News Articles

BRICS

BRICS and the Drive Towards De-Dollarization: Has It Stalled?

Victoria Holmes November 30, 2025

Could BRICS break the dollar’s grip? The answer is coming into sharper focus, and it’s more complicated than either the optimists or skeptics predicted. Since our previous analysis, BRICS has made concrete moves toward de-dollarization while simultaneously confronting harsh economic and political realities. The gap between ambition and achievement has never been clearer.

Read More »
tariffs

Taxing Imports: Tracing the Role of Tariffs in U.S. Economic Policy

Adrienne Braumiller November 30, 2025

In the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2025 is the year of the snake. The snake is said to represent wisdom and strategy. As it occasionally sheds its skin, it is also said to represent a change or an inflection point. Whether American trade policy in the year of the snake exemplifies wisdom and strategy depends on one’s political perspective. Whether it exemplifies a major transformation and inflection point is unquestionable.

Read More »
Mexican Customs

New Mexican Customs Law – Nueva Ley Aduanera de Mexico

Brenda Cordova November 30, 2025

On November 19, 2025, a Decree amending, adding and repealing various legal provisions of the Mexican Customs law was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion (Mexican Official Gazette). This reform will enter into force on January 1, 2026. Although the Customs Law has been amended multiple times in the last 30 years, this reform is widely considered the most significant since December 15, 1995.

Read More »
tequila

Developing a Tequila Brand for Export from Mexico

Brenda Cordova November 30, 2025

The development of a tequila brand begins with a foundational step: registering a trademark in Mexico, the United States, or any other intended markets. However, trademark protection is only the starting point. Building a tequila brand requires a broader business and regulatory strategy involving multiple teams—Customs and trade, finance, marketing, and legal—to plan for production, cost structures, distribution, sales, and export-related compliance.

Read More »
New Value Manifest

New Value Manifest/Manifestacion de Valor – via VUCEM

Brenda Cordova November 30, 2025

Beginning December 9, 2025, importers in Mexico will be required to complete and submit the Electronic Value Manifest through VUCEM (Mexico’s Electronic Single Window). This measure increases the importer’s direct participation and responsibility in determining and declaring the correct customs value of imported goods.

Read More »
Stablecoin

Activating HTTP 402: The x402 Protocol and Legal Framework for Internet-Native Stablecoin Payments

James Holbein November 30, 2025

The convergence of payment stablecoins, blockchain settlement infrastructure, and the regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act of 2025 has created conditions for HTTP 402’s activation. The x402 protocol, developed by Coinbase in collaboration with Cloudflare and others through the x402 Foundation, operationalizes this long-reserved status code to enable instant, automated payments: particularly for autonomous AI agents conducting machine-to-machine commerce.

Read More »
critical Minerals

Critical Minerals Focus of White House Trade Agreements in 2025

James Holbein November 30, 2025

The Trump Administration is pursuing a new style of trade management based on use of tariffs to rectify trade deficits and to set new “reciprocal” tariff rates to level the playing field for all of its trading partners. Critical minerals are a key component of the strategy, because the U.S. is heavily dependent of foreign sources for most of the critical minerals used in modern manufacturing. In response to Trump-imposed tariffs and threats of other trade actions, China has repeatedly used export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals as leverage. This article looks at the current state of critical minerals trade actions, starting with new US agreements with multiple trading partners, then reviewing international norms and proceeding through other trade actions involving critical minerals.

Read More »
BIS

BIS “Affiliates Rule” Suspended One Year, But No Time to Rest

Megan Mohler November 30, 2025

On November 10, 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) delayed the effective date of its new Affiliates Rule for a one-year period, until November 9, 2026, after U.S. and China trade talks. The Affiliates Rule, announced on September 29, 2025, expands export controls under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to extend to non-listed “affiliates” owned or controlled by listed entities (on the Entity List, the Military End User List “MEU”, or certain sanctioned parties) 50% or more in the aggregate.

Read More »
BRICS

BRICS and the Drive Towards De-Dollarization: Has It Stalled?

Victoria Holmes November 30, 2025

Could BRICS break the dollar’s grip? The answer is coming into sharper focus, and it’s more complicated than either the optimists or skeptics predicted. Since our previous analysis, BRICS has made concrete moves toward de-dollarization while simultaneously confronting harsh economic and political realities. The gap between ambition and achievement has never been clearer.

Read More »
tariffs

Taxing Imports: Tracing the Role of Tariffs in U.S. Economic Policy

Adrienne Braumiller November 30, 2025

In the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2025 is the year of the snake. The snake is said to represent wisdom and strategy. As it occasionally sheds its skin, it is also said to represent a change or an inflection point. Whether American trade policy in the year of the snake exemplifies wisdom and strategy depends on one’s political perspective. Whether it exemplifies a major transformation and inflection point is unquestionable.

Read More »
Mexican Customs

New Mexican Customs Law – Nueva Ley Aduanera de Mexico

Brenda Cordova November 30, 2025

On November 19, 2025, a Decree amending, adding and repealing various legal provisions of the Mexican Customs law was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion (Mexican Official Gazette). This reform will enter into force on January 1, 2026. Although the Customs Law has been amended multiple times in the last 30 years, this reform is widely considered the most significant since December 15, 1995.

Read More »
tequila

Developing a Tequila Brand for Export from Mexico

Brenda Cordova November 30, 2025

The development of a tequila brand begins with a foundational step: registering a trademark in Mexico, the United States, or any other intended markets. However, trademark protection is only the starting point. Building a tequila brand requires a broader business and regulatory strategy involving multiple teams—Customs and trade, finance, marketing, and legal—to plan for production, cost structures, distribution, sales, and export-related compliance.

Read More »
New Value Manifest

New Value Manifest/Manifestacion de Valor – via VUCEM

Brenda Cordova November 30, 2025

Beginning December 9, 2025, importers in Mexico will be required to complete and submit the Electronic Value Manifest through VUCEM (Mexico’s Electronic Single Window). This measure increases the importer’s direct participation and responsibility in determining and declaring the correct customs value of imported goods.

Read More »
Stablecoin

Activating HTTP 402: The x402 Protocol and Legal Framework for Internet-Native Stablecoin Payments

James Holbein November 30, 2025

The convergence of payment stablecoins, blockchain settlement infrastructure, and the regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act of 2025 has created conditions for HTTP 402’s activation. The x402 protocol, developed by Coinbase in collaboration with Cloudflare and others through the x402 Foundation, operationalizes this long-reserved status code to enable instant, automated payments: particularly for autonomous AI agents conducting machine-to-machine commerce.

Read More »
critical Minerals

Critical Minerals Focus of White House Trade Agreements in 2025

James Holbein November 30, 2025

The Trump Administration is pursuing a new style of trade management based on use of tariffs to rectify trade deficits and to set new “reciprocal” tariff rates to level the playing field for all of its trading partners. Critical minerals are a key component of the strategy, because the U.S. is heavily dependent of foreign sources for most of the critical minerals used in modern manufacturing. In response to Trump-imposed tariffs and threats of other trade actions, China has repeatedly used export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals as leverage. This article looks at the current state of critical minerals trade actions, starting with new US agreements with multiple trading partners, then reviewing international norms and proceeding through other trade actions involving critical minerals.

Read More »
BIS

BIS “Affiliates Rule” Suspended One Year, But No Time to Rest

Megan Mohler November 30, 2025

On November 10, 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) delayed the effective date of its new Affiliates Rule for a one-year period, until November 9, 2026, after U.S. and China trade talks. The Affiliates Rule, announced on September 29, 2025, expands export controls under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to extend to non-listed “affiliates” owned or controlled by listed entities (on the Entity List, the Military End User List “MEU”, or certain sanctioned parties) 50% or more in the aggregate.

Read More »
Search

Recent Articles

SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT