The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is continuing to strengthen the network of Finnish missions abroad by opening a third Consulate General in the United States. The new Consulate General will be located in Houston, Texas. Finland currently has three foreign missions in the United States: the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C., and Consulates General in New York on the East Coast and Los Angeles on the West Coast. The Consulate General in Houston is scheduled to start its operations...

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EU unveils €100 billion Clean Industrial Deal to boost green competitiveness On Wednesday, 26 February, the European Commission announced its plan for EU competitiveness and decarbonisation through the Clean Industrial Deal. The strategy comes in response to increased competition from China and the U.S. with EU officials claiming that Europe can win on green technology. There will be €100 billion in short-term relief to increase green manufacturing in the EU. The goal is to help traditional industries cut carbon emissions and boost...

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On February 21, 2025, President Trump issued the America First Investment Policy Memorandum (“Memorandum”). The Memorandum aims to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) from “allies and partners” while restricting inbound investment from and outbound investment to “foreign adversaries,” such as China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela. To achieve its FDI aims, the Memorandum requests a review of various Committee on Foreign Investment into the United States (CFIUS) procedures, limits the...

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TUPE regulations impose strict responsibilities and obligations on both the transferor (outgoing employer) and the transferee (incoming employer). Our Employment Law & Benefits team reviews the key aspects of TUPE and shares practical tips to help employers stay compliant. What you need to know The law governing the transfer of undertakings (TUPE) is complex and involves a number of obligations for both the transferor and transferee. Transferors and transferees must engage in a statutory information and consultation process with representatives...

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Executive summary Elevated interest rates helped push Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings to their highest level in eight years in 2024 and we expect the high volume of restructurings to continue through the first half of 2025. Over the last two years, higher borrowing costs eroded capital and liquidity from many companies. The Federal Reserve’s pivot in the back half of 2024 likely came too late for some of those companies. We’re also seeing signs of softening consumer spending, especially in sectors such as...

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The AED has expanded its AML/CFT reporting obligations to encompass all unregulated alternative investment funds (AIFs), in addition to introducing a new deadline. Unregulated AIFs must act immediately to ensure their compliance. Introduction The Administration de l’Enregistrement, des Domaines et de la TVA (AED) has expanded  AML/CFT reporting obligations for the 2024 financial year. Previously, only Reserved Alternative Investment Funds (RAIFs) were required to submit an RC report by the end of May. This requirement now applies to all funds under AED...

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As part of its ongoing efforts to thwart China's development of advanced computing technologies, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (the IFR) last month that both broadens the export licensing requirements for certain advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs) and imposes new due diligence requirements on front-end fabricators and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies (OSATs). While the IFR has been in effect since its publication date on January 16,...

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