Going Global with HBS Blog

Written by: John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. and Ivo Kaitschick* Preface: Due to the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, a multitude of new sanctions have been imposed — most of them on Russia, some on Belarus. In addition to sector or geographically-based sanctions, both the U.S. and the EU have been adding people and entities

The “Buy American” statute says products bought with taxpayer dollars must be “substantially made” in the U.S.  Today, products could qualify if just 55% of the value of their component parts was manufactured here.  The U.S. administration is proposing an immediate increase of the threshold to 60% and a phased increase to 75%.  It claims

Written by: John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. An April 19, 2021 U.S. Government settlement proved costly for a domestic U.S. company that was “not attuned” to U.S. laws that restrict doing business with entities in certain countries – for example, Iran — that the U.S. has identified as national security threats or human rights violators.

Written by: John Parkerson, Esq. and Fanny Chac The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has a responsibility to encourage importers to comply with U.S. laws and regulations and to help protect American consumers from harmful products.[1]  On July 15, 2020, CBP imposed a Withhold Release Order (“WRO”) on the subsidiaries of the world’s largest

Hall Booth Smith international business attorney John Parkerson has been working with Pendleton Group and Global Atlanta to bring together local and international leaders for interactive, topical Zoom discussions on how communities can recast their global engagement in the “new abnormal” of the post-COVID world.  Thus far, the group has hosted four by-invitation-only sessions, each

Written by: John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. Individuals and companies that currently or plan in the future to conduct cross-border business need to be knowledgeable about the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and its anti-bribery and accounting requirements.  Hall Booth Smith’s international business attorneys routinely assist clients with advice to help them to comply

Written by: John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. Many individuals and businesses are aware that particular transactions that involve countries such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, or Syria (just to name a few well-known examples – there are others) or with certain persons or entities engaging in particular activities (such as, for example, narcotics trafficking, global

Written by: John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. Force majeure clauses often are ignored as simple boilerplate of little importance relative to the underlying “business deal.”  Not to unduly alarm, but a force majeure clause is important, especially during times like those we are experiencing.  This clause generally includes language that defines the kinds of occurrences

HBS international business attorney John Parkerson attended an informative program this week, organized by Global Atlanta and the Government of Mexico to highlight “Georgia and Mexico: Navigating the New NAFTA.”  By “New NAFTA,” one refers to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) that President Trump signed last year with Mexico and Canada to replace the North American

Last Friday, May 3, was World Trade Day  and HBS international business attorney John Parkerson, past President and current Member of the Board of the World Trade Center Atlanta, is shown there with fellow WTC Atlanta board members

Written by: John Parkerson, Esq. Note the interesting recent “reminder” about the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) enforcement of laws prohibiting doing business with certain countries, entities and persons: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20190131.aspx . Be careful about what you import, and ensure that your company has an internal program to prevent OFAC regulations violations. In

Written by: Mina Zhan CFIUS stands for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. It is a federal interagency committee chaired by the U.S. Treasury Department that is authorized to review any transactions that may result in foreign control of a U.S. company. Its purpose is to assist the President in overseeing the

By:  John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. and Katja Demmel A January 24, 2018 federal court jury conviction in Madison, Wisconsin serves as a serious warning to companies about how they can be destroyed easily by the theft of intellectual property. Fortunately, federal prosecutors were successful in securing a criminal conviction – but unfortunately not before the company

By:  John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. and Sandro Stojanovic, Esq. On October 5, 1961, a large number of countries signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (the “Convention”), a multinational treaty establishing the procedures through which a document issued in one of the countries that is party to the Convention can be

By: John E. Parkerson, Jr., Esq. International businesses are inquiring about recent developments with respect to sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Most recognize from media reports, televised Presidential debates, political pundits, and from other sources that the U.S. recently was party to some kind of agreement with Iran that purported to ease sanctions

Think for a moment about the international business opportunities that Georgia companies already are realizing. Just last year, according to recently-released data, Georgia exports were a record high: nearly $39.4 billion in goods and services, representing an increase of 4.9% over the previous year, making Georgia the 11th largest exporting state in the nation. (Georgia

Think for a moment about the international business opportunities that Georgia companies already are realizing.  Just last year, according to recently-released data, Georgia exports were a record high:  nearly $39.4 billion in goods and services, representing an increase of 4.9% over the previous year, making Georgia the 11th largest exporting state in the nation.  (Georgia

HBS international attorney John Parkerson was guest lecturer on November 11, 2014 at Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business. He spoke to Professor Dr. John McIntyre’s “International Business Environment and Strategy” advanced graduate MBA seminar about “How Lawyers Add Business Value to Companies’ International Strategic Choices.” Dr. McIntyre is Executive Director of Georgia

Approximately 140 attorneys met in Buenos Aires from September 17-19, where they assembled for the annual Worldwide Airport Lawyers Association (“WALA”) conference. In-house lawyers representing their airport operators, as well as attorneys from law firms engaged in airport law, converged on Argentina from some 40 countries around the world – from Kenya, to Turkey, to

US companies that conduct business in Brazil, whether a simple export transaction or  something more complex like an acquisition or other investment in a Brazilian entity, should be aware of important recent changes to Brazilian anticorruption law (the Brazil Clean Companies Act, Law 12.846/13, effective January 29, 2014) (hereinafter, “BCCA”) and conform their business practices