Status: Not a Covered Transaction Acquirer: Fufeng Group (China) Acquired: Real property near Grand Forks, North Dakota Value: Approximately $2.6 million Industry Tags: Agri-Industrial; Agriculture… Continue Reading
The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) established a foreign investment security review in 2011 that focused exclusively on the merger and acquisition of domestic companies by foreign investors in a notice issued by the State Council (the 2011 Notice)1. On December 19, 2020, the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) and the Ministry … Continue Reading
The corona pandemic, the ongoing Brexit and the emerging dominance of China in global markets are among the issues that pose multifaceted challenges for international trade relations. At a time when new Free Trade Agreements are being negotiated, we would like to examine how international trade can be shaped in the “World of New Normal” … Continue Reading
The UK government has published the proposed customs duty rates that will apply to imported merchandise entering the UK from third countries after the country has left the European Union (EU) under a so-called no-deal scenario. Unless recent political developments require the UK government to extend that deadline, it has been indicated that the UK … Continue Reading
Sudan Sanctions In 1997, the US imposed a comprehensive trade and investment embargo against Sudan. In January 2017, i.e., in the closing days of the Obama Administration, President Obama announced a six-month suspension of US economic sanctions, citing ongoing dialogue with the Sudanese government and the government’s progress in achieving milestones agreed upon in those negotiations. Specifically, the Obama Administration … Continue Reading
On 21 September 2017, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada entered into force provisionally.… Continue Reading
On March 14, 2017, U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced new legislation to “give top U.S. agriculture and food officials permanent representation on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).” (Senator Grassley Press Release, Grassley, Stabenow Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect American Agricultural Interests in Foreign Acquisitions, Mar. … Continue Reading
The media has reported on various potential plans and ideas being discussed by lawmakers to further expand or improve the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’s (CFIUS) scope and authorities. To date, no legislation has been introduced in Congress, and only few details about what has been proposed is publicly known. Based on … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, January 17, 2017, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will publish in the Federal Register a far-reaching amendment to its Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR), 31 CFR Part 538. While styled as a “general license,” the amendment will have the practical effect of terminating the embargo of Sudan that the US … Continue Reading
Welcome to 2017. The 115th Congress convened on Tuesday, 3 January. U.S. businessman Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on Friday, January 20. Trump Transition News. President-Elect Trump continues to announce senior officials who will serve as part of his Administration. The Trump Transition Team noted at … Continue Reading
Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 8 November in what many are describing as an upset. President-Elect Trump’s transition team is now tasked with vetting possible Cabinet officials and lower-level appointees, receiving background briefings from the Obama Administration, and crafting policy proposals based on his campaign … Continue Reading
Likely Major Policy Developments President-Elect Trump will enter the White House facing a dramatic decline in global trade growth. A recent World Trade Organization (WTO) report notes that 2016 marks the slowest pace of trade and output growth since the 2008 financial crisis. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo called slowing trade growth “a wake-up call,” … Continue Reading
The U.S. Congress is in recess until after the 8 November elections. TPP – Ryan Reiterates No-Go. In an interview last week, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) reiterated the votes do not exist in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal: Yeah we’re not going to bring that up … Continue Reading
TPP – Opposition Remains Strong. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) stated last week that the U.S. Senate will not vote on TPP’s implementing legislation during lame-duck session of Congress as many – including the Obama Administration – had hoped, saying: The current agreement, the Trans-Pacific agreement, which has some serious flaws, will not be … Continue Reading
TPP – ITC Report Released. Late Wednesday afternoon, the ITC released its report on the effects of the proposed TPP on the U.S. economy. The nearly 800-page report examines specific industry sectors in the United States and seeks to ascertain which would benefit or suffer from the deal. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman immediately issued … Continue Reading
TPP Developments – Prospects for Congressional Action Dim. The hostile political environment toward trade continues to dim the prospects that Congress would likely move this year on a bill to implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both leading presidential candidates – Mr. Trump and Secretary Clinton – have stated their opposition to the TPP deal. Secretary … Continue Reading
Touted as the largest trade agreement in history, the TPP involves 12 Pacific Rim countries which collectively represent 40% of global GDP. That equates to US$28 trillion dollars and 800 million people. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb claimed the agreement will usher in a new era of economic growth and opportunity across the fast-growing Asia-Pacific … Continue Reading
At the latest, 11th, round of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the parties exchanged a second round of offers on tariffs, as well as proposals involving rules of origin for specific products. During discussions that took place between October 19 and 23 in Miami, Florida, the EU identified a number of non-tariff issues which inhibit the trade of EU … Continue Reading
