International Trade Bulletin - Volume 1, Issue 13
Client Alert | 2 min read | 09.06.06
Inside this issue:
- EUROPE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- GMOs: The EU – U.S. controversy over the spread of unauthorized genetically modified rice fuels the already infected cross-Atlantic GMO debate
- EU Anti-Dumping: European Commission publicly acknowledges that it has started a comprehensive review of the way that the EU will apply anti-dumping measures in the future
- CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION: After Doha: Practical Approaches for Cutting the Costs of Trade
- C-TPAT: C-TPAT Develops New Minimum Security Criteria for Foreign Manufacturers effective August 29, 2006
- CHINA: Bureau of Industry and Security Holds Regional Meetings with the Public to Explain New Proposed Export Control Rules for China
- MARKET ACCESS: With the collapse of the World Trade Organization's Doha Round and no clear timeline for its resurrection, member countries are expected to focus renewed attention on bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs)
- SANCTIONS: The U.S. considers sanctions options on Iran
- PRIVACY: Commission Announces New Initiatives on EU-U.S. Passenger Data Transfer: More of the Same or Expanded Access to Such Data?
- IRAN: Focus on Iran – Singapore Airlines Joint Venture Sanctioned by OFAC
- JAPAN: Japanese Executives Arrested for Violation of Japan's Export Control Laws
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
