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Jessica Mutton (UK)

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On Thursday 12 December, we hosted the webinar “Trump and Tariffs: A Global Perspective of What Lies Ahead”. The session focused on the potential tariff impacts of President-Elect Trump’s second term in office, giving a global perspective on what to expect from the new U.S. administration in terms of the much-touted additional tariffs on imports into the U.S., and how best to prepare for their direct and indirect consequences. Speakers from across the globe discussed…

On Thursday 12 December, we hosted the webinar “Trump and Tariffs: A Global Perspective of What Lies Ahead”. The session focused on the potential tariff impacts of President-Elect Trump’s second term in office, giving a global perspective on what to look out for, and how best to prepare. Highlights from our speakers are set out below. To listen to the full webinar, please click here. US Canada Mexico Latin America EU / UK Africa Middle…

On 12 December, the EU Forced Labour Regulation (“Regulation”) was published in the EU Official Journal. The publication is following the EU Council’s approval of the Regulation on 19 November 2024. The text of the Regulation was approved by qualified majority with 25 EU Member States voting in favour and 2 EU Member States abstaining from voting. The Regulation was signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the EU Council…

In a landmark ruling on 21 November 2024, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) dismissed an appeal, upholding the General Court of the European Union’s original decision that relocation of production from the US to Thailand with the dominant purpose of avoiding EU retaliatory tariffs on US-origin goods could not be “economically justified” and as such falls foul of the EU’s “anti-circumvention” rules. This decision could have wide-ranging impacts, including a significant impact on companies’…

Following the UK’s exit from the EU (“Brexit”), the UK and EU developed the Northern Ireland Protocol (“NI Protocol”) and, subsequently, the Windsor Framework (designed to facilitate smooth trade between Great Britain, i.e. England, Wales and Scotland, and Northern Ireland following Brexit by streamlining the number of checks placed on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, primarily through the introduction of two “lanes” of travel depending on the final destination of the goods…

On 28 August 2024, UK and German leaders Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to work on an ambitious treaty covering issues from defence to trade, which would be part of a fresh start for the UK’s relations with the European Union (EU). As part of the same drive to improve relations with the EU, Starmer also met with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris on 29 August. After UK Prime Minister,…

On 27 June 2024, the UK Court of Appeal (“CA”) notably overturned a High Court decision by finding in favour of the World Uyghur Congress (“WUC”) in a case on forced labour and human rights abuses in overseas supply chains. In its decision, the CA focused on the application of the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) by the UK National Crime Agency (“NCA”), in particular the requirements for commencing an investigation and how the…

For the third week, we continued our Annual Compliance Conference with key customs developments impacting on businesses today. Specifically, we discussed the reform of the Union Customs Code in the EU, key trending customs developments in EMEA, and different methods of driving significant financial savings in global supply chains. EU customs reform: biggest overhaul since 1968 Tuesday 14 May SPEAKERS: Nicole Looks (Partner, Amsterdam), Thomas Kukanza (Senior Trade Advisor, Brussels), Sylvain Guelton (Senior Associate, Brussels),…

On 23 April 2024, the European Parliament approved the proposal of the EU Forced Labour Regulation (“Regulation”). The text of the Regulation was approved on first reading with 555 votes in favour, 6 against, and 45 abstentions. The officially adopted text can be found here. Under the Regulation, all products (including their components) manufactured using forced labour or placed and made available on the market in the EU, or exported from the EU will be…

On 13 March 2024, the European Council and European Parliament agreed the final text of the proposed EU Forced Labour Regulation (“Regulation”). This follows negotiations between the EU Council and Parliament which took place on 22 January 2024 and the European Council and European Parliament reaching a provisional agreement on the Regulation on 5 March 2024. The European Commission had initially proposed the Regulation on 14 September 2022. For information on the key similarities and…