Developments in product liability regimes around the world should be of interest to any company with a global supply chain.  In particular, as companies continue to source ever more materials from Asia, it is important to be aware of the product liability legal landscape in those countries.  Our colleagues, David Goh and Bindu Janardhanan, have written a chapter on product liability in Asia for the International Comparative Legal Guide’s Product Liability 2019.  The chapter, which provides…

A bipartisan bill, introduced in the Senate on May 2, seeks to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign minerals and develop a national electric vehicle supply chain policy. The American Minerals Security Act (S. 1317), which embraces part of a 2017 executive order by President Trump, would “facilitate the availability, development, and environmentally responsible production of domestic resources to meet national material or critical mineral needs[.]” The Act would require identification of critical minerals…

Since taking office in January 2017, President Trump has made use of several provisions of US law – including Section 301, targeting unfair trade practices, and Section 232, targeting threats to national security – to bring trading partners to the negotiating table. Major developments over the last two weeks could impact global supply chains across a wide range of industries, including the automotive and manufacturing sectors.  Our colleagues at the Trade Practitioner Blog explain what you need to know…

On May 2, 2019, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released guidance on effective sanctions compliance programs.  This guidance is useful for any company with an international supply chain, as both U.S. and foreign companies may be subject to, and at risk for violating, U.S. sanctions law.  As a recent example, e.l.f. Cosmetics settled with OFAC in January of 2019 for $996,080 resulting from apparent violations of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations by two…

Voluntary recalls are a key tool that the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and FDA-regulated companies, use to protect public health.  Voluntary recalls are also a corporate nightmare, and can be extremely taxing on supply chain relationships.  For industries and products where recalls are common – such as food and drugs – supply chain partners should negotiate responsibility for recalls at the start of their relationship and be prepared to act quickly if a recall…

This week, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an update to its 2017 guidance on how the DOJ will evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The updated compliance guideline (Updated Guidance) is twice the length of the original and utilizes a more instructive approach, serving as a roadmap to prosecutors, and prudent companies. Our colleagues Colin Jennings, Ayako Hobbs, and Elizabeth Weil Shaw have prepared a summary and analysis…

In a series of tweets posted on May 5, President Trump threatened to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, effective this Friday, May 10. He further threatened a 25% tariff on an additional $325 billion of Chinese goods that are currently untaxed, stating it could happen “shortly.” It is unclear whether U.S. officials will actually impose the substantial tariff change this coming Friday, or if it is simply a…