Alerts

A new duty evasion investigation process, implemented through interim regulations issued by Customs and Border Protection on August 22, has the potential to be a game changer for a lot of importers.

The Office of the US Trade Representative on Friday, August 12 submitted to Congress the president’s draft Statement of Administration Action. The submission is necessary for US ratification and implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ending months of speculation, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced yesterday that it declined to down-classify marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act for the fifth straight time.

The Beer Institute (BI) announced last week that is was implementing a “Brewer’s Voluntary Disclosure Initiative” intended to encourage its membership to begin disclosing nutritional information about its products on product labeling, packaging and on product websites.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been directed by Congress to be much more aggressive in enforcing the customs laws. This has led to CBP starting a number of new initiatives and procedures to target and take action on what it deems to be “high risk” transactions.

The summer heat has not been confined to the weather. US Customs and Border Protection is warming up the import world with more audits and enforcement actions.

After months of negotiations, it’s official: the EU-US Privacy Shield has been formally approved on both sides of the Atlantic, by the EU Commission and the US Commerce Department, despite concerns surrounding the adequacy of its earlier version.

Two China-based clothing manufacturers, Motives Far East and Motives China Limited, and their affiliated US importer, Motives, Incorporated, agreed to pay nearly $13.4 million for engaging in a double invoicing scheme designed to defraud the US out of millions of dollars in customs duties.

The House of Representatives has voted 306-117 to approve the bipartisan GMO disclosure bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 and to establish a mandatory National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.

Although the United States has had effective economic sanctions on North Korea for many years, the temporary softening of US sanctions in 2000 has given way to ever-increasing sanctions since 2008.

On July 6th, CMS released a proposed rule (expected to appear in the Federal Register on July 15th) that, if it takes effect, could be devastating to hospital off-campus outpatient department reimbursement – an effect not intended by Congress, and certainly unwelcome to the healthcare industry.

Late Thursday night, the Senate voted 63-30 to approve a bipartisan GMO disclosure bill hammered out earlier by Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). 

In a good outcome for employers, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a standalone non-compete agreement can be assigned to an asset purchaser without the employee’s consent.

In St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company v. Tessera, Inc., the federal court held that a lawsuit against an insured alleging a breach of a license agreement did not constitute a violation of an intellectual property right.

Last week, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the US Senate and the House of Representatives to amend the Controlled Substances Act and ease federal obstacles for medical researchers to conduct clinical studies on the medical benefits of marijuana.

Data breaches continue to complicate the interpretation and understanding of commercial insurance policies. But even as courts confront thorny questions presented by cyber security policies, they continue to rely on long-standing principles of insurance and contract law.

On June 16, 2016, the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) became the 31st state agency to sign a Partnership Agreement with the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the misclassification of independent contractors.

On May 4, 2016, Quebec’s government published proposed regulations which would require businesses using signage bearing trademarks in languages other than French to incorporate a “sufficient presence of French” on their signs.

Manufacturers were reminded recently why resale price maintenance policies can be risky.

An interesting case involving the patentability of database models came out of the Federal Circuit in Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp. where the Court held that two patents covering a new type of database model were not invalid.