Hong Kong for business

Hong Kong is Over and We Told You This Would Happen

On August 13, 2019, in Hong Kong for International Business: Stick a Fork in It we made clear Hong Kong would soon cease to be an international business center and companies needed to consider moving out. To say this generated anger would be an understatement. In comments, I was called a “turd”, “hopelessly naive” someone

Ten Things to do to succeed in International business

Ten Keys to International Business Success

Many years ago, a Spanish client sent me a U.S. Government list of what the government called “Essential Advice for Doing Business Overseas.” That article no longer exists, but I came across the email where the client and I discussed the list and I am reprising it below, along with some of my own comments.

forced labor sanctions

Staying On Top of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

The past couple of weeks have seen a flurry of important Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) developments. This post flags the things importers need to know now in a way that links back into the bigger picture of what importers need to be doing to achieve UFLPA compliance. Let’s start with the latest UFLPA

How to leave China

A Resounding Maybe on Fleeing China

In China, the United States and the New Normal, I called the US-China trade war the “New Normal” and I predicted a “diminished future for foreign companies” manufacturing in China. I also said that since “the inception of the US-China trade war we have been saying that we do not see its end because we

China supply chain risks

Your China Supply Chain is a Bet Against the House

Last year, I asked my good friend Andrew Hupert of North American Strategic Planning to explain what is involved in moving manufacturing from China to Mexico. I chose Andrew for this because he has spent so much time in both China and Mexico, navigating their manufacturing systems from the inside. My law firm frequently consulted with

international contracts that work

International Contracts That Work

Lawyers love to jab at each other, especially when we are friends and operate in different jurisdictions or different practice areas. Recently a litigator friend said to me, “Don’t transactional lawyers just cut and paste? It looks really easy.” I replied, “Don’t litigators just argue about pointless things?” This willful misreading of each other’s skills

Mexico is the new China for manufacturing

Mexican Supply Chain Management: You’re Not in China Anymore

Last year, I asked my good friend Andrew Hupert to explain what it takes to move manufacturing from China to Mexico, in large part by comparing the two countries. I chose Andrew for this near-Herculean task because he has spent so much time in both China and Mexico, navigating their manufacturing systems from the inside. My

China M&A Deals. Mergers and Acquisitions.

VCs and PEs Hunting for China Deals Still Need an Exit Plan

December was a typically busy transactional month for our China team with the end of the calendar tax year looming. We were brought onto a China acquisition by one of our PE clients mid-month, and we closed before the end of the year. This cyclical frenetic pace of closing deals has caused me to reflect

The risks of dual language China contracts

Dual Language China Contracts: Don’t Get Fooled!

Make sure you know what your contract says in the language in which a court will be interpreting it. Oh, and having a contract with more than one "official" language almost never makes sense.