Insights

The flow of data across borders is essential to our global economy. As companies grow more and more dependent on cross-border data transfers to conduct business, two parallel legal trends have emerged:

In February 2024, the International Bar Association (“IBA”) released its most recent version of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration (“2024 IBA Guidelines”). In close succession, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari for review of an Eleventh Circuit decision upholding arbitrator impartiality. These two events underscore the importance of arbitrator impartiality and disclosure of even potential conflicts of interest.

With the geopolitical and economic crisis in Russia and Ukraine growing rapidly from recent events, international commercial operations in the region will be severely impacted in some manner, and many such impacts will result in disputes.  The events surrounding the peso crisis in Argentina in early 2000s, as well as those in Venezuela from the actions of Hugo Chavez, and others arising out of the Arab spring, all resulted in dozens of international disputes. We may see the same from current events, and there will be dispute options available to numerous companies with operations in either country who are experiencing severe disruptions of operations, loss of profit, or destruction of property, including, potentially: investor-State arbitration, domestic litigation, or claims tribunal recovery.

For over 18 months, COVID-19 has relentlessly impacted businesses and commercial relationships in Latin America. In an effort to prevent the virus’s spread, governments across the region implemented lockdowns, gradual phased re-openings, and several other measures. With the recent spread of the Delta variant and vaccination rates remaining low compared to the United States, Canada and much of Europe, the region is expected to continue to experience outbreaks, and governments may be forced to impose further COVID-related restrictions.

On May 13, the Government of Canada released its “modernized and inclusive” Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement Model (“FIPA Model”), sending a message that it intends to continue to provide international dispute resolution protections to foreign investors. The original iteration of the FIPA Model dates to 2004, which Canada had stated built on its experiences with NAFTA. It subsequently released an updated iteration in 2014. The current FIPA Model reflects further updates based on stakeholder consultations in 2018-2019.

Despite the challenges of 2020, major international arbitration institutions reported a record number of new registered cases. As travel restrictions inhibited cross-border travel, lockdowns were issued around the globe, and many industries began working remotely, arbitral bodies adeptly transitioned to fully electronic filing systems, organized remote hearings, and issued COVID-19 guidance. These changes enabled parties to continue resolving their disputes without major disruption and have set the institutions up for another busy year in the dispute resolution world.

Mexico’s electric system operator, the National Energy Control Center (CENACE), imposed new constraints on renewable energy projects this month in a move which has drawn rebukes from Canadian and European officials. The new measures may jeopardize billions of dollars of foreign investment into Mexico’s energy industry and lead to multiple international arbitration claims by aggrieved foreign investors.

The pandemic is affecting the entire world, particularly countries that were already in crisis, such as Venezuela, which are in a more vulnerable position to combat the consequences of the coronavirus. In collaboration with PAE-Legal, this alert provides an overview of the measures adopted by Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The pandemic—together with the previously existing shortages of gasoline, food and supplies—is significantly affecting commerce and threatens to completely shut down the country’s economy.

In our previous Crowell & Moring alert, we discussed how COVID-19 is affecting commercial activities and dynamics in Latin America, particularly in Colombia and Mexico. Our second edition focuses on the measures currently in place in two South American nations: Argentina and Peru. Like most of the region, unprecedented measures in Argentina and Peru are causing business interruptions across all industries, forcing companies to review their commercial agreements and determine whether “force majeure” or other similar concepts may help them to mitigate the disruption.

In a world battling a global pandemic, it was only a matter of time before COVID-19 and its impact on commercial relationships arrived in Latin America and the Caribbean. As the vast majority of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have confirmed cases, governments have increasingly implemented unprecedented measures and other efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. 

In this issue:

On June 4, 2019, the Trump Administration formally implemented its previously announced intent to tighten its Cuban sanctions program. Specifically, on April 17, 2019 the Administration had announced that in response to Cuba’s alleged role in “destabilizing” activities throughout Latin America, particularly in Venezuela and Nicaragua, it would terminate aspects of the relaxations, primarily related to travel, previously implemented by the Obama Administration. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented that intention in a set of coordinated actions, discussed below.

Updates about the current situation in Venezuela have been coming in rapidly. Recently, we wrote about OFAC adding PdVSA to the SDN list. In this podcast, Crowell & Moring's Cari Stinebower, Eduardo Mathison, and Mariana Pendás provide an overview of recent developments in Venezuela and explain what U.S. companies need to know about how these developments could impact trade.

In this issue:

On January 28, 2019, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850 – “Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela”. Further, OFAC amended General License 3, issued eight (8) new General Licenses, and published a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) on the new E.O. - “Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Venezuela.”  Additional FAQs are anticipated. 

In this issue:

In this issue:

The VIII Summit of the Americas concluded April 14 in Lima, Peru, marking the beginning of a “year of the Americas” with the G7 meeting in Canada (June) and the G20 meeting in Argentina (November). C&M International was on the ground in Lima, facilitating exchanges between the private sector and government leaders — both from the United States and our Latin America partners — to help strengthen institutional capacity and enable a better business environment in the Western Hemisphere.

In this issue:

Venezuela has frequently been in the news lately, not only because of domestic politics, but also because of sanctions and bribery enforcement actions brought by U.S. authorities. In this podcast, Crowell & Moring’s Cari Stinebower, Dalal Hasan, Eduardo Mathison, and Mariana Pendás provide an overview of recent political and enforcement developments in Venezuela and explain what U.S. companies need to know about how these developments could impact business and trade ties with Venezuela.