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Governments worldwide are facing growing demands for openness, transparency, and accountability.

As part of this shift, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) stands out as a pioneering international initiative committed to fostering government transparency and citizen engagement. Established in 2011, the OGP now includes 78 countries and numerous local governments, each dedicated to advancing these principles in governance.
What is the Open Government Partnership?
The OGP is an initiative founded to create more transparent and accountable governments by encouraging commitments…
Continue Reading Opening the Doors to Transparent Governance

The saying “nothing is permanent” not only applies to life in general, but also to things many people think are truly permanent – like lawful permanent residency status, commonly called “green card” status. Unfortunately, it often surprises some (and usually under less-than-ideal circumstances) that the permanent resident status that they thought they could never lose and worked so hard to obtain can, in fact, be lost either through their actions, or in many cases, inactions. It will likely come…
Continue Reading Permanent Residency Status is Not Necessarily Permanent: Travelers Beware

The Mexican government has consulates all over the United States.

These centers are present in order to help Mexican citizens living abroad in the United States or non-Mexican citizens that need to obtain paperwork, documentation, or conduct limited business with the Mexican government.

These Mexican consulates serve as a connection to Mexico. Some of the services that Mexican citizens can obtain at these centers are passports and birth certificates for those born in Mexico. Non-Mexican citizens can apply for…
Continue Reading In Support of the Mexican Community: On Being a Consultant Attorney with the Mexican Consulate

Sept. 11, 2001, was a watershed moment for all, and certainly for me as a career federal prosecutor. From that day forward, the main focus of the U.S. Department of Justice was protecting the people of the United States from violent terrorism. With local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners, we worked to stop violence at home before it happened, and prosecuted those who committed violent acts and actively supported terrorist organizations. Beginning in March 2001, I also…
Continue Reading Micro-diplomacy and the Lawyer’s Role in Foreign Policy, National Security, and the Rule of Law

As I advise clients on trademark issues, it is relatively common for clients to ask if there is an “international trademark”. I then break the unfortunate news that there is no such thing as an “international trademark”. Instead, registered trademark protections only extend to the national borders where the mark is registered. This means that if a client with a U.S. trademark wants registered trademark protection in Canada and Mexico, the client needs to apply for trademark protection in…
Continue Reading Just Following (Madrid) Protocol

Beginning November 8, 2021, a burden on millions of travelers will be eased with the revocation of the country-specific travel bans that have been in place since 2020. Individuals previously prevented from traveling directly to the United States if they were in one of the 33 banned countries (all countries part of the Schengen Region, the U.K., Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, China and Iran) within 14 days prior to seeking entry into the country, will now be able to…
Continue Reading United States Ends International Travel Ban With New COVID-19 Requirements

Beijing High People’s Court rejects Volkswagen’s Trademark Application Despite Coexistence Agreement

In August, 2021 the Beijing High People’s Court maintained a decision made by the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) rejecting an application by Volkswagen (VW) for the trademark TAYRON, an expression associated with a line of VW’s compact SUVs. The decision was upheld on the grounds of (1) similarity of goods and (2) similarity of marks with respect to the existing trademark TYRON, owned by Tyron Runflat…
Continue Reading Recent Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property

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The United States’ “swift” troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S.’ longest war spanning four different U.S. presidential administrations, is a subject of fierce debate in many legal and non-legal circles.Although there appears to be no neutral position when discussing this issue, an approach based on a public international law principles provides an interesting dimension to the ongoing discussion.International Law on Ending a War Between StatesAny discussion on the law of troop withdrawal also necessitates a discussion on the…
Continue Reading What Public International Law Says about Troop Withdrawal at the End of a War

In March, I published an article with the International Trade Club of Chicago (ITCC) blog on President Biden’s 2021 Trade Agenda and 2020 Annual Report that was released by the USTR on March 1, 2021.

This article supplements that article, and focuses on the recently released 2021 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) published by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on March 31, 2021.

The National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers

The NTE…
Continue Reading ‘Tough on China’ Trade Policy Continues

Wisconsin is a good place for a foreign individual or entity to invest. While there are currently travel restrictions in and out of the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now is a good time for foreign investors to take advantage of cheaper prices, and start planning potential investments for when the borders open up.

Wisconsin has a low sales tax, and good corporate and property tax rates compared to other states. Wisconsin is most famous for its…
Continue Reading Foreign Investment in a Wisconsin Business: Special Considerations

Previously, I have published two articles in this International Law Blog that focus on the challenges of complying with the very complex U.S. export control and sanctions regulations.1

This article supplements these two articles, and focuses on the recently enacted Export Control Law of the People’s Republic of China that goes into effect Dec. 1, 2020. I also discuss why this regulation should matter to U.S. companies, large or small, with footprints in China.
Background
Since the beginning…
Continue Reading China’s New Export Control Law: Why US Businesses Should Pay Attention

Note: This article was originally posted on the Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren website.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has established a new mandatory internet-based electronic registration and lottery process for employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for beneficiaries that are required to be counted under the annual allocation of new H-1B slots.

Benjamin T. Kurten, U.W. 1997, is a shareholder at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C., Milwaukee, and is the chairperson of Reinhart’s immigration group.
Continue Reading New H-1B Cap Registration Process Starts March 1

The trade war between the U.S. and China has significantly disrupted the once predictable global trading system.
Trade disruptions, however, are not anomalies – as U.S. trade policy since its founding has oscillated through periods of protections. In fact, the earliest such trade disruption occurred after the war of 1812, when Thomas Jefferson imposed a trade embargo on Britain.
Because the current trade war is likely to persist for decades – one of the U.S.’s stated goals is to…
Continue Reading Save on Import Duties with the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill – Apply by Dec. 10

Most of us are familiar with programs for older Americans – from Social Security and Medicare, to anti-discrimination and accessibility laws. While these programs are set up to help protect America’s seniors, population aging around the world is a looming concern as global Baby Boomers become retirees, while the younger generations delay or decide against parenting.1
This trend is creating a gap between the number of retirees and the number of people in the workforce,2 including those…
Continue Reading An International Snapshot: Protecting Seniors as Workforces Shrink

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After 37+ years as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice – the last eight as President Obama’s appointee as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin – in March 2017, I resigned my position and turned to the next chapter.
I believe in public service, and I believe in the rule of law, so I decided to commit time and effort to international pro bono projects that advance the rule of law, working with foreign judges,…
Continue Reading International Pro Bono Projects: Receiving More Than What You Give

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On Dec. 1, 2018, while transferring planes at Vancouver International Airport, Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wangzhou, was arrested by Canadian authorities at U.S. request pursuant to an extradition treaty between the U.S. and Canada.

The warrant was based on allegations of alleged Huawei’s conspiracy to defraud banks that had cleared money thought to be for Huawei, but was for Hong Kong-based Skycom Tech (an entity claimed to be controlled by Huawei) for the purpose of selling U.S. equipment…
Continue Reading How a Huawei CFO’s Criminal Prosecution Could Signal a New Approach to U.S. Sanctions Enforcement