On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”) entitled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. The EO builds on previous energy-focused actions taken by the Administration, and...more
4/2/2025
/ Defense Production Act ,
Department of the Interior ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Energy Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Export-Import Bank of the US ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Mining ,
Permits ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SBA ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
In the recent case of Friends of the Earth v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities & others; South Lakeland Action on Climate Change v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities & others...more
10/31/2024
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Mines ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Secretary of State ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
In a highly anticipated judgment, a 3:2 majority of the UK Supreme Court ruled in R (Finch) v Surrey County Council and others [2024] UKSC 20 that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for fossil-fuel projects must include...more
On 15 March 2024, the European Council approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD” or “Directive”). If approved by the European Parliament and entered into force, the CSDDD will require large EU and...more
4/9/2024
/ Batteries ,
Child Labor ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
Forced Labor ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Human Rights ,
Noncompliance ,
OECD ,
Penalties ,
Sanctions ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
Soon to be law, the bill will require many foreign companies doing business in Canada to report annually; first reports will be due May 31, 2024 -
On May 3, 2023, Canada’s Parliament passed Bill S-211, An Act to enact the...more
5/12/2023
/ Canada ,
Child Labor ,
Fines ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Imports ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Transparency ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
On April 24, 2023, the EU Council announced that it will seek treaty relations with Ukraine under the framework of the 2019 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial...more
The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act: what does it mean for companies with a presence in Germany or doing business with German customers?
On 1 January 2023, the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (“Gesetz über die...more
1/6/2023
/ Corrective Actions ,
Documentation ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Export Controls ,
Germany ,
Human Rights ,
New Legislation ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Reporting ,
Supply Chain
On 31 August 2022, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (the “High Commissioner” or “OHCHR”) published its long-awaited Assessment of Human Rights Concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China....more
A new wave of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation is coming into force across Europe. It goes far beyond existing reporting obligations, such as under the UK or Australia’s Modern Slavery Acts, and will require...more
9/13/2022
/ Australia ,
Construction Contracts ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
FIDIC Contracts ,
Human Rights ,
International Construction Projects ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UN Guiding Principles
The business “responsibility to respect” human rights in Latin America, until recently, was governed mainly by soft law, namely the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGP’s”). Two new legal...more
On 1 July 2022, the Norwegian Transparency Act entered into force. It requires that large domestic (Norwegian) companies and foreign companies doing business in Norway implement and account for human rights due diligence in...more
Statutorily-Mandated Report Also Includes Key Importer Guidance And Initial List Of Entities Tied To Forced Labor In The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region -
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (“FLETF”) issued a...more
6/27/2022
/ China ,
Code of Conduct ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Forced Labor ,
Importers ,
New Guidance ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Restrictions ,
US Trade Policies ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Five practical steps large Japanese companies should take to prepare for the introduction of mandatory due diligence -
The European Commission recently published the text of the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due...more
The European Commission has published a proposed Directive on “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence” (the “Proposed Directive”). The Proposed Directive would impose extensive and legally enforceable duties on large...more
June’s G7 summit showed that eradicating forced labor in Xinjiang remains a top priority for leaders of the world’s most advanced economies. But what does this mean for international businesses with supply chains extending to...more
8/6/2021
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Forced Labor ,
G7 ,
Human Rights ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)