The world economy is becoming more volatile and growing at a slower pace. These changes have forced businesses to make risky, complex decisions which could add costs to their operations, make them less competitive, or even render them obsolete. Yet new opportunities are emerging for those able to navigate the shifting tides. The 2019 Trade and Investment Report, produced by FP Analytics in collaboration with the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), illuminates the sources of this uncertainty, the distinctive...

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On October 2, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) published a list of E.U. products which will be subject to additional duty rates of 10% or 25% ad valorem, effective October 18, 2019. The application of the additional tariffs is specific with regard to tariff provision and country of origin. A link to the list of products, countries and additional tariff rates is available here: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investigations/EU_Large_Civil_Aircraft_Final_Product_List.pdf Should you have questions about this development and possible implications for your business, contact our office to...

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By Floris ten Have, Partner,  Amsterdam | Stibbe Current Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager may face even greater challenges in the next European Commission. President-elect Ursula von der Leyen has not only nominated Vestager for a second term as Commissioner for Competition, but has also asked her to coordinate the European Commission's digital agenda. As a result, Vestager may soon be tackling digital issues through competition enforcement whilst also proposing additional regulation to deal with these (and related) issues pre-emptively. Tech companies may therefore...

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October 2019 FX OutlookTrade, central bank policy, and Brexit dominated the investment climate in September. The US-Chinese trade conflict stopped escalating.  Although face-to-face talks are planned in October and the list of exemptions from the punitive tariffs has increased (US soy and pork, for example, are now exempt as are 10 components of Apple’s Mac Book Pro from China), the tensions remain high.  The conflict is more than about more than trade.  It is also about market access, unfair subsidies,...

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By Joanna Massey, President & CEO, JDMA Inc. For the first time ever, we have five generations in the workforce. Not surprisingly, this is leading to a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications. We may all be speaking the same language, but we have very different attitudes, opinions and lifestyles. It makes it difficult to navigate relationships in the corporate world, which is why companies hire me to give a talk to employees and management teams about these differences—what they are, why...

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