Legal Aspects of International Trade and Management

This report analyzes the laws and legislations applicable to multinational companies operating in Australia, using Amgen Inc. as a case study. It discusses the roles of agreements and treaties in company operations and examines Australian laws such as the Corporations Act 2001, Australian Consumer Law, and Privacy Act 1988. The report also explores various agreements and organizations that affect Amgen's operations, including AusBiotech, American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, Australian Packaging Covenant, and Medicine Australia.

Running head: LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MANAGEMENT
LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MANAGEMENT
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Executive Summary
The report analyses the laws and legislations that are applicable to govern the
operations of multinational companies conducting their businesses in Australi. The
report further analyses the roles of agreements and treaties in the operations of the
companies. The company selected for this report is Amgen Inc., a US based company
operating in various countries including Australia. Australian laws such as Corporations
ACT 2001, Australian Consumer Law, Privacy Act 1988 and many others are described
in regard to their applicability to the company. In addition to this, various treaties and
agreements affecting the company’s operations are also discussed. the company’s
agreements with AusBiotech, American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, Australian
Packaging Covenant Organisation and Medicine Australia.

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3LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Overview.........................................................................................................................................4
Legislative Regulatory Framework.............................................................................................4
Agreements, Conventions, and Treaties...................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11

4LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MANAGEMENT
Overview
In this report a detailed analysis will be done on the legislative regulatory
frameworks that affect the multinational company, Amgen Inc. Amgen Inc. was founded
in the year 1980 and is a multinational company registered in the United States and
headquartered in California, US (Amgen, 2019). It currently operates in many countries
including Australia. It is one of the largest biotechnology companies in the world. The
mode of operations of the industry is biopharmaceuticals engaged in healthcare industry
(Plunkett, 2008). The company is famous for two of its largest selling drugs Neulasta
and Neupogen that are used to prevent infections from cancer chemotherapy. Few
other mentionable products include Epogen, Aranesp, Sensipar, Prolia and XGEVA.
According to the latest report available the company employs around 20000 people
globally among which around 5,125 are employed in California alone. In Australia the
company employs around 160 permanent employees in two offices and markets eleven
products related to the treatment of cancer, kidney and bone diseases and several other
serious illnesses (Amgen Australia, 2019).
Legislative Regulatory Framework
As Amgen Inc is a company belonging to America most of the legislations that
can be applicable to the company are from United States. Further in addition to
following the US legislations the company also has to comply with the provisions of the
countries it is operating in. In Australia the company has to follow the Australian
legislations related to the operations of the company. In Australia the company operates

5LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MANAGEMENT
with the name Amgen Australia Pty Ltd and is registered under the Australian Securities
and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The first legislation that can be said to be applicable to the company is the
Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). As the company is registered with the ASIC and is a
wholly owned subsidiary company of Amgen Inc the directors and the management of
the company has to comply with all the provisions of the Corporations Act. Section 180
to 183 of the act prescribes the duties of the directors and the officers. Section 180
requires a director or officer to exercise their powers with due diligence. Section 181
requires the directors and officers to discharge their duties in good faith and in the best
interests of the company. Section 182 prohibits anyone to use their position improperly
to gain an advantage for themselves or someone else or cause detriment to the
corporation. Section 183 prohibits anyone from using information obtained because of
their position in the company in gaining advantage for themselves or someone else or
cause harm to the company.
The company has to follow the schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act
2010 in regard with the Australian Consumer Law. As the company operates in
healthcare industry along with the ACL the company is also responsible for the
consideration of deceptive or misleading advertisement.
The Privacy Act 1988 is the second legislation applicable to the company. The
act has been amended by the Privacy Amendment Act 2012. The privacy policies of the
Amgen Australia are made as per the provisions of the Privacy Act. The privacy
statement under the Privacy Policy mentions the kinds of information about its

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customers the company can collect, use and disclose. As per the requirements of the
privacy regulations of Australian legislations the company ensures the safety, security
and secrecy of its customers. Further the manner in which a customer can access and
correct their personal information or make complaint regarding breach of privacy is also
mentioned in the company’s privacy policies.
Tax can be mentioned as one of the most important aspect of every business.
Tax is considered to be a liability on the profits of a company. Like any other
multinational company conducting business in Australia, Amgen is also liable to pay
income tax of 30% on total income on its operations in Australia. In addition to this the
company like other multinational companies operating in more than one country, Amgen
also has to consider the provisions related to Transfer Pricing. Transfer Pricing is
considered a very significant issue in Australian legislation. The Transfer pricing rules
require a company to pay a specific price while transferring its assets from one country
to other.
Legislations relating to intangible assets of the business are also applicable to
Amgen like other multinational companies. The most prominent legislation governing
the intangible assets is the Patents Act 1990. The act governs the applications and
approval of patents of the companies registered in Australia including Amgen. While
operating in Australia the company will be held liable under the Patents Act for any
infringement of patent.
In addition to the aforementioned legislations, the company is also bound to
comply with other provisions while conducting its business in Australia. As Amgen inc

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has registered itself as a proprietorship company in Australia hence all legislations and
provisions like the employment and environmental laws that applicable to other
Australian companies are also applicable for Amgen. Fair Work Act 2009 is the lead
employment legislation applicable to all organizations conducting business in Australia.
Since Amgen conducts its business in Australia the company is required to comply with
provisions of the act while dealing with its employees in Australia. The same goes for
the environmental laws. The company while conducting business in Australia has to
follow the legislations and provisions related to environment protection by competent
authorities.
The company can be held liable for the breach of any of the provisions relating to
the legislations affecting its operations.
Agreements, Conventions, and Treaties
In the above section different Australian laws affecting the operations of the
company was discussed in details. It can be said that apart of laws there are various
treaties and agreements that affect the operations of an organization. The treaties and
agreements can either be international or local. As it is known that Amgen is a US
based company conducting its business in Australia hence an international Fair Trade
agreement signed between the government of United States and Australia affects the
dealings of the company in Australia. The agreement is known as the Australia-United
States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA). The agreement majorly considers the
Australian Products in US market but very rarely influences US products in Australian
market. It can thus be stated that this agreement offers very less protection to American

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businesses in Australia. This agreement lacks specific procedures for dispute-
resolution and sometimes creates scenarios that may cause harm to the US based
companies.
As the company is engaged in healthcare industry, it is registered under the
Medicines Australia. Medicines Australia works to represent the discovery-driven
pharmaceutical industry of Australia (Medicine Australia, 2019). The organization has a
compliance code that all the companies registered within it have to comply with. The
code ensures to the members a level of transparency in operations of the companies.
Since Amgen is registered with the organization as mentioned before the company also
has to comply with the requirements of the compliance code and reports transfers of
value to the healthcare organizations and professionals. In compliance with the code
the company collects the names, profession and other personal information of the
people engaged in various activities in the company and report transfer of value of
those people. This information is required to be published publicly by the company for
the tenure of 3 years.
Australian Packaging Covenant is another important agreement that influences
the operations of Amgen Australia Pty Ltd. The covenant can be described as a
voluntary initiative of Australian Government developed with the intention of reducing
the harsh impact of packaging on the environment. This covenant is signed by the
company to be environmentally sustainable. This covenant is not considered as a law
but an agreement focusing on the importance of recycling of used packaging materials.
Amgen along with other companies has signed this covenant and is now required to
work in accordance with the provisions of the covenant. The companies signing the

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covenant are required to carry out some activities to achieve the goals mentioned in the
covenant.
Along with the abovementioned agreements the company has become a
member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia’s Health Committee by
signing a policy of engagement. This organization assists to Australian companies as
well. By signing this agreement Amgen has to work according to directions of the
committee and in return enjoy benefits like networking, advocacy, information-access
and information visibility.
Amgen further signed voluntary membership to another organization named
AusBiotech. This organization provides its members with various benefits like keeping
the members informed about the current trends and issues of the industry. The
organization further promotes the business of its member companies among the
national and international clients. Although the membership to this organization is not
only beneficial but also creates liabilities towards the company. The organization has a
code of conducts for its members. As per the provisions of the part 3 of the code the
companies cannot discriminate between two of its employees. The companies are
further required to support the conservation of biological diversity. The code although
not a mandate of the nation is still applicable to Amgen as it has selected to be a
member of the organization.
Conclusion
From the above analysis it can be concluded that although Amgen is a US based
company yet as it has registered to operate in Australia various laws and legislations

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that govern MNCs in Australia are applicable to the company. It can further be stated
that Amgen has signed various agreements and became member of various
organizations and the rules and regulations related to this organizations are applicable
to the company by default.

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Reference
Plunkett, J.W., 2008. Plunkett's health care industry almanac. Plunkett Research, Ltd
Amgen (2019). About | Amgen. [online] Amgen.com. Available at:
https://www.amgen.com/about/ [Accessed 10 May 2019].
Amgen Australia (2019). About | Amgen Australia. [online] Amgen.com.au. Available at:
https://www.amgen.com.au/about/ [Accessed 10 May 2019].
Corporations Act 2001
Privacy Act 1988
Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012
Australian Consumer Law
Competition and Consumer Act 2010
Fair Work Act 2009
Patents Act 1990
Medicine Australia (2019). About Us. [online] Medicines Australia. Available at:
https://medicinesaustralia.com.au/about-us/ [Accessed 10 May 2019].

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