Description of Legal Operations in International Business

Deliverable Length: Individual Portion: 1250-1500 words; Group Portion
Details: The Chinese government has initiated discussions with ABC Corporation concerning the output from the specialty chemical plant there. These chemicals are marketed in the international marketplace. The government proposes greatly increasing the size of the plant (largely financed with money from the Chinese government) to quadruple the output and take a commanding position in the market for this product. It proposes reducing the cost per ton of the chemicals to less than the cost of production to further increase market share. Several countries have gotten information about this proposal and have threatened to impose trade restrictions and/or tariffs on the product from this plant if the government and the company proceed with their plan. To head off a trade war between several nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has intervened in the matter.

The WTO is the international organization created to prevent trade disputes from escalating into trade wars. Research the history of this organization, and discuss both the history and its current procedures in detail. Fully discuss the procedures used to resolve a dispute between countries.

Individual Portion With Small Group Discussion Board
The individual portion of the group project will require each individual team member to write a 1250-1500 word analysis of the issue, which fully explores the procedures of the WTO and the ICJ and the International Criminal Court.

Scenario:

ABC Corporation has grown into a successful multinational corporation with gross revenues of $35 billion in the last fiscal year. ABC has operating facilities in the European Union (EU), the United States, People's Republic of China (People's Republic), Asia, South America, and Africa. The company has experienced explosive growth over the last 3 years and has grown from a regional firm to a multinational conglomerate with many international projects currently under way. ABC is planning to construct additional specialty chemical and electronics part production facilities in offshore locations in the near future.

The original founders of the corporation have become the board of directors and primary shareholders for this corporation and have worked diligently to create a successful mix of products for the corporation including electronics, specialty chemicals, and Internet services in the United States, Asia, People's Republic of China, and Africa. Even though ABC has grown in complexity, the corporation now has a competent and capable corporate legal in-house counsel and management team in place to manage day-to-day operations although the board has insisted on guiding every facet of the business. The board members have taken this hands-on approach to the corporation because they built it.

Over the last several months, there have been concerns from the management team and in-house counsel about the board's excessive involvement in international negotiations. In an effort to quiet these concerns, the board has engaged you, a recognized expert in the field of international operations and laws, to act as its personal consultant on all projects the board members have undertaken globally. Your job is to advise the board members through memoranda and discussion about the legal risks and consequences they face in the various projects currently ongoing for ABC Corporation.