Chinese Academy’s Draft Climate Law Could Offer Clues To Content Of Official Version

SHENZHEN, China—A draft recommendation for China’s forthcoming climate change law issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is an important indication of what the law might cover, though not an official government document, experts say.

European Commission Proposes To Allow EU Retaliation Against Countries Restricting Procurement Markets

BRUSSELS—In an attempt to pry open the public procurement markets of the United States, Japan, China, and other trading partners, the European Commission proposed March 21 that the European Union should be able to retaliate against trade restrictions to win government contracts.

ANALYSIS: China’s New Internet Rules Include Key Provisions On Personal Data Protection, Information Security, Data Leaks, And Fines

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”) recently promulgated “Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services” (“the Provisions”) to ensure a level playing field for website operators in China and to enhance protections for internet users in areas such as internet security, web advertising and data protection. The Provisions came into effect on March 15, 2012.

ANALYSIS: Obstacles To Non-EEA Multinationals’ Transfers Of Employee Personal Data Outside The EEA Under Existing EU Law And The Commission’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation

Multinationals with global headquarters outside the European Economic Area (EEA) rapidly learn that EU Member State employment laws may differ dramatically both from the norms of the headquarters’ jurisdiction and from each other. This is unsurprising in 27 Member States with very diverse political histories. Each separately attempts to balance the interests of the individual employee (including his or her interest in collective activity) against the interests of the business employing him or her. Some Member States are objectively far more employee-friendly than others to counterbalance what that State perceives as the relative inequality of bargaining power.

European Commission Seeks Comments On Stricter ‘Shadow Banking’ Regulation

BRUSSELS—The European Union is to consider stricter regulation of money market funds, special investment vehicles, and other entities involved in “shadow banking,” the European Commission said in a consultation document published March 19.

ANALYSIS: Taiwan Securities And Exchange Act Amendments Clarify Applicability To Foreign Companies Listing In Taiwan

The Parliament approved on December 12, 2011, the amendment to the Securities and Exchange Act (the “Amendment”) submitted by the Cabinet on April 14, 2010, and October 26, 2010. The Amendment was promulgated by the President on January 4, 2012.

China Concludes First Advance Pricing Arrangement Involving Chinese-Headquartered Multinational

China recently entered into its first advance pricing arrangement with a Chinese multinational, according to a Shanghai practitioner.
Spencer Chong of PricewaterhouseCoopers said March 8 that the recently executed APA covered a related-party transaction between the Chinese company, headquartered in Jiangsu Province, and its related-party distributor in Europe.

France Outlines Companies’ Obligations to Furnish Data for REACH Evaluations

PARIS—The French government March 15 officially notified French companies that they must provide data to France and other EU member state authorities for evaluations of chemicals registered under the European Union’s REACH law and for which risks are considered uncertain.

European Parliament Endorses Commission’s Road Map for Reducing Greenhouse Gases

BRUSSELS—The European Commission should press ahead with measures to reduce the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions through 2050, despite Poland blocking EU member state discussions of longer-term climate goals, according to a vote of the European Parliament March 15.

Anxiety Grows As Enforcement Grace Period Nears End For South Korea’s Strict New Privacy Law

Apprehension among businesses about what they must do to comply with Korea’s new “strictest in the world” data protection law is growing as the end of a six-month enforcement grace period looms March 31, panelists said March 8.

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