Houston partner David Ivey authored an article for the August 8 edition of the Houston Business Journal titled, "Regulations Increase in International Arena." The article appeared in the publication's annual Law Special Section in a "Survey of Global Business Legal Issues."
According to Ivey, "With the booming economies of countries such as China, India and Brazil providing markets to buoy sagging sales in the U.S., it is critical to understand how U.S. laws and regulations impact the ability to sell goods and services overseas."
Ivey goes on to point out some of the issues associated with the Export Administration Regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, based on the ultimate end-use and/or end-user of the export. He also notes that "a developing concept of a new way to maintain control over U.S. exports emerged last year in the 'validated end-user' program for China, which allows all exports of designated products to the end-user to be made without a license."
Similar programs are being considered in India and elsewhere, according to Ivey, but "on the other hand, there is a significant increase in the civil and criminal enforcement of the embargo against Iran."
Another aspect of international regulations involves the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to Ivey, "FCPA investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have increased over the past five years by a factor of five," with investigations moving from "traditional simple bribery of foreign officials to investigations of mergers and acquisitions, prosecutions for conduct wholly overseas, prosecution of the foreign parties involved, parallel foreign and domestic legal actions, and the increasing use of monitors to ensure compliance going forward."