International Trade Bulletin - Volume 1, Issue 2
Client Alert | 2 min read | 04.03.06
Inside this issue:
- CALIFORNIA IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Wine Industry: The United States and the European Union have signed a bilateral wine trade agreement that will facilitate trade but also increase competition in the two wine markets
- Bilateral Trade: On March 8, the Bush Administration announced its latest plan to help U.S. exporters and importers do business in the Asia-Pacific market – a proposed U.S. – Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
- EUROPE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Chemicals: New EU rules on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) will greatly affect the business reality for a large number of chemical companies as well as downstream users doing business in Europe and elsewhere
- Market Access: The EU and the U.S. are each other’s main trading partners, accounting for the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world
- EU TRADE REMEDIES: European Union Introduces “Flexible” Features into Its Anti-Dumping Measures
- WTO: The US and the EU have come together to request WTO consultations with China on its tariffs on automotive parts signaling an important change in the relationship among the three trading partners
- INVESTMENT: Investors clearly have begun to realize the significance of the rights guaranteed to them under NAFTA and other investment treaties, as well as their ability to enforce them
- US TRADE REMEDIES : Two initiatives currently underway in the U.S. government may make the prospects of bringing antidumping actions less attractive to U.S. petitioners
- SANCTIONS: The U.S. extraterritorial sanctions continue to wreak havoc with sourcing for companies worldwide
- CHINA EXPORT ISSUES: China "catch all" export control delayed but not dead; major review of China export policy underway
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
