Insights

New York – February 1, 2023: The Lawyers Alliance for New York has recognized Crowell & Moring’s Nicole Janigian Simonian and Jackson Pai for their volunteer work on behalf of The Brave House.

Los Angeles – March 11, 2019: Crowell & Moring LLP is broadening its ability to help multinational clients navigate global expansion and regulatory compliance in China and the Asia Pacific by adding four international trade and global employment lawyers: partners Nicole J. Simonian and Evan Yee-Fan Chuck, senior counsel Robert Clifton Burns, and counsel Jackson Pai to its Los Angeles and Washington offices. As part of this move, Crowell & Moring International (CMI), the firm’s global policy and regulatory affairs consulting affiliate, is launching an office in Shanghai with seven trade, transactions, and tax professionals to support global businesses facing cross-border transactional, investigative, policy, and regulatory needs.

On March 1, 2023, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) issued the Biden Administration’s 2023 Trade Policy Agenda (“Agenda”) and 2022 Annual Report (“Report”). The Report was submitted to the Congress pursuant to Section 163 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The Report’s 211 pages, plus three annexes, detail the Administration’s ongoing trade priorities and summarize trade activities in 2022, including trade agreements and negotiations, trade enforcement activities, other trade activities, and updates on work at the World Trade Organization.

Employers continue to face the impact of the current Ukraine/Russia conflict on employees and the employment relationship in Russia, Ukraine and the broader region. This article will touch upon briefly some key issues of concern for multinationals during this time.

On August 20, 2021, China’s national legislature passed the Personal Information Protection Law (“PIPL”), which will become effective on November 1, 2021. As China’s first comprehensive system for protecting personal information, the PIPL is an extension of the personal information and privacy rights enshrined in China’s Civil Code, and also a crucial element of a set of recent laws in China that seek to strengthen data security and privacy. Among other things, the PIPL sets out general rules for processing and cross-border transfer of personal information. A number of provisions, notably various obligations imposed on data processors, restrictions on cross-border transfer, and hefty fines, will have significant impact on multinational corporations’ HR activities, including recruitment, performance monitoring, cross-border transfers, compliance investigations, termination of employment relationships, and background checks.

Celebrating its 93rd Anniversary, World Trade Week Southern California (WTW), an initiative of the L.A. Area Chamber, is the most extensive and unique program of its kind in the country. WTW dedicates itself to educating the business community on the positive aspects of international trade on the local and national economy through educational programs and events. World Trade Week is celebrated throughout the month of May with nearly 30 events that are jumpstarted by the annual WTW Kickoff Breakfast.

Supply chain disruptions have exacerbated strains and weaknesses in existing trade infrastructure, causing widespread ripple effects throughout the global economy.  From an international trade perspective, companies face real-time pressures to make business decisions that may have complex legal implications going forward.  Our International Trade Team will lead a discussion highlighting current risks companies are encountering, potential legal implications, and strategies to mitigate risks in real-time in this dynamic and changing landscape.

China’s advance pricing arrangement (“APA”) has been a valid tax planning tool for multinational companies. In fact, the China’s State Taxation Administration has developed a productive working relationship with the IRS’s Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement (“APMA”) program.

On December 31, 2020, the free movement of workers between the EU and the UK will end because of Brexit. While there is a slight chance that this deadline will be temporarily postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies should be prepared for the fact that the UK sponsorship system that now applies to non-EU workers will be extended to nationals recruited from the EU starting January 2021. Brexit, and the ending of the free movement of workers, will have a significant impact on global mobility.

The United States government has intensified in recent years its scrutiny of trade with China. The consequences of the current geopolitical climate remain wide-ranging and complex. Compliance risks for multinational companies sourcing from, and doing business in, China arise from U.S. trade regulations such as U.S. economic sanctions, export controls, tariffs, forced labor issues related to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), and inbound and outbound foreign investment restrictions under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). At the same time, recent Chinese laws are causing headaches for multinationals. Hear from practitioners as they share real-life examples and best practices for companies to navigate land mines as they maneuver in the fraught, but critical, relationship arising from trading and doing business with China.