Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (LexBlog Mexico)

In effect since July 1, 2020, the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”).  Although the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic largely overshadowed the effective date of this new international agreement, its new labor provisions should not go overlooked.  While the USMCA retains most of the NAFTA commitments, it revamped the old agreement...

In effect since July 1, 2020, the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”).  Although the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic largely overshadowed the effective date of this new international agreement, its new labor provisions should not go overlooked.  While the USMCA retains most of the NAFTA commitments, it revamped the old agreement...

On May 22, 2020, the Mexico Committee of the ABA – Section of International Law published a Special Edition Newsletter regarding the Legal Impact of COVID-19 in Mexico.  As the Co-Chair of the Mexico Committee of the ABA  – Section of International Law,  I worked with the ABA Mexico Committee to get this publication out...

On May 13, 2020, Sheppard Mullin co-sponsored a webinar hosted by the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce involving Mexico’s economic outlook and the impact on the maquiladora industry. Below are some interesting take-aways from the program. Economic Outlook Sergio Luna, Director of the Department of Economic Research and Chief Economist at Citibanamex, explained that notwithstanding...

Doing business across cultural lines can be challenging. The spoken and unspoken rules will change depending on where in the world you find yourself. A misstep or unintended faux pas can be the difference between landing the deal or successfully negotiating a resolution to a disagreement and failing. This article is a companion piece to...

A tripartite agreement to save NAFTA has been reached. The agreement, reached late last night, provides Congress the necessary 60 days’ notice of the text to approve so that President Pena Nieto of Mexico can sign before he leaves office on November 30th. All three countries wanted to get a deal done before the change of...

Boy, does it sound convincing when Mr. Trump states he will submit notice under section 2205 of NAFTA to let Mexico and Canada know that the U.S. will withdraw from NAFTA. The problem is, while the president-to-be is capable, we presume, of writing, signing, and sending (or possibly tweeting) such a notification, that notification would...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division, has issued its “Final 2015 Regional Compensatory Mitigation and Monitoring Guidelines.” The Guidelines will apply in the Corps’ San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque districts, which together cover California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Texas. The Guidelines specify requirements and procedures...

A federal district court in New Mexico has issued a decision finding that the U.S.  Department of the Interior’s regulations permitting the Secretary of the Interior to adopt Class III gaming procedures for a tribe lacking a Tribal-State Compact are invalid and violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et. seq. (“IGRA”). ...

Mexico’s landmark constitutional energy reforms, enacted in December 2013, were lauded as the start of a new era for private investment in Mexico.  Nearly five months in, how has the government fared in implementing these reforms?  Here are the 5 things you need to know. 1.  Identification of Sites Is On Schedule.  The energy reforms...

Effective January 1, 2014, Mexico’s wages for geographic Zones “A” and “B” increased by 3.9%.  Zone A includes all of Mexico’s major cities and entry ports.  The minimum wage in Zone A is now $67.29 per day. Zone B includes all other municipalities not included within Zone A.  The minimum wage in Zone B is...

The Mexican Senate has introduced a constitutional amendment that, if approved, would open the country’s oil market to foreign and private investors. Currently, oil production is controlled exclusively by the state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The amendment, however, would encourage private and foreign investment by allowing companies to partner with Pemex through the use of production...

By Brian Arbetter Mexico’s new Federal Labor Law (FLL) took effect on December 1, 2012. The reform seeks to modernize Mexico’s labor law. The new FLL’s major, employment related amendments include increased regulation of outsourcing jobs, increased flexibility in hiring and payment of wages, the addition of the concepts of diversity, nondiscrimination and anti-harassment, and parental...

By Brian Arbetter and Terese Connolly Mexico’s new Federal Labor Law (FLL) took effect on December 1, 2012. The reform seeks to modernize Mexico’s labor law. The new FLL’s major, employment related amendments include increased regulation of outsourcing jobs, increased flexibility in hiring and payment of wages, the addition of the concepts of diversity, nondiscrimination...

By Marcos Vergara del Carril  The new President of Mexico, Mr. Peña Nieto, has reached an unprecedented multi-party agreement between his party, the Partido Revolucionario Industrial (PRI), and the rest of the major political forces: the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), which governed Mexico between 2000 and 2012, the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) and...

Under the leadership of President Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexico has recently approved a historic constitutional amendment reforming the country’s archaic education system. In order to push this historic reform, which is commonly known as the “education reform”, President Pena Nieto overcame great opposition from the country’s teachers union, which is the largest union in Latin...

The Official Gazette of the Federation (the “Gazette”) published an amendment to the Mexican Commerce Code (Código de Comercio) by which foreign entities (and not only individuals) acting as pledgors who have not been previously recorded in the Public Registry of Commerce, may validly obtain a registration number from the Unique Registry of Mobile Asset...

By Curtis Dombek Earlier this year Mexico became a member of the Wassenaar Arrangement for multilateral military and dual-use controls. The Wassenaar Arrangement is a group of 41 countries that cooperate in the export control of dual-use goods and technology, items that pose a risk if trade is uncontrolled because of their potential for use...

By Bram Hanono On January 16, 2012, Mexico enacted the Law on Public-Private Partnerships (Ley de Asociaciones Público Privadas) (“PPP Law”). The new PPP Law is intended to regulate the formation of partnerships between the public and private sectors in an effort to provide services and build infrastructure to improve social welfare and increase investment...

By Larissa Calva-Ruiz Corporate laws and entities in Mexico have several key differences with their respective counterparts in the United States. One of the most notable differences is the number of shareholders, members or partners needed to incorporate any type of entity. While in the United States it is permissible and customary to set up...

In New Mexico State Investment Council v. Ernst & Young LLP, 2011 WL 1419642 (9th Cir. Apr. 14, 2011), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of securities fraud claims against an independent accountant, holding that the complaint pleaded particularized facts giving rise to a strong inference that the...

By Larissa Calva-Ruiz Mexico’s Federal Law for the Protection of Personal data (la Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares) (the “Law”) protects an individual’s personal data by restricting its use and prescribing the way in which both private and public entities must treat the collection, use, and disclosure of...

By Jerry Gumpel & Larissa Calva-Ruiz A few years ago, the Mexican government set its sights expanding it manufacturing capabilities in the aerospace industry. The preliminary results from this effort are in and the Mexican story is a story of success. Due to government’s efforts, Mexico has become an “emerging cluster” with more than 190 aerospace companies...

By Jerry Gumpel   In February, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon approved a decree establishing new incentives for the film industry in Mexico. Mr. Calderon announced the incentives at a special ceremony held March 9, 2010 at Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico (www.bajastudios.com), where major motion pictures like Titanic and Master and Commander were filmed. (Readers...

By Donald Klawiter and Jennifer Driscoll-Chippendale This article is the first in a three-part series on multi-jurisdictional cartel investigations.  In a break from traditional enforcement trends, two recent events underscore the importance of antitrust compliance training for companies located or doing business in Mexico and Latin America. First, in November 2008, the European Commission...

By Gerardo Hernandez Reyes,  Jose Luis Alvarez Palacio, Sergio Barajas Perez, Turenna Ramirez Ortiz and Luis F. Martinez, Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C. In recent years, the Tax Authority Auditing Offices have begun to implement a series of revisions in the area of Foreign Trade, which have resulted in exorbitant tax calculations and fines, and...

By Gloria Park and Estuardo Anaya, Santamarina y Steta  Global climate change is a very popular topic of discussion of late, both in Mexico and the United States, and particularly in California. Driven by a widely perceived consensus among scientists that global warming is currently taking place at an accelerating rate, due in large part to...