[1] Nov. 27, reflecting the findings of a Chinese investigation into whether Australia was dumping cheap wine on the Chinese market. Australia has yet to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, but China has imposed barriers and tariffs on Australian beef, barley and coal imports following Australia’s call for an investigation into the source of the COVID-19 pandemic and Australian-led investigations into forced labor in Xinjiang province.
[2] onto the U.S. market and therefore imposed tariffs of 122.5% on twist ties imported from China.
1 Stuart Condie, “China Escalates Australia Trade Dispute With Wine Tariffs,”
The Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2020, https://on.wsj.com/2JsGDjX.
[1] published Nov. 24, 2020, reporters for the Associated Press detailed accounts from women working in palm oil fields of their experiences being abused, sexually assaulted and held against their will. Palm oil is a key ingredient in millions of products sold around the world:
“Palm oil is found in everything from potato chips and pills to pet food, and also ends up in the supply chains of some of the biggest names in the [USD 530] billion beauty business, including L’Oréal, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Avon and Johnson & Johnson, helping women around the world feel pampered and beautiful.”
The Nov. 24 report is part of a larger series
The 15 partners to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed the agreement
[1] Nov. 15, 2020, enacting the largest ever trade deal by population. The RCEP encompasses the 2.2 billion people of the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
The agreement is significant in that it complements existing treaties such as the European Union–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the many bilateral free trade agreements between ASEAN nations.
[2] state that all existing bilateral/plurilateral free trade agreements between member nations will remain in effect and that the deal will include “appropriate forms of flexibility including provision for special and differential treatment, plus additional flexibility to the least-developed ASEAN Member States.” In comparison with other trade deals, the RC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a fine of $6 million
[1] against Hewlett-Packard (HP) to settle allegations that the company inflated sales and misled investors and stakeholders. HP allegedly used a tactic to “pull in” sales it had not yet made as well as move cheap product through distributors that resold outside of their markets to inflate numbers and obscure the true state of the company. The company failed to disclose its practices, which occurred in 2015 and 2016.
“HP’s failure to disclose the foreseeable negative impact of its use of pull-ins and other sales practices created a misleading and incomplete picture of the company’ s financial condition,” said Melissa Hodgman, an associate director in the SEC enforcement division. HP also agreed to a cease-and-desist order.
A record payout to a foreign national by the United States whistleblower program may incentivize other foreign nationals to come forward and report wrongdoing.
[1] The payout of $36 million went to Koo Byoung-jin, a South Korean national who found that his business associates were price-rigging to defraud the US government.
The US whistleblower laws allow for payouts to foreign nationals if the financial crimes involve US companies or transactions that enter the US financial system. Since most dollar-denominated transactions flow through US banks in New York, transactions that occur in foreign nations could still fall under US jurisdiction. The US routinely uses the fact that the world banking system flows through New York to enforce money laundering and sanctions actions. The record payout demonstrates that the US False Claims Act covers offenses that occur outside of US borders.