The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that China has notified the WTO regarding its safeguard investigation procedures. China has provided contact details for its Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau and outlined the deadlines for interested parties to submit comments and register for participation. The notification specifies a 20-day window from the publication of the Initiation Notice for comments and registration. The WTO clarifies that safeguard investigations assess whether increased imports are causing or threatening serious injury to domestic industries, and that members may only take safeguard actions if such injury is substantiated.

The World Trade Organization has reported that the European Union has requested consultations with China regarding Chinese courts' authority to determine worldwide licensing conditions for standard essential patents (SEPs). The EU contends that Chinese legal provisions allowing courts to set global royalty rates without both parties' consent violate the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. This request formally initiates a WTO dispute, related to an earlier case concerning intellectual property rights enforcement in China. The consultation phase provides an opportunity for resolution before potential panel adjudication.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that South Africa notified its Committee on Safeguards on 3 February 2025 regarding the initiation of a safeguard investigation. The investigation, which commenced on 17 January 2025, concerns certain flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel and other alloy steel. South Africa has stipulated a 20-day period for interested parties to make themselves known and submit relevant information. The investigation aims to determine whether increased imports are causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury to the domestic industry, potentially leading to temporary import restrictions.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that the Russian Federation notified the Committee on Safeguards on 11 March 2026 of its initiation of a safeguard investigation on 4 March 2026 concerning imports of tinplate into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The investigation covers certain flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel. The notification requires interested parties to declare their participation in the investigation within 25 days of the initiation date. Requests for public hearings within 45 days and submit comments within 60 days. The Department for Internal Market Defence of the Eurasian Economic Commission serves as the contact point for investigation. The investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of tinplate are causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury to Russia’s domestic industry.

What is the World Trade Organization (WTO)? The WTO administers the WTO trade agreements which govern trade between states. It is also a forum for governments to negotiate bilateral or multilateral trade agreements and settle trade disputes, helping states to trade with each other with as little friction and disruption as possible. For background reading on the WTO, see: WTO—Who we are and WTO—In brief. The WTO began on 1 January 1995, though its trading rules are older. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has provided a set of rules for global trade in goods since 1948. GATT was amended through various rounds of negotiations. Negotiations in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, known as the Uruguay Round, were aimed at extending the remit of the trading system to include services and intellectual property. The Uruguay Round of negotiations culminated in a deal signed on 15 April 1994 by most of the 123 participating governments. The deal included the establishment of the WTO. The WTO has 164 members. Its work is supported

Law360, London: Global insurance broker Willis on 12 May 2025 launched an insurance product it said would meet the needs of financial technology companies as they look to grow.

Law360: WTW has published its 2024 professional trustee survey, which found that professional trustee appointments have surged by 11% in the last 12 months, with corporate sole trustee appointments rising at 14%.

Law360: Insurance broker WTW said on 18 March 2024 it is working to launch an insurance facility that it hopes will remove risks associated with loans to private companies, a move to protect them from threats linked to climate change.

CASE HUB ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 4 October 2016; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline. Case facts Outline European Commission merger investigation into the proposed acquisition by Wabtec of Faiveley Transport (Case M.7801). The transaction involves horizontal overlaps in markets for railway equipment systems and subsystems in the EEA, in particular the market for sintered train friction materials. Latest developments The Commission cleared the transaction subject to commitments on 4 October 2016. Under the commitments, the parties will divest Faiveley’s sintered friction material business, Faiveley Transport Gennevilliers (FTG). This will remove all overlap between Faiveley and Wabtec in the impacted market Parties Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec) is a US-based company active throughout the world in the production and supply of railway equipment, including complete brake systems and their subsystems and pantographs. In the EEA, Wabtec has a number of subsidiaries, including Poli, MZT, Brecknell Willis and Stemmann-Technik. Wabtec has more than 13,000 employees in more than 20 countries. Faiveley Transport

Law360: Healthcare company Perrigo said on 25 April 2024 that it has agreed to sell its pharmaceutical division for rare diseases to pharmaceutical company Esteve Healthcare SL for €275m in a deal guided by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Clifford Chance LLP.

TMT analysis: The trial of the case between Rebecca Vardy and Coleen Rooney finally reached a conclusion (save as to costs) after a seven-day trial which was reported widely in the media. Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed the claim in a closed reasoned judgment, which read something like a true crime Agatha Christie novel. Steyn J preferred Mrs Rooney’s evidence to that of Mrs Vardy, drawing inferences that Mrs Vardy was largely responsible for leaking information from Mrs Rooney’s private Instagram account to the Sun Newspaper. While the conduit for the information was Mrs Vardy’s agent (Ms Watt), Steyn J rejected ‘a thesis that Ms Watt was acting alone, without Ms Vardy’s knowledge, consent or approval’. Mrs Rooney was successful in her truth defence, in that her imputation that Mrs Vardy was responsible for the leaks of Mrs Rooney’s private Instagram posts was found to be substantially true. Her alternate defence relying on the public interest was unsuccessful as her belief in the public interest was genuine but was not reasonable in the circumstances. Written by Lauren Godfrey, barrister at Gatehouse Chambers.

A statutory definition that establishes what constitutes the 'wages' of an employee for the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996.