The House and Senate are entering their respective final runs before the November midterm elections, following a two-day break for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year — even though the possibility of Hurricane Florence entering the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area cut short an already shortened week. The pressing items of business are funding the government and the pending Senate confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. But several lower-profile issues remain…

Witney Schneidman, Chair of Covington’s Africa Practice, recently participated in a China Global television show to assess the outcome of the 7th FOCAC meeting in Beijing that was held last week between Chinese leaders and more than 50 African leaders. LINK This post can also be found on CovAfrica, the firm’s blog on legal, regulatory, political and economic developments in Africa.…

Summary Next week will be a constituency week for Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”).  MEPs will go back to their home countries or convene in their parliamentary delegations to work on non-EU related matters. However, this past week, the European Parliament held its plenary session in Strasbourg, and voted on interesting reports. On Wednesday, MEPs approved the Parliament’s position at first reading on the Commission’s proposals for a Directive on new digital copyright rules. …

On September 4, 2018, in a speech to the City Guildhall in London, Chairman Giancarlo previewed a new approach to cross-border application of Dodd-Frank swaps provisions, which will be memorialized in a forthcoming white paper. Chairman Giancarlo began his remarks with a historical overview of cross-border swaps regulation, highlighting post Dodd-Frank reforms. He then summarized the current regulatory regime, emphasizing the substantial progress that has been made in the world’s primary swaps trading jurisdictions to…

Less than three months ago, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). Industry and privacy watch groups alike have scrutinized the law. This summer saw fierce negotiations all in the name of improving the CCPA. Last Friday, on August 31, 2018, the California legislature passed SB 1121 to amend the CCPA. The CCPA applies to for-profit entities that conduct business in California. It has an expansive definition of personal information, and grants…

On Friday August 24, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register: The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks (“Proposed Rule”).  83 Fed. Reg. 42817. The long-anticipated rulemaking has garnered media attention for its proposed measures to indefinitely freeze fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, and to strip California’s long-held authority under…