Terminating Employees in China: Why It’s So Hard and How to Get It Right Over the past few years, our law firm has been flooded with requests from foreign companies looking to shut down or scale back their China operations. Almost every one of those closures has involved complex China employee terminations, and in nearly
Inside the Trademark Mills: How Foreign Filing Abuses Are Undermining the U.S. Trademark System Earlier today, I received an unsolicited email from a Chinese IP firm—or someone claiming to be one. It’s similar to other messages I’ve received over the years from so-called “firms.” It read as follows: We are __________ Intellectual Property Co., Ltd.,
Learn how to prevent and resolve international commercial disputes through strategic contracts, arbitration, enforcement tactics, and legal guidance. Includes 25 essential FAQs.
The First Sale Doctrine Checklist: Six Phases for Successful Tariff Reduction Our recent blog post, The First Sale Doctrine: A Strategic Tool for Reducing Tariffs—But Only If You Do It Right, generated a lot of questions. Many companies, eager to explore potential tariff savings, reached out asking for more granular detail on how to implement
The First Sale Doctrine: A Tool for Reducing Tariffs—But Only If Done Right What if we told you that some of your competitors are paying less in tariffs than you are—completely legally—simply because they understand one underutilized customs rule that most importers have never heard of? While small businesses struggle under crushing tariff burdens that
The shift from Chinese to Mexican manufacturing is reshaping North American trade. Learn why this nearshoring trend benefits both the U.S. and Mexico—and how your business can stay ahead
Remembering Andrew Hupert I just learned that my dear friend, Andrew Hupert, passed away in October 2024 in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he had made his home in recent years. He was 61 years old. The news has left me reflecting on a remarkable friendship—one that spanned more than two decades and crossed several continents. I
2025 China Tariffs: Vietnam Pact Triggers New Era of Transshipment Crackdowns On July 2, 2025 (today), President Trump announced a new trade pact with Vietnam that sends a bold message. It is targeting any country—Vietnam included—that integrates Chinese components into its supply chain, however marginally. This development aligns with the broader trends we’ve been describing
In 2025, the DOJ's Criminal Division elevated trade and customs fraud to a top enforcement priority. Learn what this means for importers, including real risks, whistleblower incentives, and how to protect your company now
The China I Knew, the China That Is, and the China Yet to Come In 2000, if you were doing business in China, survival—let alone success—required being there. In person. In the factories. In the boardrooms. Because if you weren’t, your competitors were. China was booming, changing by the day, and for foreign companies in
