USTR announced that the actions arising from the Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation would continue in light of hundreds of...more
Last month, on 8 September 2022, USTR announced that representatives of domestic industries benefiting from the tariff actions in the Section 301 investigation of “China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology...more
10/11/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Competition ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) rebuttable presumption became effective on 21 June 2022. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) released its Operational Guidance on 13 June 2022, and the Forced Labor...more
On December 23, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”). Most notably, the UFLPA strengthens the enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by imposing a rebuttable...more
1/7/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Child Labor ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Export Controls ,
Forced Labor ,
Goods or Services ,
Human Rights ,
Imports ,
New Legislation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Supply Chain
The U.S. and the EU have announced a settlement regarding the U.S. Section 232 duties on European steel and aluminum products. As part of that settlement, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced that the 25...more
11/8/2021
/ Aluminum Sales ,
EU ,
Imports ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
On 24 April 2020 United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer notified Congress that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will enter into force 1 July 2020. As a result, the North American Free...more
5/27/2020
/ Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced it is accepting comments on potential Section 301 tariff exclusions for Chinese imports necessary to respond to the coronavirus. USTR is likely to expeditiously...more
3/30/2020
/ China ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exclusions ,
Imports ,
International Harmonization ,
Medical Supplies ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On 15 January 2020, President Donald J. Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a “Phase One” Agreement between the United States and China, a truce halting the escalating trade tensions between the two global trading...more
Congressional appropriations serve as a potent tool to guide administrative actions in commerce and trade
Before departing in the final days of 2019, Congress passed a bipartisan spending package amounting to US$1.4...more
1/7/2020
/ Appropriation ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
CFIUS ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Duty Free ,
Export Controls ,
Exporters ,
Exports ,
Federal Budget ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Stream of Commerce ,
Tariffs ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Negotiations ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Consumer companies on both sides of the Pacific are feeling the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. Targeted by the retaliatory tariffs imposed by both governments and already feeling price pressure as consumer confidence has...more
9/10/2019
/ China ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Following on the heels of U.S. trade negotiators’ return from China, on 1 August, President Trump abruptly announced via Twitter an “additional Tariff of 10 percent on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products...more
8/14/2019
/ China ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On 10 July 2019 the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into France's digital services tax to determine whether the tax is discriminatory...more
On 13 May 2019 China's State Council Tariff Commission announced a tariff exclusion process in which importers of certain U.S. goods subject to retaliatory tariffs can apply for exclusions from Chinese tariffs on a...more
On 20 June 2019 the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the final product exclusion process for List 3 by which U.S. stakeholders can request exclusion of particular Chinese products classified...more
6/25/2019
/ China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exclusion List ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Section 301 ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USTR
Legislation funding the U.S. Government that was signed into law by President Trump on 15 February 2019 includes a provision requiring an exclusion process for articles subject to the third round of tariffs on Chinese...more
On 30 September, after an intensive, last-minute flurry of negotiations, Canada joined the United States and Mexico in a new trilateral agreement to replace the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA 1.0).
...more
10/26/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
The Department of the Interior's (DOI) "critical minerals" list could provide insight into the Trump administration's future national security and trade investigations under the Trade and Expansion Act of 1962. Already the...more
On 15 June 2018 the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the imposition of additional 25 percent tariffs (i.e., a 25 percent tax) on US$34 billion in annual imports from China. The new duties will be effective...more
As potential trade war looms, nearly 1,300 U.S.-imports may be subject to additional 25 percent tariffs under Section 301.
U.S. imports from China potentially subject to additional duties include certain chemicals,...more
4/9/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Foreign Relations ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
U.S. trading partners have begun to signal their plans to consider retaliatory measures in response to President Trump’s Section 232 Investigations on steel imports. In particular, European Union (EU) officials recently...more
7/18/2017
/ Dairy Farmers ,
EU ,
Food Supply ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Wine & Alcohol
On May 18, 2017, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer formally notified Congress of the Trump Administration's intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. The...more
5/26/2017
/ Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Relations ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR
Last week, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum asking Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to expedite an investigation into the effects of steel imports on U.S. national security. The Department of Commerce conducts...more
4/27/2017
/ Buy America ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
National Security ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Remedies ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On June 24, 2016, on behalf of the House Republican Caucus, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R -Wis., and House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R -Tx., proposed sweeping reforms of the U .S. income and corporate taxes. The...more
Completing a process started several years ago, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published new interim rules formalizing the transfer and consolidation of key customs functions from the agency's 328 ports of entry...more