anthracite coal. For the purposes
On July 1, 2026, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a formal statement regarding the joint review of the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA). The USMCA entered into force on July
