Global Legal Update for Businesses: September 2026

The status of legislation, regulatory changes, and legislative proposals is current as of September 16, 2026, and this issue covers developments since August 14, 2026.

An issue from our legal news for businesses worldwide section. For the same month, issues for the Czech Republic and Europe have also been published.

What's happening globally

The past month brought one major change and several smaller ones. The US-Canadian dispute has shifted from the customs level to the level of trade bans. For some Canadian goods, the Section 338 tariff is now explicitly cumulative with the Section 232 tariff, as the original anti-stacking rule has been repealed. For companies, this means that the tariff rate is no longer the upper limit of risk.

A second line of development remains the linking of trade policy with the mobility of persons and ownership structures. The Chinese entry and exit regime has come into effect, while Vietnam and Thailand have introduced classic operational changes – foreign exchange rules and a new wage contribution obligation.

The common denominator is that the rate and the obligation vary by country of origin, country of import, and sometimes by the specific tariff item. It is therefore worthwhile to verify the national treatment and customs classification, rather than relying on a general summary.

Selected Canadian goods will be barred from entering the US from September 29

The developments since mid-August are worth recapping, as they have changed three times in a month. By a proclamation on August 18, 2026, the President suspended the July tariffs under Section 338 for three days, as Canada had promised to remove the disputed measures. No agreement was reached, and the 50% tariff took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on August 22, 2026; US Customs and Border Protection issued implementing instructions on August 21.

Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth CAD 27.6 billion, effective September 8, 2026. The list includes goods affected by the US Section 338 tariffs, as well as items such as household appliances and increased rates on items to which Canadian retaliation already applied.

On the same day, the US President signed five more proclamations. Two of them change the scope of goods subject to the 50% tariff, effective September 15 – additional dairy and wood products, furniture, and motorboats were added, while some items were removed. More significantly, the list now includes goods subject to Section 232; the original anti-stacking rule has been repealed, and according to the White House, both measures will apply side-by-side.

Three proclamations then prohibit the import of selected Canadian goods effective September 29, 2026 – these include certain alcoholic beverages, dairy products, molasses, and motorcycles. The affected items are identified by their US tariff code in the annex. According to the Congressional Research Service, this amounted to approximately USD 967 million in imports in 2025, or about 0.3% of US imports from Canada.

The legal basis for the ban is subsection (b) of Section 338, which allows the President to exclude goods from importation if a country continues its discrimination. According to available sources, this is the first modern use of this authority, and some commentators expect the measure to be challenged in the US Court of International Trade. The President has also directed the General Services Administration, in cooperation with the US Trade Representative, to remove Canadian goods from federal framework procurement contracts; the US International Trade Commission invited public comments on September 4 on how it should carry out its duties under Section 338.

For Czech companies, it is essential to distinguish between the origin of the goods and their route. The measures apply to "products of Canada," i.e., goods of Canadian origin according to US rules of origin. Transit through Canada, storage in Canada, or the involvement of a Canadian distributor generally does not change the origin of the goods – the specific manufacturing or processing operation is decisive. It is therefore advisable to check the regime, especially where the goods actually acquire Canadian origin.

What your company should do now

• Compare the tariff items of your Canadian supplies with the annexes of both sets of September proclamations – especially the list of prohibitions effective September 29. Customs declarant, by the end of September.

• For goods subject to the ban, investigate an alternative supplier or a genuine change in the production chain that results in a different origin. Simply redirecting the shipment through another country will not remove the ban.

• Recalculate the impact for items that are now subject to both Section 338 and Section 232 simultaneously, and keep a record of the duties paid for each import in case a court overturns the measure.

Do you need to assess whether your supplies fall under the new list and address this in your contracts? Write to us at consultation@arws.cz – the lawyers from the Prague-based ARROWS law firm will review the origin assessment, customs classification, and contractual implications with you.

China's entry and exit regime is effective from September 15

The State Council's provisions on the administration of entry and exit, issued by Decree No. 841, came into effect on September 15, 2026. We discussed them in detail in our August issue; they are now in force, and two practical aspects are worth remembering.

The first concerns travel to China. A foreigner who submits false documents or makes a false declaration when applying for a visa or entering at a border crossing may be banned from entry for one to five years. The responsibility for the authenticity of invitation letters is now explicit, and anyone who issues a false one for another person may be fined.

The second aspect concerns the exit of Chinese citizens. The legal reason for restriction is not affiliation with a particular industry, but a violation of export control or technology transfer rules in a way that could endanger industrial or technological security. Commentaries on the regulation cite specialists in rare earth separation, electrolyte formulations, or N-type solar cells as likely targets – but this is an interpretation, not an exhaustive list in the decree. In conjunction with the July regulation on foreign investment, this narrows the scope for transferring know-how via personnel.

What your company should do now

• Implement a check to ensure that the purpose of stay, inviting organization, and length of trip in Chinese visa applications correspond to reality. HR with executive assistant, immediately.

• If you are planning to recruit Chinese specialists from industries under export control or to transfer their know-how to a European plant, have the plan assessed before you start negotiating with specific individuals.

Vietnamese subsidiary has new foreign exchange rules from August 18

The State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular No. 38/2026/TT-NHNN on July 31, 2026, effective from August 18, 2026. It replaces Circular No. 06/2019/TT-NHNN and responds to the launch of Vietnam's international financial center and the practical difficulties that investors and banks have faced under the previous regulation.

The scope is broader: in addition to classic foreign direct investment, it now also covers capital flowing from the international financial center to the rest of Vietnam. Investment and trading of securities on the stock exchange and matters concerning listed public companies remain outside its scope. Enterprises of the international financial center and foreign petroleum contractors are now treated as separate categories, not by analogy to foreign-invested enterprises.

For Czech groups with a Vietnamese subsidiary, this is not an urgent issue, but it affects day-to-day operations – maintaining an investment capital account, documentation for contributions, and profit repatriation. The category an enterprise falls into is determined by the regulation; however, in practice, it is assessed by the servicing bank when maintaining the account, so it is worthwhile to clarify the classification with the bank in advance.

What your company should do now

• Verify with your Vietnamese bank whether the category of your subsidiary and the documentation required for profit distribution to the Czech Republic will change after August 18. CFO, by the end of October.

• For planned capital contributions, get prior confirmation of what documents the bank requires under the new regulation to avoid payment delays.

Thai subsidiary will start contributing to the employee welfare fund from October 1

The Thai Employee Welfare Fund, established by the Labor Protection Act, has been inactive for years; after a one-year postponement, mandatory contributions will begin on October 1, 2026. Both the employer and the employee will contribute 0.25% of the wage, increasing to 0.5% from October 1, 2031. Unlike social security, there is no cap on the assessment base.

The obligation applies to private employers with ten or more employees. An exemption is possible where a company already operates a qualified provident fund – but be aware that it must cover all employees; anyone not included in it falls under the fund.

The Department of Labour made the e-Service for the fund available on September 15, 2026, precisely so that employers could register and upload their employee lists before the system launch. The contribution is due by the 15th of the following month, so the first actual cash outflow will occur with October wages by November 15, 2026.

In case of delay, a surcharge of 5% per month on the amount due will be applied. Failure to comply with registration and reporting obligations can result in a fine of up to THB 10,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.

What your company should do now

• Determine whether your Thai entity exceeds the ten-employee threshold and whether it qualifies for the provident fund exemption – including employees on probation. HR with payroll, by the end of September.

• Register with the Department of Labour's e-Service and upload the employee list before October 1; budget for the first payment by November 15, 2026.

From other monitored developments, we select the following

USA – pharmaceuticals and small parcels: a tariff of up to 100% on patented medicines will also apply from September 29, 2026, to products of companies not covered by the earlier regime under the proclamation's annex; the specific rate also depends on the country of origin and other exemptions. The new electronic postal declaration, Entry Type 13, will be deployed by customs in the production environment on September 22 as a voluntary alternative. As of October 22, 2026, the applicability of the existing simplified postal procedure for selected categories of shipments will change – this does not mean that Entry Type 13 will be mandatory from that date.

USA – solar components: a proclamation from August 6 introduces a 15% tariff on polysilicon derivatives and minimum import prices from December 4, 2026, with modules at USD 0.38 per watt. Factually incorrect price documentation may, according to the proclamation, lead to a permanent import ban for the importer and its related parties.

• Brazil: from October 1, 2026, it will be mandatory to fill in the CBS and IBS fields for NFS-e documents for services subject to the ISS tax; other document categories will follow on December 1, 2026, and the Simples Nacional regime on January 1, 2027. The validation rules remain postponed, so a missing field will not in itself cause the document to be rejected – however, this does not eliminate non-compliance with the obligation and carries a risk of sanctions.

• Emirates: entities with an annual turnover of AED 50 million or more must appoint an accredited e-invoicing provider by October 30, 2026, and launch the system on January 1, 2027. The obligation also applies to persons not established in the Emirates if they are required to issue tax invoices under the UAE VAT law; VAT registration alone is therefore not the only test.

• USA – export controls: the US rule extending controls to subsidiaries of listed entities is set to return on November 10, 2026, after a one-year suspension. It is advisable to map the ownership structures of customers before then.

• Australia: from December 10, 2026, automated decision-making must be described in privacy policies. The obligation applies to a foreign supplier only if there is a sufficient Australian connection, typically when they are effectively carrying on business in Australia.

• Kenya: from September 1, 2026, importers must retain the export declaration, export customs document, or similar confirmation from the country of export.

In other mandatorily monitored jurisdictions in Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania, we did not identify any new developments between August 14 and September 16, 2026, that met the criteria of materiality and cross-border relevance for the target segment.

Deadlines for companies to watch in the next 90 days

Final summary

The Canadian import ban on September 29 has the most immediate and severe impact. Unlike a tariff, it cannot be resolved by price or contractual arrangement, so for the affected items, the only options are a different supplier, a genuine change in the production chain, or a suspension of supplies. The first step, however, is to assess the origin – not all goods that have passed through Canada are of Canadian origin. At the same time, it is worthwhile to recalculate the items for which Section 338 and Section 232 have been cumulative since September 15.

Preparation before the effective date is needed for the October 1 Thai contributions, the October 22 US postal customs procedure, the October 30 UAE e-invoicing provider, and the December 4 US tariffs on polysilicon. The November 10 deadline for US export controls is currently the cheapest opportunity – mapping customer ownership structures can be done while the licensing requirement is not yet in effect.

Local verification is useful for the Vietnamese foreign exchange rules, where the classification of the enterprise is practically assessed by the servicing bank, and for the Thai exemption for the provident fund. Legal uncertainty remains regarding the US measures under Section 338 – it is worth making decisions based on the current situation but keeping records in a way that can accommodate a change.

Are you dealing with tariffs and cost allocation in export contracts, a subsidiary, employee secondment, or a cross-border acquisition? Write to us at consultation@arws.cz. The lawyers from the Prague-based ARROWS law firm will assess your situation, and for projects in multiple countries, they coordinate the individual jurisdictions through the ARROWS International network. For professional liability purposes, the ARROWS law firm is insured with a limit of CZK 400,000,000.

Other sources used

• Congressional Research Service – U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Imports: Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (R49349, September 14, 2026) including citations for Proclamations 11046 to 11065 in the Federal Register; U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance CSMS No. 69606660 of August 21, 2026; Department of Finance Canada – list of goods subject to retaliatory tariffs from September 8, 2026.

• DFDL – Vietnam Legal Update on Circular No. 38/2026/TT-NHNN; Thai Department of Labour Protection and Welfare – announcement on the launch of e-Service as of September 15, 2026; Baker McKenzie – Thailand: Employee Welfare Fund Contributions to Commence; Ministry of Justice of the PRC – database of administrative regulations on Decree No. 841; UAE Ministry of Finance – Electronic Invoicing Guidelines v. 1.1.

Legislative monitoring without manual searching

Over the past month, the US-Canada dispute has shifted three times, moving from tariffs to an import ban. The ARROWS law firm therefore offers legislative monitoring in the BOW application: you will receive changes relevant to your countries and industries on an ongoing basis, including deadlines and recommended steps. Request the terms and access from the ARROWS law firm.