Issue #32 January 2017

The IPBA Secretariat
Roppongi Hills North Tower 7F
6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Tel +81 3-5786-6796 FAX +82-3-5786-6778
E-mail: ipba@ipba.org

Topics: IPBA Membership News • IPBA Committee News • Auckland 2017  •
IPBA Local and Regional Events • IPBA-Supported Events

IPBA Membership News

• Thank you to everyone so far who has chosen to continue IPBA membership into 2017!
• If your membership expired in 2016, it's not too late to pay your dues now! Contact the IPBA Secretariat if you have any questions about your membership.
• Even if you registered for the conference while a member in 2016, your membership must be valid in 2017 in order to take advantage of the cheaper Member Only annual conference registration rate!
• Contact the IPBA Secretariat if you have any questions about your membership.

All members should attend the Annual General Meeting for 2017, to be held on April 9th, 10:30-12:00 at the SkyCity Auckland Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. At this meeting, IPBA members will ratify the nominees for council positions that begin immediately after the AGM, hear reports from the Officers on their areas of responsibility, approve the financial reports for 2016, and bring up any topic they wish to discuss. For details, see the Notice of AGM posted on the IPBA web site.

Article and Members' Notes submissions for the IPBA Journal must be sent to the Publications Committee by Wednesday, February 15th, to be considered for publication in the March 2017 issue. In particular, we need more Members' Notes! Tell us about your professional accomplishments, change of firm, what you are working on now. The IPBA Journal is by our members, for our members, and we welcome all contributions.

IPBA Committee News

This month we have updates on a new investor-state dispute resolution system affecting Canada and the EU and possible new preferential tax treatment in the United States for exported products.

International Trade, Corey Norton, Chair

From Roy Millen, Canada:

In 2016, the EU and Canada signed the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which represents a major shift for investor-state dispute resolution in at least three ways. First, CETA creates a new tribunal called the Investment Court System, which establishes a permanent appellate body to review tribunal decisions on investment disputes. Second, CETA contains new substantive rules that protect states’ right to regulate and prohibit investor claims based solely on lost profits. Third, CETA includes dispute resolution procedures that improve transparency and allow for expediently rejecting frivolous claims. CETA’s Investment Court System and new rules for investor-state dispute resolution may represent the template for future bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, including those involving Pacific nations.

From Jeff Snyder, United States:

As President Trump’s Administration starts to take shape, one potential policy attracting attention is a proposed corporate income tax system that applies “border adjustments” for calculating taxable income.  Under the policy, exports of domestically produced goods would be exempt from federal income tax and importers of foreign made goods would be denied a cost basis for taxes on such imports.  A potential conflict with WTO rules arises from the questions of how border adjustments would favor domestic production over imports and how such a tax would compare with the WTO’s “national treatment” obligations in respect of domestic taxation under Article III of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.  On the export side, border adjustments could also raise issues of consistency with the prohibition on export subsidies under Article 3 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.  While little is known about the precise form such tax adjustments could take, it is likely to appear in some form in proposed legislation given the current sentiment towards trade policy and domestic production.  As the new Congress continues work on a tax reform package, border adjustments will likely become an increasing area of focus and discussion, both in the United States and abroad.  

27th IPBA Annual Meeting and Conference in Auckland:  Connectivity & Convergence April 6-9, 2017

Don't be a Late Bird!
The Early Bird Rate ends February 1st! 
Register now on the conference web site.

• Only 64 days to go until the first day of the conference! 
• In addition to two Plenary Sessions, there are almost 60 committee sessions scheduled! Organized by our 23 specialist committees, these sessions cover topics from Aviation Law to Insurance to Tax Law and everything in between. There are sure to be several sessions in your practice area.
• We welcome all Delegates and Accompanying Persons to the three receptions on April 6th:
  - 15:30 - 16:30 Women Business Lawyers Reception (Of course, men are also welcome!)
  - 16:30 - 17:30 New Members and IPBA Scholar Reception
  - 17:45 - 20:00 Welcome Reception
• Be sure to bring your handheld electronic devices! There will be an app available to all delegates with up-to-the-minute conference information.
• IPBA Scholars for 2017 have been chosen! Please be sure to take the time to meet them at the conference:
  - Myanmar: Ms. Khin Phu Ngone Win
  - Vietnam: Ms. Pham Linh Phuong
  - Cambodia: Mr. Men Seyha
  - Sri Lanka: Mr. Mohamed Samsul Mueen Shamil Mohamed
  - Russia: Ms. Anastasia Kuzmina
  - Hong Kong: Ms. Isabel Tam
  - India: Mr. Raghav Kumar Bajaj

IPBA Local and Regional Events 2017

IPBA-Supported Events 2017

Check the IPBA web site for more events! IPBA members can enjoy discounted registration rates at most events.