Jacob Kopnick

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is violating Belgian shipping company Exmar Marine's Fourth and Fifth amendment rights by blocking its ability to sell an aircraft it owns, Exmar alleged in a Dec. 1 complaint. Arguing its case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Exmar said BIS has no legal authority to stop the sale of the aircraft and that such action to do so cuts against constitutional protections against unreasonable seizure and violations of due process (Exmar Marine, NV v. Bureau of Industry and Security, D.C. Cir. #21-3141).

While the World Trade Organization's upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference presents an opportunity to start meaningful discussion over revising the globe's leading multilateral trading body, the event will lack an immediate solution to pressing issues such as appellate body reform or an end to the all-purpose member veto, a former WTO deputy director-general said. Speaking at a Nov. 18 event on MC12 hosted by the Washington International Trade Association, Alan Wolff, now a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, also explored the leadership dynamics that will be in play at the Nov. 30-Dec. 3 conference.

The European Union will request a World Trade Organization panel in its ongoing dispute settlement case against Russia's state-owned enterprise procurement practices, the European Commission announced Nov. 17. The EU is challenging Russia's favoring domestic goods and services by state-related entities "to the detriment of EU companies." The EU's panel request will be considered at the next WTO Dispute Settlement Body meeting on Nov. 29.

Norbert Basengezi Katintima, former vice president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), launched a case Nov. 5 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge his spot on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. Katintima is challenging the decision made by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to deny his delisting application. The former CENI official says that the circumstances that contributed to his original listing have changed, necessitating his removal from the list (Norbert Basengezi Katintima v. Bradley Smith, et al., D.D.C. #21-02917).

Multinational conglomerate Honeywell Inc. expects to pay upwards of $160 million to settle investigations by the Department of Justice and Brazilian law enforcement over alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the company said in its quarterly report filed on Oct. 22 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it continues to cooperate with DOJ and the SEC throughout the investigations, including regarding a potential resolution of the allegations. Honeywell said that it recorded a $160 million charge in its Consolidated Statement of Operations, also accruing a liability on its Consolidated Balance Sheet to account for the expected payout.

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that formal negotiations over issuing an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines are "stuck," but that compromise stands within reach. Speaking at an event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, she said that balancing the concerns of less developed nations that seek greater vaccine access and developed countries that seek to protect the incentives and rewards of innovation of the vaccines is "practical" and eminently possible. Okonjo-Iweala also hinted that informal talks are ramping up toward finding a solution to the waiver issue, known as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, waiver.

Hong Kong-based apparel company, Changji Esquel Textile (CJE), should not be granted a preliminary injunction against its placement on the Commerce Department's Entity List, the U.S. argued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Resuming litigation after talks between Commerce and CJE broke down (see 2108300058), the Department of Justice said CJE is unlikely to succeed in its case and that the company has not established certain and imminent irreparable harm (Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd., et al. v. Gina M. Raimondo, et al., D.D.C. #21-1798).

After talks with the Commerce Department broke down over when Hong Kong-based apparel company Changji Esquel Textile (CJE) could be dropped from the agency's entity list, CJE resumed its litigation against the designation in federal court. The company, part of the Esquel group, on Aug. 27 filed a motion to re-set a hearing on a preliminary injunction against its placement on the list.

The European Union's blocking statute should be revised due to the increasing complexity and proliferation of extra-territorial sanctions and the bloc's "strong exposure to certain third countries," the European Commission suggested in a recently published impact assessment of the statute. The blocking regulations are meant to protect EU businesses from extra-territorial sanctions, including those imposed by the U.S., which are increasingly leading to global sanctions compliance issues in Europe (see 2108020030 and 2002190038).

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts was right to allow a new trial for Joseph Baptiste in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit said in an Aug. 9 opinion. Concurring with the district court that Baptiste's counsel was of such deficient performance to allow a retrial, a three-judge panel at the circuit court denied the U.S.'s appeal of the decision to run the trial back.