James Holbein, Author at Braumiller Law Group

Is Coercion the Best Approach to North American Trade?

February 10, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

The Trump Administration has demonstrated a willingness to apply new tariffs to goods entering the U.S. as a viable tactic under its America First strategy to achieve greater fairness in its dealings with other countries. The application of tariffs is authorized under a number of standard legal procedures, such as trade remedy investigations to mitigate dumping of goods at less than fair value into the U.S. market or eliminating the unfair price advantages of government subsidies, and use of section 301 duties to respond to unfair trade practices by other countries. However, the broad-brush use of tariffs to coerce our trading partners to make concessions in non-trade areas to resolve a domestic crisis is relatively new.

Presidential Authority to Unilaterally Raise Tariffs

December 11, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

This article examines the constitutional authorities and various statutes that reserve tariff authorities for Congress and some legal authorities in which Congress has delegated tariff authorities to the President. The U.S. is a party to numerous multilateral and regional trade agreements that have binding tariff commitments that will be impacted as well.

Legal and Other Issues Being Resolved by Port Strike

October 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

The union and management teams reached a settlement agreement that was announced on October 4, 2024 to end the port strike. The settlement does not resolve the issues, but extends the master contract to Jan. 15, 2025, to allow the sides to negotiate outstanding issues. A final agreement must be ratified by union members.

Wyoming’s DUNA Law – A Legal Framework for Non-Profit DAOs and Open-Source Blockchain Networks

October 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are a novel form of governance for blockchain-based protocols. Unlike traditional companies or non-profits, DAOs are member-controlled organizations that operate without a central authority or hierarchical management. Instead, DAOS use smart contracts, often on the Ethereum blockchain. DAOs often use governance tokens to enable members to vote on proposals, make collective decisions about the organization’s operations, treasury, and future development.

Using a Contract Review Checklist for Commercial International Trade Contracts

August 9, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney

In the complex world of commercial international trade, contracts serve as the foundation for successful transactions. A well-prepared contract review checklist provides a basis for lawyers to ensure that all necessary terms and conditions are covered, protecting all parties involved. This article outlines the essential components of a contract review checklist related to goods in international trade. The goal is to provide a structured approach to reviewing and drafting contracts, beyond the basics of INCOTERMS.

Summary of the Findings of the USTR Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation

June 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Brandon French, Senior Associate Attorney

On May 14, 2024, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its Final Report relating to the four-year review of actions taken in the Section 301 investigation. Within the Report, the USTR confirmed that it intends to take actions to raise tariffs on specific products as a result of the comprehensive review.

Recent Developments in Digital Assets Policy

June 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Digital assets, including blockchain and cryptocurrency protocols and companies, have been in a defensive posture for much of 2022, 2023 and 2024. The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and numerous enforcement actions taken by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have forced the sector to retrench and upgrade their abilities to meet the higher standards of securities laws.

Evolving Legal Norms for Artificial Intelligence in the European Union and the United States

April 1, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic for the last 2-3 years for politicians, technologists, and many people in civil societies globally. The use of the technology has obvious benefits for increasing productivity and value produced by businesses and organizations, along with dangers from misuse, such as deep fake propaganda and serious security risks. Two recent efforts to develop legislation addressing AI technology offer an opportunity to compare and contrast the differing approaches in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US).

Assessing the Benefits and Challenges of Tokenizing Real World Assets

February 5, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

The world of cryptocurrencies on blockchains and the world of traditional assets in markets have often stood in stark contrast to one another since Bitcoin’s creation in 2008. The lack of a reliable bridge between these two worlds has limited the impact of cryptocurrencies on assets in the real-world outside of on-chain speculation and prevented adoption of the benefits that blockchain technologies can bring to real world processes.

OMB Issues Final Rule for Infrastructure Buy America Preferences

November 8, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney

The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), Made in America Office issued a Final Rule to clarify the Build America, Buy America Act (“BABA”) provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act4 (“IIJA”) and to clarify existing provisions related to domestic preferences. The Final Rule amends Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”), subtitle A, chapter I by adding a new Part 184 to support implementation of BABA. OMB also amended 2 CFR 200.322 to clarify existing provisions within part 200. According to OMB, the Final Rule “is intended to improve consistency in the implementation of BABA requirements across the Federal Government.”5 The Final Rule will take effect October 23, 2023.

Compliance Issues in Government “Buy America” Solicitations

August 4, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney, Braumiller Law Group

This article discusses compliance “Buy America” provisions in federal procurement laws and how the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) implement some of those commitments in government contracts. It also outlines the application of the Trade Agreements Act to many large solicitations and how that can impact compliance of goods, services and construction.

Buy American – Treatment of Preferences in the Federal Acquisition Regulations

June 5, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney, Braumiller Law Group

This article provides an overview of federal procurement laws and how the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) implement some of those commitments in government contracts. The FAR, found under 48 C.F.R. Part 25, comprises the list of rules governing procurement of products and materials by federal agencies for public use.

OMB Proposes Rule to Clarify Buy America Provision for Grants and Agreements

April 5, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney

This article provides a brief analysis of the fundamental changes and clarifications to the Buy America requirements for federally-funded infrastructure projects that are currently proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Made in America Office in a Federal Register Notice, “Guidance for Grants and Agreements, issued on February 9, 2023 (86 FR 8374).

Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field

Regenerative Finance (ReFi): Tokenizing Carbon Offsets and Incentives

February 1, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Braumiller Law Group PLLC, Justin Holbein, Web3 Consulting LLC

Introduction to ReFi. Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field that offers an opportunity to rethink how we approach finance, investing, and sustainable economic development. ReFi takes a holistic approach to finance and development, considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of financial decisions, and aims to create a regenerative economic ecosystem rather than following a primarily extractive approach.

Can the U.S. Mitigate Digital Assets Fraud While Fostering Innovation?

December 9, 2022

By James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group PLLC

This article will review the options the White House has outlined for regulation and oversight of the digital assets sector, based upon a set of reports issued in the last six months. The collapse in November 2022 of FTX, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, has precipitated calls for better oversight for digital assets.

Can, and Should, the U.S. Government Develop a CBDC System?

October 2, 2022

By: James Holbein, Braumiller Law Group PLLC
In response to the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets issued on March 9, 2022, both the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Treasury Department (Treasury) have recently issued reports analyzing the possible design and feasibility of creating a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The reports make clear that significant technical issues and major policy considerations need to be addressed for the U.S. to develop a CBDC. Both reports look at time frames in years, not weeks or months, for such a system.

ImpactDAOs: Shaping the Future of Regenerative Organizations

August 9, 2022

By: Justin Holbein and James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

As Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have exploded into public consciousness, new types of DAOs are proliferating. A novel use case for DAOs, termed “ImpactDAOs”, are defined as “any DAO that creates net positive externalities to the ecosystem around it.” An ImpactDAO seeks to use web3 and crypto-economic principles to regenerate a system, increasing resources and sustainability over time.

Indo-Pacific Trade Initiative to Enhance U.S. Economic Influence

June 12, 2022

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

On May 23, 2022, President Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Implications of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency

June 12, 2022

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

This article provides an overview of the issues surrounding CBDCs in a Q&A format to provide a lens for the analysis of the many government reports due in September, October and through the end of this year.

Evolving Legal Issues for NFTs

April 10, 2022

By: Justin Holbein and James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have increasingly grown into public awareness. People often hear about NFTs through collectible projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and World of Women. Usually, people then encounter the hype, interest, and indignation about what exactly NFTs are along with the corresponding potential use cases. Why have NFTs exploded into the zeitgeist?