Gone but Not Forgotten: The Continuing Importance of NAFTA Compliance
Latin American Blog
by Curtis Dombek and Laura Nava
8M ago
Click here to read the Spanish Version. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) may have been replaced effective July 1, 2020 by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), but the rules of NAFTA remain alive and well in the halls of the enforcement agencies on both sides of the border. Mexican Customs, through its Tax Services Administration (SAT), continues actively to verify not only USMCA origin claims, but is still pursuing NAFTA verifications going back up to five years. There remain nearly two years of US exports to Mexico (and US imports from Mexico or Canada) that ..read more
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A Closer Look at the Recent USMCA Automobile Disputes Panel Decision
Latin American Blog
by Curtis Dombek
1y ago
The North American and global automotive sector is watching closely to see how the United States ultimately responds to the decision of December 14, 2022, made public on January 10, 2023, which upheld Canada’s and Mexico’s position on an important issue for calculation of a vehicle’s regional value content (RVC) under the USMCA. In dispute was whether a Core Part or Super Core Part that qualifies as originating under Articles 3.7 to 3.9 of the USMCA Auto Appendix can then have 100% of its value count as originating content when calculating the RVC of the fully assembled vehicle. The Unite ..read more
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Does the USMCA Mean What It Says? The Disputes Panel Hearing on the Auto Core Parts Rules of Origin
Latin American Blog
by Curtis Dombek
1y ago
In recent weeks we saw Canada, Mexico and the United States present their respective positions and legal arguments, often in sharply worded exchanges, about how the Auto Core Parts rules of origin under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) should be interpreted. It is a high-stakes issue because assembly operations for vehicles and their “Core Parts” (engine, transmission, etc.) inevitably involve lengthy bills of materials with components from many countries, and what is being disputed is whether Core Parts once found to meet the USMCA requirements to be “originating” can then have their ..read more
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Annual H-1B Visa Lottery Will Open on March 1, 2022
Latin American Blog
by Greg Berk, Andrew Desposito and Christine Doyle
2y ago
For employers who need to hire foreign national talent for STEM or other hard-to-fill positions, an important immigration deadline is around the corner. The electronic H-1B lottery application window starts on March 1 and ends on March 18 at 12 noon EST / 9 am PST. If you desire to have one or more candidates entered into the H-1B lottery, please let immigration counsel know before March 1. If the case is selected, then immigration counsel would file a full H-1B petition with USCIS with an employment start date of October 1. This electronic lottery process allows immigration counsel to do a pr ..read more
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Sheppard Mullin Travel Checklist ‒ New Vaccination Travel Restrictions for Entry Into the United States: Air and Land Rules Effective November 8, 2021
Latin American Blog
by Greg Berk, Andrew Desposito and Christine Doyle
2y ago
Prior COVID-19 Travel Bans Repealed as of November 8, 2021 On October 25, 2021, President Biden announced the suspension of the COVID-19 travel bans from Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.  Previously, a National Interest Exception waiver was required.  With this new Proclamation, the White House announced a global vaccination requirement for all adult foreign national air travelers and authorized the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to provide specific regulations.  The White House announcement can be found here. Key P ..read more
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Does Your Trade Policy Support Your Company’s Values?
Latin American Blog
by J. Scott Maberry, Reid Whitten, Fatema Merchant and Lisa Mays
2y ago
If your company is like many, your board of directors may be demanding that you put more effort into environmental, social, and governance issues, which have become known by the now-ubiquitous acronym “ESG.” Those demands don’t come from nowhere: consumers are demanding transparency and social responsibility. In addition, if your company does business internationally, regulators are now focused on international social justice issues (such as the use of forced labor) more than ever. For companies engaged in international trade, there are many dilemmas to confront in implementing your ESG agenda ..read more
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NIE’s Now Good for 1 Year, More on Navigating the Travel Ban Jungle: National Interest Exception Checklist for the U.S. COVID Travel Bans
Latin American Blog
by Greg Berk, Christine Doyle, Karl Buhler and Andrew Desposito
2y ago
On July 6, 2021 the U.S. State Department publicly announced that the travel ban waivers related to the world-wide pandemic will now be good for 1 year and multiple entry.  The effective date of this new decision is June 29, 2021.  Previously they were only good for 30 days and a single entry.  In addition, those that have received a waiver in the past may now use it for 12 months if it was granted after June 29, 2020.  See: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/extension-validity-for-nies-for-china-iran-brazil-south-africa-schengen-uk-ireland-india.htm ..read more
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Navigating the Travel Ban Jungle: National Interest Exception Checklist for the U.S. Covid Travel Bans
Latin American Blog
by Greg Berk, Karl Buhler, Christine Doyle and Andrew Desposito
2y ago
The travel bans imposed by the U.S. Government during the Covid-19 national pandemic created enormous logistical challenges for anyone seeking to fly to the U.S. from a country on the travel ban list.  Even today, there is still a great deal of confusion regarding who is subject to the travel ban, what are the exceptions, and how to go about applying for a National Interest Exception (NIE) waiver.  The checklist below is intended to help simplify an albeit complicated process.  Of course, most U.S. Consulates are still operating at limited capacities so significant delays for wa ..read more
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New Labor Obligations Contained In USMCA Present Risks for Covered Employers
Latin American Blog
by Mario Torrico, Aracely Abarca, Matthew Sonne and Laura Nava
3y ago
In effect since July 1, 2020, the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”).  Although the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic largely overshadowed the effective date of this new international agreement, its new labor provisions should not go overlooked.  While the USMCA retains most of the NAFTA commitments, it revamped the old agreement in key areas — including labor.  Unlike NAFTA that included some labor commitments in a side agreement, the USMCA provides labor standards in the core text of the agreement (Chapter 23, L ..read more
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The New Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and Potential Effects on Foreign Businesses and High Net Worth Individuals
Latin American Blog
by Charles Kreindler and Ariela Pier
3y ago
On January 2, 2021 the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) became law.  Importantly, the NDAA included sweeping legislative reforms to anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws, which are now codified in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”) (NDAA §§ 6001-6511). Designed to enhance national security concerns, these AML amendments will significantly impact financial institutions, certain types of businesses—both domestic and foreign, and High Net Worth Individuals (“HNWIs”).  While HNWIs legitimately seek to maintain confidentiality in their corporate entities or wealth mana ..read more
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