Key Public Policy Developments Around the World
On August 22, 2026, U.S. tariffs of 50 percent imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1338) took effect against a range of imports from Canada, including chemicals, prepared food and beverages, plastics, metal items, machinery, cosmetics, wood and paper products, industrial…
Continue Reading Section 338 Tariffs on Canada Take Effect as Canada Announces Retaliatory ResponseOn May 6, 2026, Brazil’s House of Deputies approved the text of the Critical and Strategic Minerals Bill. The bill establishes a new legal framework for critical and strategic minerals production with a focus on national security, local manufacturing, and sustainability. The bill was approved with wide political support and…
Continue Reading Brazil’s House Approves New Critical and Strategic Minerals Legal FrameworkCritical minerals have received a surge of attention recently, much of it tied to China’s dominance of extraction and processing and recent application of export controls on minerals with defense applications. Policy discussions tend to focus on “critical minerals” collectively, but it is important to distinguish those needed for agriculture and transportation from those needed for national security. Every mineral deemed essential for U.S. national security, economic security, and supply chain resilience and included on the official list of critical minerals maintained by U.S. Geological Survey list is important for its own reasons, but there are a few elements whose looming shortage now borders on an emergency, requiring extra focus from policymakers. Certain “heavy” rare earth elements are among them.
Continue Reading Heavy Rare Earth Elements: Rising Supply Chain Risks and Emerging Policy ResponsesIf you are the general counsel of a Fortune 500 company, you might be excused if you express bewilderment in response to reports about the successes of U.S. “tort reform.” In the past 5-8 years, both the plaintiffs’ bar and governmental authorities seem to have added an extra digit to…
Continue Reading Dealing with an Extra Digit: Latest Developments in Excess Liability Insurance Coverage and “Bermuda Form” Arbitrations for Catastrophic ExposuresWhile the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is proposing to amend the federal Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (“GHGRP”) to remove reporting requirements for nearly all sources, it remains important for companies to track developments and manage their compliance obligations with existing and emerging state GHG reporting programs. Several states, such as California, already have some form of mandatory GHG reporting in place. Others are introducing similar programs to take effect over the next several years.
In particular, New York is expected to finalize a rule establishing a Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The state announced its proposal in spring 2025 and public comments closed on July 1. New York’s program appears to be similar to both the federal GHGRP (which EPA will likely roll back) and California’s Mandatory Reporting Regulation (“MRR”) and applies to companies with significant direct emissions from facilities located in New York state and fuels and electricity consumed within the state. This blog post provides an overview of New York’s proposed program and compares it with California’s MRR.
Continue Reading State Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programs: New York’s Proposed Mandatory Reporting Program and California’s Existing ProgramThough the 2nd Trump Administration has dramatically turned away from the energy and industrial policies of the Biden Administration, private-sector proponents of advanced energy projects may still find opportunities to partner with the federal government on certain Research and Development (R&D) or commercialization projects in the energy sector.
Since January 2025, nearly all corners of the federal government have sought to terminate federal grants, loans, and contracts that the Trump Administration has determined are out of step with the government’s revised priorities (such as in the case of various clean energy focused programs or decarbonization initiatives). Nonetheless, federal agencies have also announced new initiatives providing both financial and non-financial benefits for energy projects that the Trump Administration continues to support. In particular, there are significant opportunities available for developers of nuclear energy, critical minerals, and geothermal projects, as detailed further below.
Continue Reading Opportunities for Advanced Energy Partnerships in the 2nd Trump AdministrationThe Spanish Ministry for Ecologic Transition and Demographic Challenge (“MITECO”) has launched a public consultation on a Draft Royal Decree (“Draft Royal Decree”) that would impose strict energy efficiency and sustainability requirements on data centers in Spain. The proposed requirements of the Draft Royal Decree are broader and stricter than the requirements on data centers set out in the EU’s Directive (EU) 2023/1791 (the “Energy Efficiency Directive” or “EED”) that the Draft Royal Decree aims to transpose. Among other things, the Draft Royal Decree imposes requirements to report on the socio-economic impact of data centers; and to comply with the European Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency (“EU CoC”), and with industry best practices. The Draft Royal Decree is subject to an ongoing public consultation and interested parties may submit their comments until September 15, 2025.
In this blog post we outline the requirements of the Draft Royal Decree that are stricter than those of the EED.
Continue Reading Spain Proposes Strict Sustainability Requirements for Data CentersThis client alert summarizes recent developments related to implementation of California’s climate disclosure laws, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261). These key developments underscore the necessity of preparing for compliance by the operative deadlines: January 1, 2026…
Continue Reading Litigation and Implementation Updates on California Climate Disclosure Laws (SB 253 and SB 261)On May 12, the Federal Register put on public inspection a group of 42 proposed and final rules from the Department of Energy. The rules cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from energy efficiency standards to biofuel production to the conditions attached to grants from the Department. Many of these rules are notable for the extreme brevity of their analysis. Taken together, these proposed and final rules offer one of our first windows into the way the new Trump administration intends to expedite the rulemaking process.
The Federal Register generally must put documents it intends to publish on public display a few days before publication. On May 12, the virtual public inspection window was mostly taken up with proposed and final rules from the Department of Energy. DoEoffered for display 29 proposed rules and 13 direct final rules. (The Register also displayed a fourteenth DoE direct final rule that the agency subsequently withdrew.)
The Administrative Procedure Act requires that notices of proposed rulemaking include “either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a description of the subjects and issues involved.”[1] Courts have interpreted section 553 to require agencies to provide sufficient detail about their proposed rules for the public to comment intelligently on them. Similarly, final rules issued under the Administrative Procedure Act must contain “a concise general statement of their basis and purpose.”[2] Case law requires that statements of basis and purpose contain sufficient detail for courts to conduct “hard look” review under 5 U.S.C. 706’s arbitrariness standard, assessing whether agencies have adequate reasons for the regulations they adopt.
Continue Reading Department of Energy Rulemakings Show What’s in Store under Trump’s Deregulatory InitiativeAuthors: Jennifer Johnson, Jayne Ponder, August Gweon, Analese Bridges
State lawmakers are considering a diverse array of AI legislation, with hundreds of bills introduced in 2025. As described further in this blog post, many of these AI legislative proposals fall into several key categories: (1) comprehensive consumer protection legislation similar to the Colorado AI Act, (2) sector-specific legislation on automated decision-making, (3) chatbot regulation, (4) generative AI transparency requirements, (5) AI data center and energy usage requirements, and (6) frontier model public safety legislation. Although these categories represent just a subset of current AI legislative activity, they illustrate the major priorities of state legislatures and highlight new AI laws that may be on the horizon.
