COVID‑19 has caused a public health crisis and extreme disruption to economic markets. As communities, governments, and businesses come together to combat these challenges, questions are naturally arising about how to comply with the antitrust laws under such extraordinary circumstances. The United States antitrust agencies have advised that, with limited exception, companies should rely on … Continue Reading
Yesterday, March 26, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released an interagency statement encouraging financial institutions to offer responsible small-dollar loans to both consumers and small businesses facing … Continue Reading
The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Wednesday 25 March. New updates as compared to the previous update are … Continue Reading
The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Tuesday 24 March. United States 1. Mergers / Filings Electronic HSR Filings … Continue Reading
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance today, which: requested financial institutions affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to contact FinCEN’s Regulatory Support Section and their functional regulator as soon as practicable if they have concerns about potential COVID-19-related delays to their ability to timely file Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports, including Suspicious Activity Reports … Continue Reading
Yesterday, on Sunday, March 15, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on U.S. and global economic activity, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) cut the target range of the federal funds rate to 0 to 1/4 percent until such time as the FOMC is “confident that the economy has weathered recent … Continue Reading
A main weapon that the United States has used in the ongoing trade war with China has been import tariffs that target Chinese goods. Many U.S. companies are considering moving their supply chains out of China in the hopes that, if they are not importing goods from China, they can avoid these tariffs. In a recent article, … Continue Reading
On August 14, Brazilian President Michel Temer signed into law the new General Data Privacy Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais or “LGPD”) (English translation), making Brazil the latest country to implement comprehensive data privacy regulation. The law’s key provisions closely mirror the European Union’s General Data Privacy Regulation (“GDPR”), including significant extraterritorial … Continue Reading
Arizona recently became the first state in the U.S. to create a “regulatory sandbox” program to facilitate the development of innovative financial products and services. Such products would either incorporate new or emerging technology or reimagine uses of existing technology. The program would exempt participants from certain state financial regulations, but not federal requirements. On … Continue Reading
Witney Schneidman, Chair of Covington’s Africa Practice, recently participated in a number of media interviews where he discussed various business trends on the continent. Below are links to those interviews. An interview with CGTN that compared the commercial approaches of China and the United States in Africa. LINK CNBC-Africa’s Closing Bell had Witney Schneidman on … Continue Reading
There are ample studies that quantify Africa’s infrastructure deficit in terms of projects and funding. The World Bank estimates $93 billion of annual upkeep investment is needed for projects and Ernst and Young estimates that there are some 800 projects, largely in the power and transportation sectors, that require approximately $700 billion in new investments. … Continue Reading
As policymakers weigh the many policy implications associated with the Internet of Things (“IoT”), U.S. lawmakers have put forward a variety of proposals for studying—and regulating—IoT devices. Although the likelihood of current proposals becoming law this term remain uncertain at best, existing legislative proposals provide important context and insight into the ways that lawmakers view … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018 Earlier today, the administration announced its findings that China’s theft of U.S. technologies and intellectual property (“IP”) have caused at least $50 billion in harm to the U.S. economy per year. In response, President Trump issued an order announcing its intent to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports, curtail Chinese investment in … Continue Reading
Bank-fintech partnerships are good for consumers and banks, as I recently explained in testimony to Congress during a hearing on the opportunities and challenges in the fintech marketplace. Consumers benefit because banks are able to use fintech to deliver safer, more transparent, lower cost and more convenient financial products and services to consumers over the … Continue Reading
Recent U.S. Trade Actions Concerns about the possibility of a U.S.-China “trade war” remain strong, especially after the Trump administration announced (Section 201) safeguard decisions against imported solar panels in January, and the Commerce Department released its (Section 232) report in February on the national security impact of steel and aluminum imports recommending additional tariffs … Continue Reading
In late December, the Trump Administration released the “National Security Strategy of the United States of America.” The nearly 70 page document lays out the foreign policy priorities of the current Administration in both thematic and regional approaches. At the time of its release, the press focused on the strategy’s emphasis on Russia and China, … Continue Reading
By official accounts, President Trump’s November visit to China went off well with positive atmospherics, including an unprecedented (for a foreign leader) dinner inside the Forbidden City and the signing of over $250 billion of commercial deals and two-way investment agreements. On the other hand, most western analysts have quickly pointed out that much of … Continue Reading
As most expected, China’s recently-concluded 19th Party Congress appears to have consolidated Xi Jinping’s leadership role within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and affirmed his policy agenda of the past five years—since he took over the Party in 2012 and as China’s President in 2013. It was a given that Xi would continue into his … Continue Reading
On 29 July 2017, the new German Competition Registry Act (Wettbewerbsregistergesetz – WRegG) became effective. Organisations offering public tenders worth EUR 30,000 or more will have to check the register to verify whether participating undertakings are excluded from public procurement because of past offences. The new register will be hosted by the Federal Cartel Office … Continue Reading
Next week, some 40 African finance and trade ministers, along with a large contingent of senior U.S. government officials will descend upon the coastal city of Lomé, Togo for the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. There will be more eyes on this year’s Forum. Aside from Secretary Ross’ brief address at the … Continue Reading
Earlier this month Witney Schneidman appeared on CNBC Africa at the close of the G-20 meetings to discuss Germany’s plan for Africa. In this segment, Mr. Schneidman focuses on increasing foreign direct investment, and the related opportunities and challenges. The full clip can be found here. … Continue Reading
On July 11, 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released the draft Regulation for the Protection of the Critical Information Infrastructure (“Draft Regulation”) for public comment (official Chinese version available here). The comment period ends on August 10, 2017. Aiming to add greater clarification to the Cybersecurity Law, which took effect on June 1, … Continue Reading
At the U.S.-China Summit in Mar-a-Lago in April, President Trump and President Xi agreed to set up a new four-track dialogue mechanism to replace the previous Strategic and Economic Dialogue established between China and the United States under the Obama Administration. This mechanism allows the two governments to conduct more specialized and higher-level discussions along … Continue Reading
India is home to 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world as documented by the World Health Organization (WHO). Half of Delhi’s 4.4 million children have permanent lung damage that they will never fully recover from. The 2017 State of Global Air report, published by the Health Effects Institute, shows that air … Continue Reading
