DOCSLIB.ORG

ENERGY ADVISOR a WEEKLY PUBLICATION of the DIALOGUE September 16, 2016

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR ENERGY ADVISOR A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF THE DIALOGUE www.thedialogue.org September 16, 2016 BOARD OF ADVISORS FEATURED Q&A TOP NEWS Mary Rose Brusewitz Partner, OIL & GAS Strasburger & Price Can Temer Boost Jeffrey Davidow Lula Charged Senior Counselor, in Petrobras The Cohen Group Brazil’s Struggling Graft Case Ramón Espinasa Consultant, Brazilian prosecutors on Inter-American Development Bank Energy Sector? Wednesday fi led charges against Luis Giusti former President Luiz Inácio Lula Senior Advisor, da Silva, his wife and six others Center for Strategic & in connection with the massive International Studies corruption scheme at state-run oil Jonathan C. Hamilton company Petrobras. Partner, Page 2 White & Case Raul Herrera Partner, POWER SECTOR Corporate & Securities Practice, Arnold & Porter IEnova Plans to James R. Jones Raise Over $1 Bn Chairman, ManattJones Global Strategies in Share Off ering Jorge Kamine Brazilian President Michel Temer has vowed to implement policies with the goal of attracting Mexican energy infrastructure Counsel, investment in the energy sector. // File Photo: Brazilian Government. company Infraestructura Energet- Skadden Arps ica Nova plans to raise more than Craig A. Kelly $1 billion in a secondary share of- Michel Temer was sworn in as Brazil’s president on Aug. Director, fering next month, which would be Americas Int’l Gov’t Relations, 31, replacing ousted President Dilma Rousseff. How will one of the biggest Mexican equity Exxon Mobil the change in government, which puts Temer in power until placements in recent years. Jeremy Martin Q Page 3 Director, 2018, affect Brazil’s struggling energy sector? Will the Te- Energy Program, mer administration be able to work with Congress and turn the page on Institute of the Americas Petrobras’ protracted corruption scandal? What energy policy changes OIL & GAS Larry Pascal Chairman, are expected to come from a Temer government? PDVSA Proposes Americas Practice Group, Haynes & Boone $7 Bn Debt Swap Charles Shapiro Johanna Mendelson Forman, senior advisor with the Man- PDVSA President Eulogio Del President, Pino on Tuesday announced a aging Across Boundaries Initiative at the Stimson Center: World Affairs Council of Atlanta proposed $7 billion bond swap in R. Kirk Sherr “President Michel Temer’s business-friendly Brazilian Demo- outstanding debt in order to ease President, cratic Movement Party may not be enough to help him rebuild cash-fl ow concerns for the state Clearview Strategy Group A the struggling energy sector in Brazil. Caught in a crisis of legitimacy, oil company. Garrett Soden Page 2 Director, Temer’s troubles with the Lava Jato legal investigation will not go away Etrion Corporation just because he was able to rid himself of Rousseff. The investigation has Mark Thurber revealed the connections between his party and the Workers’ Party to si- Partner, Andrews Kurth phon billions of dollars from Petrobras. Future outcomes in the corruption Alexandra Valderrama probe ultimately will not only affect the energy sector, but will also further Manager, International Government Affairs, erode the limited legitimacy that Temer and his government enjoy with Chevron ordinary Brazilians. Months before Dilma’s removal from offi ce at the end Lisa Viscidi of August, many international oil industry analysts thought that a change Program Director, Inter-American Dialogue in government would open a new chapter in Brazil’s energy sector. But the Max Yzaguirre scope of reforms needed may far exceed the government’s capacity, given President and CEO, the high level of distrust in Congress and in President Temer’s capacity The Yzaguirre Group to effect change. If Temer is able to set a reform agenda for Petrobras, he will face hostility from the Workers’ Party in Congress in making any Del Pino // File Photo: Venezuelan Government. Continued on page 3 COPYRIGHT © 2016, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 1 LATIN AMERICA ENERGY ADVISOR September 16, 2016 OIL & GAS SECTOR NEWS million more for planned crude imports than it NEWS BRIEFS had originally anticipated, according to internal PDVSA Proposes documents seen by Reuters, the wire service Argentina’s Aranguren reported Tuesday. Despite holding some of the Sells Stock in Shell $7 Bn Debt Swap world’s largest crude reserves, Venezuela in March made its fi rst crude purchase from BP Argentine Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren Amid Cash Shortage in order to dilute its own extra-heavy crude. has sold his stock in the energy company Royal Venezuela awarded BP a large tender, for which Dutch Shell, President Mauricio Macri con- Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA on the South American country had expected to fi rmed Tuesday to La Nación. The announce- Tuesday proposed a $7 billion bond swap in pay $230.9 million, or approximately $31 per ment comes after the country’s anti-corruption outstanding debt in order to ease cash-fl ow barrel, in prepaid shipments of 7.4 million bar- offi ce called on Aranguren to sell his shares concerns, Reuters reported. Following PDVSA rels. Venezuela’s delays in payments, however, in the company to avoid a confl ict of interest, President Eulogio Del Pino’s announcement had prevented BP from sending its crude to though Macri maintained that the minister sold of the program, the company’s bonds surged Venezuela on time, which resulted in BP repric- his shares “by his own volition.” Aranguren ing some of its cargoes, as well as charging served two years as head of Shell Argentina PDVSA for keeping vessels offshore. until 2015, when he left after 37 years, and They are doing this later was appointed energy minister by Macri in because they don’t have Brazilian Prosecutors December. other choices.” — Russ Dallen Charge Lula in Petrobras’ Pre-salt Petrobras Graft Case Oil & Gas Production Wednesday as investors bet that the debt-swap plan would bolster fi nances, The Wall Street Brazilian prosecutors on Wednesday fi led Grows 4 Percent Journal reported. The program would allow charges against former President Luiz Inácio Petrobras’ oil and natural gas production in bondholders to exchange debt maturing in Lula da Silva, his wife and six others in con- pre-salt fi elds grew by 4 percent last month to 2016 and 2017 for debt due in 2020. Detailed nection with the massive corruption scheme 1.36 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, terms on the program have not been disclosed. at state-run oil company Petrobras. In a news the state-run oil company announced Monday. The company had been racing to increase its conference, Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol The new monthly record was attributed mainly cash fl ow amid reduced output, a global de- alleged that Lula was the mastermind behind to the connection of new wells as well as in- cline in oil prices and approximately $8 billion the scheme that siphoned some 6.2 billion creased production in wells already connected worth of debt maturing in 2016 and 2017, with reais ($1.9 billion) from the state oil company, to fl oating production storage and offl oading the majority due later this year. “They are doing The Wall Street Journal reported. Some of the vessels Cidade Maricá and Cidade de Saquare- this because they don’t have other choices,” money, prosecutors allege, was directed to Lu- ma in the Lula fi eld of the Santos Basin. said Russ Dallen, a managing partner at la’s Workers’ Party and its allies in an effort to Caracas Capital, an investment bank. The debt keep the then-ruling party’s coalition in power. swap is expected to reduce the oil company’s “He was the conductor of this criminal orches- near-term payments, and may help Venezuela’s tra,” Dallagnol said Wednesday of Lula, Reuters Pemex Discovers Six sovereign standing. It’s not clear, however, that reported. “The Petrobras graft scheme aimed New Crude Deposits the debt swap will be enough to “offset the at keeping the Workers’ Party in power by in the Gulf of Mexico worsening political situation,” when it comes to criminal means.” Lula has consistently denied Mexican state-run oil company Pemex has Venezuela’s sovereign rating, said Jaime Reus- wrongdoing, and his lawyers said Wednesday discovered six new offshore deposits of light che, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. that prosecutors lacked evidence to support crude oil, the company announced Tuesday, The cash shortage has impaired the company’s the charges. “This Lula-centered farce was The Wall Street Journal reported. The discov- ability to import much-needed diluents that trumped up as an affront to the democratic eries, which are located in the Gulf of Mexico, allow PDVSA to formulate exportable crude state and intelligence of Brazilian citizens,” likely contain between 190 and 220 million as well as produce refi ned products for the said one of the former president’s lawyers, barrels of oil equivalent. Pemex did not say country’s domestic market. Delayed payments Cristiano Zanin. The formal charges against when it will begin drilling the new wells. In for crude imports due to cash shortages have Lula and his wife focus on a more narrow alle- recent years, decreased revenue due to low oil been costly for the company, which will have gation—that the former president and his wife prices has led to severe budget and production to pay oil major British Petroleum at least $130 illegally received approximately $1.1 million cuts at the company. COPYRIGHT © 2016, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 2 LATIN AMERICA ENERGY ADVISOR September 16, 2016 in improvements and expenses related to a RENEWABLES NEWS a “threat to the health and wellbeing of society,” beachfront apartment, paid for by construction EFE reported. The two Latin American nations giant OAS, which was seeking government con- join top polluters the United States and China, tracts, The New York Times reported.
Recommended publications
  • The Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the Debate on Twitter

    The Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the Debate on Twitter

    MPEACHMENT DE DILMA ROUSSEF ROSEMARY SEGURADO, LUIS TAVARES, RAFAEL ARAÚJO, TATHIANA CHICARINO, PEDRO MALINA E DENIS LOBO The Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the debate on Twitter Rosemary Segurado1 Luis Eduardo Tavares2 Rafael de Paula Aguiar Araújo3 Tathiana Senne Chicarino4 Pedro Malina5 Denis Carneiro Lobo6 Abstract: Empirically supported by Twitter activity, especially with regard to the profiles related to the city of São Paulo, this article presents an analysis of the main 225 events in the year 2016 related to Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment proceedings. Based on data collected between March 5 and October 16, we adopted the Issue Mapping methodology, which seeks to map everyday narratives, relevant facts or events in the networked public sphere. Two organically articulated axes composes the textual structure. In addition, we offer a detailed explanation of the current political scenario along with the analysis of the Twitter information flow based on street demonstrations (pro and against), impeachment trial, and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Keywords: Rousseff’s Impeachment; 2016 Summer Olympics; Street Manifestations; Twitter. 1 Doutora em Ciências Sociais pela PUC/SP 2 Doutor em Ciências Sociais pela PUC/SP 3 Doutor em Ciências Sociais pela PUC/SP 4 Doutoranda em Ciências Sociais pela PUC/SP 5 Doutorando em Ciências Sociais pela PUC/SP 6 Mestrando em Ciências Sociais pela PUC/SP Aurora: revista de arte, mídia e política, São Paulo, v.9, n.30, p. 225-249, out.2017-jan.2018 HE IMPEACHMENT OF DILMA ROUSSEFF ROSEMARY SEGURADO, LUIS TAVARES, RAFAEL ARAÚJO, TATHIANA CHICARINO, PEDRO MALINA AND DENIS LOBO Introduction Based on Issue Mapping methodology, which seeks to map everyday narratives, relevant facts or events in the networked public sphere, this article evaluates some of the main events in the year 2016 related to Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment proceedings considering its chain reaction on Twitter, notably by profiles related to the city of São Paulo, one of the epicenters of the political crisis experienced.
  • Brazil: from a Global Example of Food Security to Back on the Hunger Map

    Brazil: from a Global Example of Food Security to Back on the Hunger Map

    Brazil: from a global example of food security to back on the Hunger Map Ariel Sepúlveda Sciences Po / PSIA Leaving the Hunger Map was a historical milestone in Brazilian politics, one that is currently under threat due to major cutbacks on social-economic policies in past years. The political instability, along with an economic crisis that the country faces has built the path to where it is now: with 10,3 mi people in food insecurity. This reveals a great contradiction, as Brazil allocates a large part of its food production for export, being the third-largest food producer in the world. In 2014, Brazil was commended internationally, for its great efforts in combating hunger and poverty. For the first time, the country was not featured on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (UN/FAO) Hunger Map, reducing food insecurity by 84% in 24 years. These promising numbers were a result of several food security policies, which improved food access, provided income generation, and supported food production by small farmers. Lula’s pink tide government Former President Lula in 2003, in the speech in which he launched Fome Zero. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert / Given the context of redemocratisation and decentralised social policies (Angell 1998), Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) of the Partido dos Trabalhadores – PT (Workers’ Party) chose the 1 politics around poverty and hunger as the central narrative of his candidature. When elected, he transformed the fight against hunger into a state obligation. The first and most famous policy was the Fome Zero (Zero Hunger), which was composed of cash grants, nutritional policies, and development projects that mobilised governmental and nongovernmental actors.
  • Petrobras Oil Scandal Leaves Brazilians Lamenting a Lost Dream

    Petrobras Oil Scandal Leaves Brazilians Lamenting a Lost Dream

    https://nyti.ms/1SY8Z2P INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Petrobras Oil Scandal Leaves Brazilians Lamenting a Lost Dream By DAVID SEGAL AUG. 7, 2015 Alberto Youssef, a convicted money launderer and former bon vivant, sat in a Brazilian jail cell in March of last year, getting ready to tell his lawyers a story. It was about an elaborate bribery scheme involving Petrobras, the government-controlled oil giant. He opened with a dire prediction. “Guys,” Mr. Youssef said, “if I speak, the republic is going to fall.” To those lawyers, Tracy Reinaldet and Adriano Bretas, who recently recounted the conversation, this sounded a tad melodramatic. But then Mr. Youssef took a piece of paper and started writing the names of participants in what would soon become known as the Petrobras scandal. Mr. Reinaldet looked at the names and asked, not for the last time that day, “Are you serious?” “We were shocked,” he recalled, sitting in a conference room in his law office in downtown Curitiba, the capital of the southern state of Paraná, one morning in June. “It was kind of like, in Brazil, we know that corruption is a monster. But we never really see the monster. This was like seeing the monster.” What Mr. Youssef described to his lawyers, and then to prosecutors after he signed a plea agreement last year, is a fraud that has destabilized the country’s political system, helped tilt the economy into recession and left thousands unemployed. It has all but devastated Brazil’s status as an up-and-comer on the world stage. The Petrobras scandal would read as pure tragedy were it not filled with a cast of Hollywood-ready characters and their lavish props.
  • Court File No. CV-11-9532-00CL ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT of JUSTICE COMMERCIAL LIST BETWEEN

    Court File No. CV-11-9532-00CL ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT of JUSTICE COMMERCIAL LIST BETWEEN

    Court File No. CV-11-9532-00CL ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE COMMERCIAL LIST B E T W E E N: IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES' CREDITORS ARRANGEMENT ACT, 1985, c. C-36 AS AMENDED AND IN THE MATTER OF A PLAN OF COMPROMISE OR ARRANGEMENT OF CRYSTALLEX INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION ______________________________________________________________________ SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD OF THE DIP LENDER (Motion Returnable: April 11, 2016) ______________________________________________________________________ April 10, 2016 CASSELS BROCK & BLACKWELL LLP Barristers and Solicitors Scotia Plaza 40 King Street West Suite 2100 Toronto, ON M5H 3C2 Timothy Pinos LSUC #: 20027U Tel: 416.869.5784 Fax: 416.350.6903 [email protected] Shayne Kukulowicz LSUC #: 30729S Tel: 416.860.6463 Fax: 416.640.3176 [email protected] Ryan C. Jacobs LSUC #: 59510J Tel: 416.860.6465 Fax: 416.640.3189 [email protected] Lawyers for the DIP Lender TO: DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS & VINEBERG LLP Barristers and Solicitors 155 Wellington Street West 40th Floor Toronto ON M5V 3J7 Jay Swartz LSUC #: 15417L James Doris LSUC #: 33236P Natalie Renner LSUC #: 55954A Tel: 416.863.0900 Fax: 416.863.0871 Lawyers for Crystallex International Corporation AND TO: STIKEMAN ELLIOTT LLP Barristers and Solicitors 5300 Commerce Court West 199 Bay Street Toronto ON M5L 1B9 David Byers Tel: 416.869.5697 Fax: 416.957.0866 [email protected] Maria Konyukhova Tel: 416.869.5230 Fax: 416.957.0866 [email protected] Lawyers for Ernst & Young Inc., in its capacity as the monitor AND TO: GOODMANS
  • Construction Companies Pressure for Credit and Low Interest Rate

    Construction Companies Pressure for Credit and Low Interest Rate

    (http://globo.com) g1 (http://g1.globo.com) ge gshow (http://gshow.globo.com) famosos vídeos (http://globoplay.globo.com) Print () 12:00 AM (GMT ­03:00) – Jan 11 2017 Construction companies pressure for credit and low interest rate By Raymundo Costa and Andrea Jubé | Brasília Negotiations between construction companies involved in the Petrobras corruption scandal and the government about the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI) have stalled. Valor has learned that the companies started talks as if nothing had happened in the last two years, when the investigations of Operation Car Wash upended the industry’s relations with the government, and were sharply rebuked by PPI Secretary Moreira Franco. The companies made an extensive list of requests, but the main one is aimed at the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). Shut out of bank loans, the companies want subsidized credit from the development bank. They also want to renegotiate contracts signed when Dilma Rousseff was still president, due to the recession's effects. The government responded by asking them to forfeit their concessions if they are unable to pay. Companies pretended they didn’t understand the initial message and redoubled efforts in the last few days, resorting to patriotic arguments – “Brazil is in crisis,” the “nation” must start investing again and other similar claims. During one such talk, Mr. Franco, who is also under investigation by Car Wash, responded by saying the companies apparently had not understood that Brazil changed and the usual practices of before have become unacceptable now. The construction companies even said they may not bid in the PPI auctions under current conditions.
  • Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations

    Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations

    Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations May 21, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45733 SUMMARY R45733 Combating Corruption in Latin America May 21, 2019 Corruption of public officials in Latin America continues to be a prominent political concern. In the past few years, 11 presidents and former presidents in Latin America have been forced from June S. Beittel, office, jailed, or are under investigation for corruption. As in previous years, Transparency Coordinator International’s Corruption Perceptions Index covering 2018 found that the majority of Analyst in Latin American respondents in several Latin American nations believed that corruption was increasing. Several Affairs analysts have suggested that heightened awareness of corruption in Latin America may be due to several possible factors: the growing use of social media to reveal violations and mobilize Peter J. Meyer citizens, greater media and investor scrutiny, or, in some cases, judicial and legislative Specialist in Latin investigations. Moreover, as expectations for good government tend to rise with greater American Affairs affluence, the expanding middle class in Latin America has sought more integrity from its politicians. U.S. congressional interest in addressing corruption comes at a time of this heightened rejection of corruption in public office across several Latin American and Caribbean Clare Ribando Seelke countries. Specialist in Latin American Affairs Whether or not the perception that corruption is increasing is accurate, it is nevertheless fueling civil society efforts to combat corrupt behavior and demand greater accountability. Voter Maureen Taft-Morales discontent and outright indignation has focused on bribery and the economic consequences of Specialist in Latin official corruption, diminished public services, and the link of public corruption to organized American Affairs crime and criminal impunity.
  • CLIPPING - Notícias

    CLIPPING - Notícias

    - Representação Brasileira - CLIPPING - Notícias 08.12.2017 Edição e Seleção Elyesley Silva Fernanda Preve Fernando Leão Maria Elisabete da Costa Sumário CÂMARA NOTÍCIAS .......................................................................................... 3 Política .................................................................................................................. 3 Câmara aprova tratado sobre comércio de armas e cria grupo parlamentar .......................... 3 SENADO NOTÍCIAS .......................................................................................... 4 Internacional .......................................................................................................... 4 Plenário aprova adesão do Brasil à segunda fase do Protocolo de Kyoto .............................. 4 VALOR ECONÔMICO ......................................................................................... 5 Empresas ............................................................................................................... 5 GM planeja vender carro elétrico no Brasil em 2018 ............................................................ 5 ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO ................................................................................... 7 Internacional .......................................................................................................... 7 Estatal chinesa abre disputa comercial nos EUA contra petroleira venezuelana ..................... 7 CLARÍN (ARGENTINA) .....................................................................................
  • Anticipating Venezuela's Debt Crisis: Hidden Holdouts and the Problem

    Anticipating Venezuela's Debt Crisis: Hidden Holdouts and the Problem

    ANTICIPATING VENEZUELA’S DEBT CRISIS: HIDDEN HOLDOUTS AND THE PROBLEM OF PRICING COLLECTIVE ACTION CLAUSES ROBERT E. SCOTT, STEPHEN J. CHOI & MITU GULATI ABSTRACT A creditor who asks for stronger enforcement rights upon its debtor’s default will rationally accept a lower interest rate reflecting the greater expected recovery the exercise of those rights provides. Over a dozen studies, however, have failed to document this basic relationship in the context of the collective action clause, a key provision in sovereign bonds. We conjecture that this failure is because enforcing the rights in question requires collective decision-making among anonymous creditors with different interests, impeding market predictions regarding future price effects. The pricing of rights that require collective enforcement thus turns on whether the market observes an activist creditor willing to serve as a collectivizing agent to enforce the relevant rights in litigation. When activist creditors, intent on litigating, hide from the market in order to enhance their returns, the market lacks the information to price the collective rights accurately. In this Article, we use data from Venezuela’s ongoing debt crisis to test this collective action story. Our data provides evidence of the absence of price differences in contract terms that require collective decision-making for enforcement. Conversely, we find that in those situations where the market identifies the presence of an activist creditor, the relevant rights do get priced. This evidence sheds light on how the absence of efficient pricing of terms in these collective markets can impede efforts by defaulting sovereign debtors, like Venezuela, to restructure their obligations.
  • Key 2017 Developments in Latin American Anti-Corruption Enforcement

    Key 2017 Developments in Latin American Anti-Corruption Enforcement

    March 15, 2018 KEY 2017 DEVELOPMENTS IN LATIN AMERICAN ANTI-CORRUPTION ENFORCEMENT To Our Clients and Friends: In 2017, several Latin American countries stepped up enforcement and legislative efforts to address corruption in the region. Enforcement activity regarding alleged bribery schemes involving construction conglomerate Odebrecht rippled across Latin America's business and political environments during the year, with allegations stemming from Brazil's ongoing Operation Car Wash investigation leading to prosecutions in neighboring countries. Simultaneously, governments in Latin America have made efforts to strengthen legislative regimes to combat corruption, including expanding liability provisions targeting foreign companies and private individuals. This update focuses on five Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru) that have ramped up anti-corruption enforcement or passed legislation expanding anti-corruption legal regimes.[1] New laws in the region, coupled with potentially renewed prosecutorial vigor to enforce them, make it imperative for companies operating in Latin America to have robust compliance programs, as well as vigilance regarding enforcement trends impacting their industries. 1. Mexico Notable Enforcement Actions and Investigations In 2017, Petróleos Mexicanos ("Pemex") disclosed that Mexico's Ministry of the Public Function (SFP) initiated eight administrative sanctions proceedings in connection with contract irregularities involving Odebrecht affiliates.[2] The inquiries stem from a 2016 Odebrecht deferred prosecution agreement ("DPA") with the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ").[3] According to the DPA, Odebrecht made corrupt payments totaling $10.5 million USD to Mexican government officials between 2010 and 2014 to secure public contracts.[4] In September 2017, Mexico's SFP released a statement noting the agency had identified $119 million pesos (approx.

  • Some Suppliers Worry About Tesla Tion’S Internal Deliberations

    . ****** TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2018 ~ VOL. CCLXXII NO. 43 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 25758.69 À 89.37 0.3% NASDAQ 7821.01 À 0.1% STOXX 600 383.23 À 0.6% 10-YR. TREAS. À 14/32 , yield 2.823% OIL $66.43 À $0.52 GOLD $1,186.80 À $10.30 EURO $1.1484 YEN 110.07 What’s Long Wait Ends With an Embrace for Separated Korean Families U.S. News Toughens Business&Finance Stance esla’s tumultuous year On China Thas fueled concern among some suppliers about the electric-car maker’s fi- Tariffs nancial strength, after pro- duction of the Model 3 BY BOB DAVIS drained some of its cash. A1 AND ANDREW DUEHREN PepsiCo agreed to buy WASHINGTON—The Trump seltzer-machine maker administration is moving SodaStream for $3.2 billion, closer this week to levying tar- the company’s latest move iffs on nearly half of Chinese to broaden its offerings. A1 imports despite broad opposi- Tyson Foods struck a tion from U.S. business and deal to acquire Keystone the start of a fresh round of Foods, a top meat supplier talks between the U.S. and to McDonald’s and other China aimed at settling the chains, for $2.16 billion. B1 trade dispute. The twin administration ini- France’s Total is having tiatives—pursuing tariffs on difficulty unloading its $200 billion of Chinese goods stake in a $5 billion natu- while relaunching talks to ral-gas project in Iran to a scrap tariffs—reflect a split Chinese partner.
  • Venezuela's Tragic Meltdown Hearing

    Venezuela's Tragic Meltdown Hearing

    VENEZUELA’S TRAGIC MELTDOWN HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 28, 2017 Serial No. 115–13 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 24–831PDF WASHINGTON : 2017 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 12:45 May 02, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\_WH\032817\24831 SHIRL COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida TED POE, Texas KAREN BASS, California DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina AMI BERA, California MO BROOKS, Alabama LOIS FRANKEL, Florida PAUL COOK, California TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas RON DESANTIS, Florida ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania TED S. YOHO, Florida DINA TITUS, Nevada ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois NORMA J.
  • Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Alert Latin America Anti-Bribery Year-In-Review: 2019 Developments and Predictions for 2020

    Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Alert Latin America Anti-Bribery Year-In-Review: 2019 Developments and Predictions for 2020

    February 28, 2020 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Alert Latin America Anti-Bribery Year-in-Review: 2019 Developments and Predictions for 2020 By Tico Almeida, Lillian Howard Potter, and John F. Walsh1 I. INTRODUCTION Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement activity reached new heights in 2019. Corporate penalties paid to US enforcement agencies topped last year’s record levels, and individuals were charged at a pace matching last year’s near-record level.2 As discussed in detail below, Latin American citizens from Ecuador to Venezuela have recently found themselves facing criminal anti-corruption charges in federal courts in the US. These trends are critically important both to Latin American companies and to US companies doing business in Latin America. As recent enforcement trends show, foreign companies are a perennial target of US enforcement agencies. Nine of the top 10 all-time largest FCPA enforcement actions have been brought against companies based outside the US, including several Brazilian companies. Similarly, US companies with operations in Latin America have good reason to ensure that they have strong anti-corruption controls in place because, as discussed below, US enforcement agencies are investigating corruption by US companies operating across the region, from Mexico to Peru. This alert summarizes key Latin America 2019 anti-bribery enforcement developments and concludes with predictions for 2020. For a comprehensive global review of enforcement and policy developments, please refer to WilmerHale’s FCPA Alert: Global Anti-Bribery Year-in-Review for 2019. II. KEY INVESTIGATION-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA A. Notable Features of 2019 Corporate Resolutions in Latin American Cases 1.