Insights

As governments globally introduce emergency support to combat the impacts of covid-19, there have been calls to ensure this is aligned with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. However, covid-19 has also prompted many governments to lift or suspend regulations to reduce burdens on corporates. Where does the balance lie? Global Counsel is tracking ESG…

Carbon border adjustment taxes are not a new concept. The idea applies carbon pricing to goods that enter the single market where products are manufactured offshore have avoided carbon pricing. In theory, this prevents 'carbon leakage'. Europe's energy-intensive industries, especially cement and steel, have long argued they need a level playing field against imports with…

The covid-19 pandemic has ignited calls to reallocate critical supply chains away from China which could result in policy changes that fundamentally transform the semiconductor industry. Amid rising US-China tensions and the need to reinvigorate the US economy, Congress and President Donald Trump are poised to make sizable investments in the microchip industry to enhance…

Recent years have seen important global shifts in both the policy frameworks for screening inward foreign investment and the ways in which they are applied. These shifts come against a backdrop of protectionist political rhetoric and anxieties about the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) in traditionally open economies.

The current wave of activism around race, racial awareness and diversity is certain to impact on ESG – particularly as the ‘S’ aspect gains in prominence due to covid-19. The social components of ESG policies and strategies have in the past largely focused on attention to human rights and labour conditions, but the list of what is included is expanding. While…

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 seventh conversation in the series, which explored the impact of the widespread US protests…

In light of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, GC has held regular weekly calls focusing on how governments are responding to the situation and what upcoming developments could look like. Global Counsel recently hosted a discussion between our Chairman Peter Mandelson, Al Cook, Executive Vice President of Equinor, Marco Alverà, Chief Executive Officer of Snam and Global…

As many European states have mobilised to inject financial support into struggling companies, some European politicians have pointedly asked whether such support should come with environmental conditions attached. 

A conversation with from a recent digital event with Frederick M. Hess, resident scholar and director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute exploring the challenges faced by the US education system and potential measures to mitigate them.

A growing preoccupation with the impact of foreign acquisitions on European security and autonomy has in recent years fuelled the steady growth of investment screening mechanisms, with 14 out of the EU’s 27 member states (and the UK) now having such regimes in place. The economic impact of the covid-19 pandemic has further accentuated these concerns and led to a further…

A discussion between Thomas Gratowski, Global Macro Practice Lead, Global Counsel, and John Hughes, Senior Vice President, Albright Stonebridge Group on US-EU continued divergence on sanctions policy post covid-19.

Oman’s new sultan faces a potential binary choice. The 65-year-old Haitham bin Tariq, who acceded to the throne in January, knows that the rial’s peg against the US dollar has guaranteed financial stability for decades. But he has also pledged to continue his predecessor’s independent foreign policy. The country’s long-time leader, Qaboos bin Said, sought to maintain good…

An in-conversation from a recent digital event with Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman, Banyan Tree Holdings, and Andrew Yeo, Senior Associate, Global Counsel on the future of the global tourism industry, with a focus on Asian markets.

The US education system has been irrevocably altered in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic as students of all ages have been forced into remote learning environments. The nation is grappling with how to educate in this new reality and if/how to bring students back to classrooms in the autumn. In the midst of these policy discussions there are four issues that could be real…

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 seventh conversation in the series, which explored the impact of the widespread US protests…

The covid-19 pandemic has created the perfect conditions for a sovereign debt crisis. The economic impact has already been unprecedented, according to the World Bank – in its suddenness, its severity and its synchronicity. But just as governments the world over are rapidly increasing their borrowing to cover the costs, many developing countries are finding that capital is…

The covid-19 crisis has more than shaken our society, it has changed us. Almost every element of day-to-day life has been altered or adjusted. Some of those changes might be permanent. None more so than the energy sector.

As lockdowns across EU countries are lifted and exceptional financial support for businesses is wound down, attention is turning to economic stimulus. Germany’s package of tax cuts last week highlighted how consumption taxes can be an important tool for boosting and targeting consumer purchasing power: VAT will be cut from 19% to 16% for most purchases, and from 7% to 5%…