Blockchain technology was born in the midst of the financial crisis and proposed as a means of reliably transferring a store of value without using a bank or other financial intermediary. Bitcoin was the first such blockchain token, and multiple cryptocurrencies have followed. But blockchain use cases extend far beyond the financial world, and some of the more creative uses of blockchain technology have emerged in the supply chain. The numerous benefits of blockchain to…
Governments around the world continue to signal that companies should prepare for a future where responsible sourcing programs that include supply chain human rights due diligence become a legal obligation. On February 20, 2020, the European Commission published a report titled “Study on due diligence requirements through the supply chain” (“the EC Study”) which examined the need for a EU-level regulation of corporate due diligence obligations aimed at identifying, preventing, mitigating and accounting for human…
On March 11, 2020, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (“CECC”) announced new proposed legislation, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, to establish a rebuttable presumption that all labor occurring in Xinjiang, China, or by persons anywhere in China who are involved with the “re-education through labor” program targeting Chinese Turkic Muslims constitutes forced labor within the meaning of the U.S. forced labor import ban, 19 U.S.C. § 1307. The proposed act would also impose sanctions,…
Baker McKenzie thanks each of you who attended our virtual annual conference Supply Chain Risks & Rewards in Emerging Markets, which we offered via a series of four webinars. The webinar links are now included below. In addition to providing the latest updates on regional and industry-specific supply chain compliance legal developments and impacts of the novel coronavirus, this webinar series focused on cutting-edge issues in supply chain risk management— including trade considerations and the impact of…
When multiple industry groups join efforts to push back on regulations proposed by the US Department of Commerce (“Commerce”), it likely means two things: first, the topic is highly relevant to many US businesses, and second, the proposed regulations need further refining. Many trade associations and businesses expressed concerns with the highly anticipated proposed regulations issued by Commerce on November 26, 2019 (“Proposed Regulations”) to implement Executive Order 13873, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology…