Got an email from an American client this morning asking me whether I was aware of how American companies that do "significant" business with China cannot receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP2) loans. I replied that I was not, because my focus is not on domestic U.S. law or business. But then I started thinking more
On December 23, President Biden signed a new law that bans all imports from Xinjiang. Specifically, the new law establishes a rebuttable presumption that any product from Xinjiang was made using forced labor. Some observations: 1. Not Just a Xinjiang Problem We have repeatedly pointed out in these pages that even a total ban on
On December 2, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a withhold release order (WRO) against cotton and cotton products made by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). XPCC has been described as a "state within a state," which "functions like a government in running schools, policing and health care facilities across a number
Our international lawyers have been getting an increasing amount of work involving the provision of services across borders. International service agreements are more complicated than international product sales agreements because they typically involve an ongoing and more amorphous relationship without easily definable deliverables. It is easier to write a contract to buy 1,000 widgets from
Yesterday I attended a USPTO webinar, How the U.S. government can help companies protect and enforce their IP in China. It was informative and I highly encourage anyone interested in IP protection in China to attend future webinars. Moreover, it brought back memories of my own stint in the government helping American companies protect their
China is (again) in the midst of a concerted government crackdown against foreign companies doing business in China. And if that is not bad enough, if your country has been deemed by China to have disrespected it by speaking out against forced labor or enhancing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, your own expatriate staff themselves may
Contents of this Article: Confirm Legality Create a Contract Protect Your Intellectual Property Comply With Export Control Laws Understand Employment Laws Comply With Tax Rules Lawyers love checklists, and we international business lawyers are no exception. Me, I love clients, not only because they are the lifeblood of my law firm and thus my livelihood,
China's copyright law, in its present form, has been in place since 2010 and numerous proposals for amendments have been floated since that time. The National People's Congress recently released another draft amendment and solicited public comment. As far as I can tell, this would be the 5th draft since 2010. In a recent post
It has been eight years since my graduation from law school and business school. I started law school in the Fall of 2008 before the world fell apart . . . the last time. The reverberations of the financial crisis that started roiling the world in 2008 continued into 2012 when I graduated and started
As a business lawyer who specializes in international transactions, I spend about half of my time working on legal strategy with my clients. I describe legal strategy as figuring out what the right way is to get from A to B, and those are often separated by international borders, vast oceans, and language and cultural
