Dear [[first_name]] [[last_name]] Esq.,

It's hard to believe that this is already the 40th issue of Eye on IPBA! None of us has aged a bit during that time: the IPBA is still active and fit and we have at least another 40 issues left in us!

 

There are three exciting events coming up this November, including the very first IPBA Regional Conference to be held in Vietnam! The IPBA had a Mid-Year Council Meeting in Hanoi in 2011, after the planned 2008 Mid-Year Meeting there was flooded out, but we were unsuccessful in arranging a conference that time. Now, we have an enthusiastic Jurisdictional Council Member for Vietnam, Net Le of LNT & Partners, Ho Chi Minh. Although he just became the JCM in April, he has hit the ground running, and already organized a fantastic conference in Ho Chi Minh to coincide with the APEC meeting in Danang. Check out the details of all events below.

This month we have interesting updates on employment insurance in Malaysia and trade in Australia and Canada.

Employment & Immigration– Frédérique David (France) – Chair

From Siva Kumar Kanagasabai – Malaysia

The Government has proposed that Employment Insurance System Bill 2017 be presented to Parliament in October 2017.  The Bill is intended to create an insurance scheme which will provide certain benefits and a re-employment placement programme for insured persons in the event of loss of employment. The Employment Insurance System will be administered by the Social Security Organisation and employers will have to register their industry as well as register and insure all employees except for certain exempt categories such as those over 60 years of age, casual employees and government/statutory body employees. Both employers and employees will be required to make mandatory contributions of an equal amount as set out in the Bill with the latest proposal being 0.2% of wages. The insurance scheme is aimed to cover employees who have lost employment for reasons such as redundancy or a voluntary separation scheme. Amongst the benefits provided under the proposed insurance scheme include job search allowance, early re-employment allowance, reduced income allowance, and the provision of training and training allowance.

International Trade – Jesse Goldman (Canada), Corey Norton (United States) – Co-Chairs

From Brett Williams – Australia

On 1 September 2017, Indonesia issued a request to Australia for consultations under the WTO Dispute Settlement system regarding the Australian authorities’ determination of normal value in an investigation regarding A4 copy paper.  The allegations are, first, that Australia breached Article 2.2 of the WTO Anti-dumping Agreement because the Australian authorities departed from using domestic prices for normal value because they wrongly found that there was a market situation which did not permit a proper comparison between domestic prices and export prices; and secondly, that Australia breached Article 2.2.1.1 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement because in using a constructed cost method to determine normal value,  the Australian authorities wrongfully departed from using the information in the records of the exporter.  China and the United States have requested that they be permitted to participate in the consultations.  See WTO Dispute No WT/DS529.

The Australian Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade” is conducting an inquiry into whether Australia should establish a modern slavery Act.  The terms of reference include the question of whether any legislation ought to require Australian businesses to review their supply chains. See http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/ModernSlavery

From Roy Millen – Canada

The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into force on a provisional basis on September 21, 2017.

CETA:

• dramatically reduces tariffs on goods traded between Canada and the EU;
• expands import quotas for supply-managed industries like dairy; and
• expands the opportunities for companies in both the EU and Canada to bid on government procurements in the other jurisdiction.

CETA is expected to have significant positive trade benefits for both Canadian and EU-based businesses.

Recent political statements have also indicated that Canada and Britain may negotiate a similar arrangement following Britain’s exit from the EU.