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US and Canada Thaw Relations By Reducing Buy American Friction

Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.05.10

The U.S. and Canada announced today a tentative agreement that would (1) provide certain permanent and reciprocal commitments under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) with respect to access to provincial, territorial, and state procurements and (2) temporarily provide Canadian suppliers access to certain state and local public works projects funded under the Recovery Act -- specifically those types of projects from which they were not traditionally excluded by statute (e.g., EPA, HUD and Energy) but were under the broader provision of the Recovery Act -- while in return temporarily provide U.S. suppliers access to a range of construction contracts across Canada's provinces and territories (as well as a number of municipalities). The agreement is subject to completion of each country's domestic approval process which the Canadians [press release] hope could be concluded by February 16, but on the U.S. side will require at least agency waivers under Section 1605 of the Recovery Act and amendment to Note 5 in the General Notes to U.S. GPA Annexes.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 06.03.26

Important EU Court Judgment Clarifies Rules on Interest Due in Cartel Damages Cases

In a judgment that will have direct and immediate consequences, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified that for all competition damages actions brought after 26 December 2014, interest runs from the date on which the harm occurred. The ruling addressed two important questions: (1) whether national provisions implementing Article 3(2) of the EU Damages Directive — which requires interest to run from the date harm occurred —apply to cases in which the harm preceded the adoption of those provisions; and (2) how the date of harm should be determined in cartel cases involving the purchase of goods at inflated prices....