As an international business attorney, a focal point of my practice involves advising clients on the terms and conditions that absolutely must be included in an international business agreement. Having drafted hundreds of commercial contracts over the years, I narrowed down what I perceive to be the five most important terms to include in a cross-border contract. While … [Read more...]
Rum, Risk and Ruin: 13 Reasons Why You Still Shouldn’t Do Business in Cuba.
The removal of Cuba from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list this week sparked a groundswell of excitement among U.S. entrepreneurs, lawyers, and investors looking to profit from the “enormous opportunities” on the island. As part of the Florida Bar’s first-ever delegation to Havana, Cuba last week, I got the chance to see these “opportunities” for myself. Indeed, … [Read more...]
How Safe are the Sochi Olympic Games?
A special guest post by Global Security Consultant and Political Risk Expert, Paul Crespo. This is the latest post in the series. The 2014 Olympic Winter Games began today in Sochi, Russia. Numerous U.S. multinational corporations such as McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble and Visa are sponsoring or participating, and 10,000 Americans are expected to attend. … [Read more...]
Don't Let Shipping Piracy Sink Your International Business.
A special guest post by Global Security Consultant and Political Risk Expert, Paul Crespo. This is the latest post in the series. With the dramatic growth of global commerce more businesses rely on maritime shipping to get their goods and raw materials to market. The release of the Tom Hanks film "Captain Phillips" depicting the 2009 hijacking of the US merchant ship Maersk … [Read more...]
3 Steps to Prepare your International Business for Crisis and Continuity
A special guest post by Global Security Consultant and Political Risk Expert, Paul Crespo. This is the seventh post in the series. Global companies today face a variety of serious risks that range from political disturbances, terrorist bombings, supply chain disruptions, natural disasters and cyber-attacks, to the kidnapping of key executives. Any of these threats can create … [Read more...]
How Secure Are U.S. Businesses in Mexico?
A special guest post by Global Security Consultant and Political Risk Expert, Paul Crespo. This is the fifth post in the series. Mexico is a top Latin American location for American business operations. A vast market with close proximity, Mexico represents the United States’s second largest export market and its third largest source of imports. Recently however, the battle … [Read more...]
Codes, Locks and Keys: 35 Industrial Espionage Countermeasures that Will Save Your International Business.
Last week Apple released the Apple iPhone 5s. The most innovative feature of the new phone was the device's fingerprint scanner, which was widely heralded as being the world's first "hack proof" access point. It took only a few days, however, for a German hacking group to bypass the phone's latest security feature and gain access to the device. The incident is the latest … [Read more...]
Spies, Lies and Secrets: 37 Industrial Espionage Tactics that Threaten to Kill Your International Business.
Earlier this week I wrote about industrial espionage and how it is the fastest and least expensive way for our foreign competitors to bridge the innovation gap with the U.S. Using cutting-edge technology and age-old techniques of deceit and manipulation, corporate spies are the greatest post-cold war threat to international business. Today’s international conflicts are … [Read more...]
Brazil’s Mega Events: Risks for International Businesses during the World Cup and Olympics.
A special guest post by Global Security Consultant and Political Risk Expert, Paul Crespo. This is the fourth post in the series. For ten years Brazil has been the darling of the emerging market countries: the "B" in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China). With annual growth rates of 5 percent, its stock markets often doubled year to year. Brazil is hot. It will be … [Read more...]
U.S. Companies More Likely Than Russians to Engage in Industrial Espionage? LOL
Spying continues to dominate the news. Just today Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff cancelled a trip to meet with President Obama over revelations that the U.S. actively spied on Brazil. Up until recently, the prevailing view was that companies located in China and Russia had the most active industrial espionage programs. That’s all changed after the Snowden … [Read more...]