Yesterday, the full House passed its tax reform proposal, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), on a party-line vote, 227-205. In addition to the headline changes to the corporate and individual tax systems, the bill would make numerous changes to various fringe benefit exclusions, employer deductions for fringe benefits and executive compensation, cross-border
November 2017
China to Broaden Market Access for Foreign Investors in Financial Services
In the wake of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th Party Congress, and US President Donald Trump’s visit to China, the Ministry of Finance has announced a high-level roadmap for broadening market access for foreign investors in the financial services industry. This policy development, long under discussion, is part of an effort by the Chinese leadership…
The Vestager Tenure : Mid-Point or Turning Point?
By Johan Ysewyn
We are now well past the mid-point of Commissioner Vestager’s tenure as European Commissioner for Competition. Let us assume that – as with all of her predecessors, and regardless of merit – she will not be reappointed for a second term in the post, so that by the end of 2019 we will have a…
White House Releases Vulnerability Equities Policy and Processes
By David Fagan
The White House released on November 15, 2017 the Vulnerabilities Equities Policy and Process for the United States Government (“VEP”) — the process by which the Government determines whether to disseminate or restrict information about new, nonpublic vulnerabilities that it discovers. This release was motivated by criticism following the allegations that significant cyber-attacks have exploited…
Pharmaceutical Digital Health Innovators Take Note: FDA Public Hearing on an Innovative Approach to Devices Referencing Drugs
On November 16, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) will hold a public hearing on a proposed approach for sponsors seeking to market devices referencing drugs (“DRDs”) when the drug sponsor does not wish to collaborate with the sponsor of the device. FDA will accept comments to the docket until January…
House of Representatives Seeks to Strengthen Subpoena Enforcement Dramatically
In late October, the House of Representatives quietly approved a bill that would dramatically strengthen Congress’s procedures for enforcing congressional subpoenas. In adopting the bill, the bipartisan leadership of the House Judiciary Committee highlighted the challenges that Congress faces in obtaining materials from executive branch agencies. Significant portions of the bill, however, apply to all…
Russia and Iran Sanctions: Recent Developments
During the past two weeks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of State have taken a number of steps toward implementing aspects of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”), a major piece of sanctions legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in July and…
The Bundeskartellamt Publishes a Paper on Big Data and Competition
On 6 October 2017, the German Competition Authority (the “FCO”) launched a new series of papers on “Competition and Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy” with its first paper on “Big Data and Competition” (available in German) (the “Paper”). The FCO sets out its view of the specific characteristics of digital, data-based markets, the role…
Grassley Legislation Would (Re)Impose FARA Obligations on Private Sector Entities
With the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the news and public awareness of this formerly obscure statute at an all-time high, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation last week to revise the statute significantly, including reversing a decision Congress made in 1995 to remove most private sector reporting from FARA and place it instead under…
Three Questions You Need to Ask When Negotiating Digital Health Deals
According to a distinguished panel of lawyers from MSD and Covington & Burling, companies involved in Digital Health deals need to ask themselves the following questions:
- What data is required to develop and deliver the Digital Health solution, and does your company have sufficient expertise in-house to analyze the data?
- What happens if your technology
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