This week the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced two significant changes to US sanctions with consequences for the global aluminum and oil markets: sanctions lifted on UC Rusal plc, the world’s second largest aluminum producer, and two related companies; and expanded sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela. This Legal Update discusses both of these actions and their implications for business.

The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has posted a final rule regarding the H-1B cap selection process. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2019, and will go into effect on April 1, 2019.

On 30 December 2018, China's SAMR imposed a total fine of CNY 10.04 million on Hunan Er-Kang Medical Operation and Henan Jiushi Pharmaceutical for unfair pricing and other abuses of dominance in the supply of chlorpheniramine active pharmaceutical ingredients in China. This update explores how prices are considered to be unfair in China, and also comments on the finding of collective dominance.

This Legal Update discusses the many changes from the Brazilian Patent Trademark Office accompanying the arrival of 2019.

Cybersecurity and data privacy presented some of the most complex legal questions and business risks that multinational companies faced in 2018. Businesses should expect continued growth in cyber and data privacy challenges in 2019.

Transparency International released on 29 January the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for the year 2018. The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world according to their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

This update covers the key differences between the current 2004 Law on Competition and the 2018 Law on Competition, and also examines regulatory changes pertinent to the enforcement of the new law.

In this twenty-second edition, we flag and provide comment on anticipated employment law developments during the fourth quarter of 2018 and highlight some of the major legislative, consultative, policy and case law changes to look out for in 2019.

In the recent case of Global Corporate Ltd v Hale [2018] EWCA Civ 2618 , the Court of Appeal was asked to assess whether sums, described as "interim dividends", paid to Mr Hale in his capacity as both a director and shareholder of Powerstation UK Limited, had been made in accordance with section 830 of the Companies Act 2006 prior to the Company's insolvency.

Please find attached the eighth edition of Mayer Brown’s “Global International Arbitration Update”, a bi-annual publication that summarises key events in international arbitration from the preceding six months.

On January 25, 2019, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued an order clarifying its position with regard to bankruptcy filings that seek to reject Commission-jurisdictional wholesale power purchase agreements. This Legal Update provides details.

The agreement to end the partial government shutdown means that the operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) have resumed.

On December 27, 2018 the Ordinance No. 574 ("Ordinance 574") by the former Ministry of Transport, Ports and Civil Aviation (“MTPA”), which is currently part of the Ministry of Infrastructure, was published and established rules to the decentralization of activities related to the management of organized ports, delegating duties to the respective port administration.