Insights

On May 5th, the US and UK initiated discussions on a trade agreement between the two countries following the UK’s formal exit from the European Union. These negotiations are likely to take on a vastly different tone after being upended by covid-19, as the initial two-week session will be held over a series of video calls led by the US trade representative, Robert…

Big tech is playing an outsized role in the covid-19 crisis, and its leading players are not shy in acknowledging it. Last week, responding to a legal ruling limiting its activities due to safety concerns in its warehouses, one of Amazon’s lawyers told a French court that the company is “extremely necessary for the continuity of the nation’s life; it brings essential…

This US election cycle, GC team members in the Washington, DC and London offices are holding a series of conversations on the elections and wider US policy issues, and how each might impact investors and companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Below is a brief extract from the fifth conversation in the series, which explored Trump’s exit strategy and the implications for…

The US healthcare sector, and hospitals in particular, face a reckoning amidst the covid-19 crisis. The strains on the industry, encapsulated by indelible images of overwhelmed emergency rooms and frontline workers, has highlighted a years-long decline in hospital capacity in the US. The outbreak has also cast a new spotlight on a regulatory practice known as Certificate…

The covid-19 crisis has been difficult for the aviation sector, forcing airlines to cancel flights, lay off staff and ground their fleets. With the medium-term trajectory for passenger demand also far less certain, European airlines are poised to be the most prominent recipients of government support to businesses. Meanwhile, calls for funds to include conditionalities…

Like other governments around the world, the immediate priority of Southeast Asian governments is to minimise the health and economic impact of the covid-19 outbreak. However, the challenge of managing the pandemic has seriously destabilised some governments in the region, many of whom were already in a precarious position before the crisis. The region that emerges after…

It’s the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Oil is at its lowest price in history. Deaths today from covid-19 topped 175,000 worldwide. It is certainly an historic day.

One of the first things services trade specialists learn is that trade in services is not like trade in goods. One of the most fundamental ways in which it is different is that the consumer and supplier of an internationally traded service are often physically in the same market. It is their economic nationality that matters, not their location on different sides of a…

One year after the EU adopted its first framework on foreign investment screening, the covid-19 crisis is prompting EU capitals to tighten their investment screening mechanisms in material ways. In many cases, these changes are an acceleration of an existing trend rather than genuine emergency measures – and as such may point towards a structural rather than a temporary…

Despite the EU’s best efforts, the controversial political agendas of Poland and Hungary have seemed unstoppable, until now. Recent covid-19 outbreaks are forcing both countries to redirect their time and budget away from their long-term Eurosceptic political plans and towards tackling the health crisis. But is either government actually delaying their populist agendas,…

Simplification and diversification. Regionalisation and repatriation. These have emerged as key buzzwords in trade and industrial policy when it comes to supply chain organisation in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. As governments worldwide grapple with the challenges of securing sufficient supply of products necessary to fight covid-19 – including personal protective…

With the onset of covid-19 and the lockdowns across Europe, it might feel like policymakers are out of reach. However, there are currently a number of public consultations which companies can respond to, providing formal feedback to the various policy proposal that have been put forward by the European Institutions. Practice Lead, Conan D'Arcy, Practice Lead Ermenegilda…

Senior Director Stephen Adams speaks to Trade Practice Lead Daniel Capparelli about the wave of trade policy measures we have seen in response to covid-19.

This US election cycle, GC team members in the Washington, DC and London offices are holding a series of conversations on the elections and wider US policy issues, and how each might impact investors and companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Below is a brief extract from the fourth conversation in the series, which began by analysing the $2.2tr stimulus package signed…

“It’s the first time tech companies act in such a strong way. They reacted immediately, and made very important, practically spontaneous, decisions. The crisis will without doubt accelerate this.” This intervention from Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, marks a major change in tone from the European Commission which has spent the past five years locked…

Along with many of our clients, family and friends, GC staff have found themselves under varying levels of quarantine this week, in some cases far from home. Here some of the team consider the covid-19 politics and policies playing out around them.

In a new series of interviews, members of Global Counsel's Asia team will interview thought-leaders in policy and business from across the region, focusing on key themes for Global Counsel including geopolitics, trade and technological developments and the impact on business and politics.

Global Counsel Director, Tom White, Energy Practice Lead, Ermenegilda Boccabella and Senior Associate Ana Martínez discuss the first 100 days of the von der Leyen Commission, and what the outbreak of covid-19 might mean for the future.