Stephen Quest, the Director General for Taxation and the Customs Union, speaks today at Georgetown Law’s IIEL on September 22 to present the EU’s tax policy agenda. Over the past several years, the European Commission has pursued an ambitious agenda to … Continue Reading
China moves towards pricing commodities in RMB
China’s authorities announced plans this week to work towards the pricing of commodities in the local currency, the yuan. Specifically, the South China Morning Post reports: The country is studying the “market rules and mechanisms of pricing commodities in yuan … Continue Reading
Why Brexit Will Spur EU-level Regulation in Banking, Securities—and Ultimately Fintech
Over the course of the week, ECB officials made considerable news by vocally pushing for greater EU-level supervision of Continental capital markets as Brexit progressed. Expect such calls to grow louder, and to continue far after London’s divorce from Europe … Continue Reading
The US considers a 5-year sunset provision for NAFTA
Under some of the most recent terms brought up in the NAFTA negotiation, the United States is apparently seeking a provision whereby NAFTA would expire in five years, unless all countries agreed to renew it. Yet as one Canadian news … Continue Reading
Venture Capitalists Plan Berkshire Hathaway of Tech
The business world has been buzzing about Chamath Palihapitiya’s attempts to orient Social Capital Hedosophia as vehicle for acquiring tech firms, and in the process ease entrepreneurs’ access to public markets. Business Insider reports that the mogul has launched a … Continue Reading
My conversation with Former Obama CIA Deputy Director on Russia and North Korea Sanctions
…is here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?433825-1/russia-venezuela-north-korea-sanctions Many thanks to Georgetown Law and the Atlantic Council for helping the IIEL shepherd a thoughtful and informative event on an especially important day of national self-reflection and commitment.
SIFIs, Insurers and Hurricanes
One of the more controversial aspects of Dodd Frank was whether or not large, multi-billion dollar insurers should be subject to capital constraints reserved for large banks. One interesting op-ed suggests that AIG should not be. According to Bloomberg’s Stephen … Continue Reading
On BITs, Prudential Regulation, and Capital Flows
One of the more interesting questions floating around the Academy at the moment—and with implications for real world businesses and regulators alike—is whether bilateral investment treaties undermine the ability of governments to apply cross-border financial regulations. The concern stems in part … Continue Reading
US rethinks pulling out of KORUS (and is reminded that trade isn’t just economics)
One of the more surprising aspects of international trade for newcomers is that treatymaking is not just about economics, but geopolitics as well. This was, after all, one of the rationales behind the TPP—that to secure US relevance in Asia, and … Continue Reading
China Bans Initial Coin Offerings
The People’s Bank of China has taken steps to ban initial coin offerings. The move at once conforms with US guidance and corresponding Canadian announcements to regulate digital currency—while also going beyond more tentative Western stances by prohibiting the ICO’s … Continue Reading