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Epidemics, pandemics or similar widespread public health concerns, such as COVID-19, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and demand for our products and services.
−Removed: Since January 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak, characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization ("WHO") on March 11, 2020, has caused, and could possibly continue to cause a widespread health crisis and significantly disrupt the U.S.
+Added: Epidemics, pandemics or similar public health concerns, such as COVID-19, could cause a widespread health crisis and significantly disrupt the U.S.
and global economies, markets and supply chains.
−Removed: The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemic or disease outbreak on our business, financial condition, results of operations and the demand for our products and services in the future is uncertain, and it is impossible to predict whether any impacts we have experienced to date would continue or worsen in the future.
−Removed: The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemic or disease outbreak will impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and demand for our products and services will depend on future developments including the ongoing geographic spread of the health crisis, the impact of disease mutations, the severity and duration of the health crisis, and the type and duration of actions that may be taken by various governmental authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemic or disease outbreak and the impact on the U.S.
+Added: The ultimate impact of any future pandemic or disease outbreak on our business, financial condition, results of operations and the demand for our products and services in the future is uncertain, and it is impossible to predict whether any impacts we have experienced to date would continue or worsen in the future.
+Added: The extent to which any pandemic or disease outbreak will impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and demand for our products and services will depend on future developments including the ongoing geographic spread of the health crisis, the impact of disease mutations, the severity and duration of the health crisis, and the type and duration of actions that may be taken by various governmental authorities in response to the pandemic or disease outbreak and the impact on the U.S.
and the global economies, markets, and supply chains.
−Removed: COVID-19, and other adverse public health developments in countries and states where we operate, therefore, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and the demand for our products and services.
+Added: Adverse public health developments in countries and states where we operate, therefore, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and the demand for our products and services.
These effects could include a negative impact on the availability of our employees, temporary closures of our facilities or the facilities of our business partners, customers, suppliers, third party service providers or other vendors, and the interruption of domestic and global supply chains, distribution channels, liquidity and capital markets.
−Removed: In addition, we have taken and will continue to take precautionary measures, including through consultation with governmental authorities and union representatives, intended to help minimize the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic to our employees, including implementing work-from-home protocols, instituting mandatory stay-at-home policies for those who are ill or significantly exposed to COVID-19, acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE), increasing sanitation and special sanitation of work areas, mandating social distancing (particularly among our employees engaged in manual processes), altering work arrangements to maintain social distancing and limiting visitors and non-employees at our facilities.
−Removed: Our business continuity plans and other safeguards, however, may not be effective to mitigate the results of the COVID-19 pandemic.
−Removed: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and any worsening of the global business and economic environment as a result may also exacerbate the following risk factors discussed below in this Form 10-K, any of which could have a material effect on us.
−Removed: This situation remains fluid and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently.
+Added: Our business continuity plans and other safeguards, however, may not be effective to mitigate the results of epidemics, pandemics, or similar widespread health concerns.
Operating Factors
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If such an event is also widespread, it could affect our ability to acquire the quantity of tobacco or plant-based ingredients required by our customers or could prevent or impair our ability to process or ship products as planned.
−Removed: In addition, other factors can affect the marketability of our products, including, among other things, the presence of excess residues of crop protection agents or non-tobacco related materials.
+Added: In addition, other factors can affect the marketability of our products, including, among other things, the presence of excess residues of crop protection agents or non-crop related materials.
A significant event impacting the condition or quality of a large amount of any of the crops that we buy could make it difficult for us to sell these products or to fill customers’ orders.
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Continuous changes in bilateral, multilateral, and international trade agreements also have the potential to disrupt or impact Universal operations.
−Removed: For example, the World Trade Organization’s resolution on the Large Civil Aircraft Dispute between the United States and the European Union resulted in both bodies imposing tariffs on a variety of products, including leaf tobacco.
−Removed: While these tariffs have been temporarily lifted and negotiations continue, drastic changes in global trade remains a risk to our results of operations.
−Removed: In addition, some trade proposals have included provisions that could effectively allow governments to regulate tobacco products differently than other products.
+Added: For example, some trade proposals have included provisions that could effectively allow governments to regulate tobacco products differently than other products.
These carve outs could negatively impact the industry and impact requirements for leaf tobacco.
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Our customers’ operations are subject to similar uncertainties and risks relating to the political stability of the foreign governments in the countries in which their operations are located.
−Removed: Political or economic instability in those countries, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, may impede or disrupt our ability to meet our customers’ leaf tobacco needs in those impacted countries.
+Added: Political or economic instability in those countries, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, may impede or disrupt our ability to meet our customers’ needs in or source raw materials from those impacted countries.
If the political situation in any of the countries where we conduct business were to deteriorate significantly, our ability to recover assets located there could be impaired.
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In addition, a number of governments are considering due diligence procedures to ensure strict compliance with environmental, labor, and government regulations.
−Removed: The European Union has recently proposed broad due diligence reporting requirements for all industries operating within Europe.
+Added: The European Union has recently advanced broad due diligence reporting requirements for all industries operating within Europe.
The United States has called for a broader and more robust approach to labor compliance in foreign jurisdictions, which could include some of our strategic origins.
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Decreases in short-term interest rates could reduce the income we derive from those investments.
−Removed: Changes in interest rates also affect expense related to our defined benefit pension plan, as described below.
+Added: Changes in interest rates also affect expenses related to our defined benefit pension plan, as described below.
Low investment performance by our defined benefit pension plan assets and changes in pension plan valuation assumptions may increase our pension expense and may require us to fund a larger portion of our pension obligations, thus diverting funds from other potential uses.
13 unchanged sentences
Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.