Client updates / Regulation

The US Federal Court of Appeals ruled recently that most of the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump as part of the trade wars are unlawful. However, the court decided that, for the time being, these tariffs will remain in effect. This is a landmark decision with potentially wide-ranging implications for the US and global economies, as well as for the balance of powers within the US federal government.

The Israeli Corporations Authority in the Ministry of Justice recently announced a significant expansion of its company extract service. This development marks an important change in the corporate landscape, substantially improving access to and transparency of comprehensive and material information regarding companies registered in Israel.

In May, the Ministry of Economy imposed a temporary guarantee on aluminum imports from China. As a result, Israeli aluminum importers have already reduced their orders from China by 50%. Simultaneously, access to the Turkish market has been almost entirely blocked for Israeli buyers.

Amendment 13, which significantly updates privacy laws in Israel, has come into effect! If you still don’t know what to do to comply with the requirements, we’ve prepared a guide to help you address the main issues (not all of them) right now! In this guide, you can find simple tips to implement in your organization to improve compliance with Israeli privacy law requirements.

In July 2025, the European Competition Commission imposed a EUR 489,000 fine on Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. and its Hong Kong subsidiary for their involvement in a pharmaceutical cartel involving the active ingredient used in the manufacture of an abdominal antispasmodic medicine.

The purpose of this update is to provide the latest developments on the various tariffs being imposed on exports to the United States. The tariff situation is changing frequently, sometimes on a daily basis. We strive to obtain updated information and to post updated versions.

On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs of 10% on all goods imported into the United States, and higher “special reciprocal tariffs” on imports from several countries with whom the United States has a large trade deficit.

Amendment 13 to the Israeli Privacy Protection Law is expected to come into effect in mid-August 2025. The amendment prescribes, inter alia, organizations’ obligation to appoint a data protection officer. The Privacy Protection Authority recently published a draft directive on implementing this obligation. The draft is not final and is open for public comments.

At the end of June 2025, the Northern California District Court issued two precedent-setting rulings addressing the legal question: Is it lawful to use copyrighted works for machine training of AI-based large language models (LLMs)?

Israel’s Attorney General has filed her position with the Tel Aviv District Court in support of a motion to order Google to actively block websites that are infringing copyrights and enabling viewing of pirated content for free.

When US President Donald Trump took office, it seemed the question of personal sanctions against extremist right-wingers in Israel was off the table. Indeed, in one of his first decisions, Trump lifted the sanctions imposed on a small number of Jewish settlers whom the United States had accused of committing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as on several extremist right-wing organizations.

The Industrial Cooperation Authority at Israel’s Ministry of Economy recently announced that it had blacklisted the Chinese company DAQO, which won a tender for the supply of components to the Israel Electric Corporation, because it failed to fulfill its reciprocal procurement obligation with Israel.

Earlier this month, the US Senate voted 99-1 to strike a key clause in a sweeping Republican domestic policy bill that sought to impose a ten-year moratorium on states’ enforcement of artificial intelligence regulations.

The “What’s Good for Europe Is Good for Israel” reform came into effect at 2025, with considerable resonance. This reform allows importers to import diverse products to Israel in a new standardization track, based on compliance with the requirements of strict European regulations and standards.

In July 2024, Israel’s Ministry of Economy imposed a 61%-146% temporary guarantee on aluminum imports from China to protect local industry from dumping. Recent guideline updates reinforce the focus on anti-dumping enforcement amid global trade tensions.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in critical Israeli infrastructure and services, especially by entities representing foreign countries, are subject to oversight, mainly to ensure national security.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently published its final report on the guidelines for supervisory authorities to detect and prevent market fraud in crypto assets under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation.

As Operation Rising Lion continues, government ministries and authorities are continuing to announce regulatory reliefs in various areas.

Upon the launch of Operation Rising Lion last Friday, the Minister of Defense declared a special national state of emergency in conformity with the Civil Defense Law, 1951. On Sunday, the government extended the state of emergency until June 30, 2025.

In May, a US federal court ordered Israeli firm NSO Group to pay $168 million to WhatsApp. The ruling raises key questions about US jurisdiction over foreign companies and defense tech regulation.