Supply management professionals should develop and maintain an understanding of the legal concepts that govern their activities as agents of their employers in the countries in which they operate. These include laws, regulations and trade agreements at the international, national, state, provincial and local levels. In addition, it is common for industries to have unique regulations and laws that supply managers in those fields must comply with.

APPLICABLE LAWS

Laws specific to the United States include:

• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)
• Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign)
• The Sherman Act, the Clayton Act and the Robinson-Patman Act
• The Federal Trade Commission Act
• The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs) and the Defense Acquisition Regulations (DARs)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) laws
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) laws
• The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• The Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)

Selected international laws:

• Agency law
  
  
• Contract and commercial laws
  • U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
  • India: Indian Contract Act
  • EU: Principles of European Contract Law 1998
  • New Zealand: Contractual Mistakes Act 1977
  
  
• Electronic commerce laws
  • EU: Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive
  • India: Electronic Commerce Act
  • Australia: Electronic Transactions Act
  • UK: Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002
  
  
• Antitrust laws
  • United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices
  • Canada: Competition Act
  • EU: Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty
  • UK: Competition Act 1998
  
  
• Trade regulations
  • UK: Office of Fair Trading
  • Australia: Trade Practices Act 1974
  
  
• Industry-specific laws and regulations
  
  
• Government procurement regulations
  • Canada: Industrial and Regional Benefit policy
  • UK: Government Procurement Code of Good Practice
  • Poland: Act of June 10, 1994 on Public Procurement
  
  
• Patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark laws
  • World Intellectual Property Organization
  • EU: Community patents and trademarks
  • Canada: Copyright Act
  • Canada: Trade-marks Act
  
  
• Environmental laws
  • India: Environment Protection Act
  • Canada: Canadian Environmental Protections Act 1999
  • UK: Environment Agency
  • EU: Strategy for Sustainable Development
  
  
• Employment laws and regulations
  • Mexico: Federal Labor Law
  • UK: Employment Relations Act
  • EU: Treaty of Amsterdam
  • Canada: Employment Equity Act
  
  
• Worker health and safety laws
  • Canada: Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
  
  
• Transportation and logistics laws and regulations
  • EU: European Energy and Transport Forum
  • Canada: Transportation of Goods Regulations
  
  
• Financial laws and regulations
  • Australia: Corporations Act 2001
  • Phillippines: Commission on Audit