Perspectives on Canada

On July 17th, the Office of the United States Trade Representative circulated the Administration’s Summary of Objectives for the NAFTA Renegotiation, a statutory prerequisite of US Trade Promotion Authority.

Later this month, Arent Fox Director of Canada-US Cross Border Business Affairs Birgit Matthiesen will serve as a keynote speaker at the Bay Area Economic Summit.

The 2017 edition of Legal 500 US has rated 50 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as national leaders in their field. In addition, 17 of the firm’s practice areas were ranked among the best in the country. Legal 500 highlighted Arent Fox’s extensive capabilities across a number of areas of the law.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 32 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as leaders in their field.

Arent Fox Senior Government Relations Advisor Philip English offered his thoughts on NAFTA renegotiation after the Trump Administration recently officially triggered the 90-day consultation period by formally sending a letter to Congress.

For the second consecutive year, International Trade partner David Hamill and Canada-US.Cross Border Business Affairs director Birgit Matthiesen contributed their insights to Lead, Reach and Connect, the must-read magazine for the Automotive Parts Manufactures Association.

Arent Fox partner and Government Relations practice group leader Jon Bouker participated in a discussion with a group of political observers.

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.

On April 26, 2016, United States Steel Corporation filed a massive trade case accusing Chinese steel producers and their distributors of conspiring to fix prices, steal trade secrets and use false labeling to avoid trade duties.

International trade events continue to occur at break neck speed. The Toronto International Auto Show takes place later this week, on the heels of the signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) in New Zealand.

Detroit business leaders understand the value of product innovation and market expansion. For many of these executives, the official release of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in November signaled a new opportunity of export growth in a region quickly becoming a consumer powerhouse.

Readers of these posts know that we have been closely following developments of US “Buy America” requirements as they are applied to US construction projects ranging from wastewater management, flood control, urban light rail systems, and highway building.

As many of you are wrapping up operations today, I wanted to bring together some of my thoughts on TPP as 2015 comes to a close.

There has been no let-up in the push for a final Trans-Pacific Partnership since the accord was signed by the 12-member countries on October 5th. This is especially true in the US, where US Trade Representative Michael Froman said that the agreement will be the template for future trade pacts.

Free trade agreements have a generic template that negotiators follow. After the various “feel good” provisions outlining the lofty objectives of said agreement, the text quickly turns to the nuts and bolts of the negotiations…

California passed Assembly Bill 60 (AB60) which allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a driver’s license to any person, which could include an undocumented person, who cannot establish their legal presence in the US but otherwise meets licensing requirements to drive a motor vehicle.

Over the weekend, negotiators from the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and eight Pacific Rim countries agreed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade accord in history, accounting for more than 40 percent of the global economy.  

By any standard, these are anxious times. For days, top negotiators from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have been meeting in San Francisco and Washington, DC and taking up most of the cities’ available hotel rooms.

Despite the setbacks in Maui last month during the last ministerial meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)[1] many still believe that the negotiators will resolve all outstanding items so that an agreement can be signed by the end of 2015 and implemented in the Spring 2016.

The following alert is the fifth installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates. 

The following alert is the fourth installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

Canada’s National Contact Point (NCP) recently sanctioned China Gold International Resources Corp. Ltd. (China Gold) for its unwillingness to participate in consultations under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) regarding China Gold’s mining activities in Tibet.

This is the third installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

The second installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

The stakeholder engagement process supporting the Obama Administration’s plans to develop a National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (NAP) is well underway. Two stakeholder meetings have already occurred in New York City and Berkeley, California.