Postal and de minims imports are ground zero for e-commerce, drug interdiction, customs duty evasion, and the geopolitical tensions between the United States and China. This type of international traffic lies squarely at the...more
Today the White House released written details for its modification of the “Reciprocal Tariff” program originally announced on April 2, 2025. This most recent Executive Order (the “E.O.”) issued on April 10, 2025, provides...more
4/11/2025
/ China ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Executive Orders ,
Hong Kong ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
This article was originally published on April 3, 2025. On April 8, 2025 the White House published a new Executive Order announcing an increase of the reciprocal duties applicable to China as of April 9, 2025, and an increase...more
4/10/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
President Trump has declared a national emergency due to the economic and national security risks posed by trade deficits. In response to this emergency, the President invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act...more
4/4/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
This article was originally published shortly after the election on November 26, 2024. It has been updated to reflect updates from U.S. Presidential Actions and foreign trade partner countermeasures taken after President...more
3/19/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Domestic U.S. shipping interests are closely monitoring a United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) proposal for import and export trades involving Chinese vessels. The proposal’s extraordinary service fees and restrictions...more
3/18/2025
/ China ,
Comment Period ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Fees ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Maritime Transport ,
National Security ,
NVOCCs ,
Section 301 ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
USTR ,
Vessels
Geopolitical risk is emerging as one of the greatest challenges facing domestic and international business today. It has risen from a boardroom issue to one drawing the awareness and attention of both personnel and the...more
3/10/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Geopolitical Risks ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
The White House issued two recent Executive Orders and Fact Sheets directing the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) to initiate investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (each a “Section 232...more
3/5/2025
/ China ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Investigations ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Section 232 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
This article was originally published shortly after the election on November 26, 2024. It has been updated to reflect updates from Presidential Actions taken after President Trump took office. ...more
2/21/2025
/ America First Trade Policy ,
Canada ,
China ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
Popular ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
This article was originally published on February 2, 2025, and has been updated to reflect four additional Executive Orders released on February 3, 2025.
United States supply chains now have a degree of clarity following...more
2/4/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
Retaliation ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Wars ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
Higher tariffs are coming for some domestic importers even before President-Elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025. Our team has been reporting throughout the year on the Biden Administration’s recent use of the...more
President-Elect Trump campaigned on the promise to increase tariffs on imports to the United States. Shortly after the election he announced significant tariffs on goods from the three largest trading partners: China, Mexico,...more
11/27/2024
/ Canada ,
China ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Mexico ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trade Relations ,
Trading with the Enemy Act ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
Duty-free imports of low-value goods under the Section 321 program will soon face significant restrictions under rulemaking signaled by the Biden Administration. ...more
9/23/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Duty Free ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
NPRM ,
Section 321 ,
Supply Chain ,
Textiles ,
US Trade Policies
The importing community received long-awaited clarity in plans for new Section 301 customs duties on Chinese goods this last Friday, September 13. The Office of the US Trade Representative ("USTR") released the final text of...more
9/17/2024
/ China ,
Effective Date ,
Federal Register ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
We are seeing a steady increase in client imports being detained at port by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on grounds of alleged forced labor in the supply chain....more
7/12/2024
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Entity List ,
Forced Labor ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Human Rights ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
The path forward for new tariffs on imports to the United States from China is now emerging. This week the United States Trade Representative (USTR) requested comment on proposed Section 301 tariff modifications and...more
New Section 301 tariffs on imports from China were announced by the Biden Administration on May 14, 2024. The White House circulated a fact sheet directing the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") to exercise tariffs...more
5/17/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Imports ,
Section 301 ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
The public will soon have an opportunity to offer comment on the Section 301 duties that were imposed on imports from China under the prior Administration. Recently the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”)...more
Valuable tariff relief is now available for goods imported to the U.S. from China. On March 23, 2022 the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) published Federal Register Notice 87 FR 17380 retroactively reinstating certain U.S....more
We previously alerted domestic importers on the option of litigating to recover List 4A duties, and that bulletin is available here. At the time one year ago domestic industry had taken note of a lawsuit before the Court of...more
On October 17, 2020, the Export Control Law of the People’s Republic of China (“EC Law”) was finally promulgated after three rounds of deliberation by the 13th National People’s Congress. The new EC Law will take effect on...more
A flurry of activity recently consumed domestic industry and law firms, including Benesch, as domestic importers sought to maximize the potential for relief from the Section 301 duties against Chinese goods, while staring...more
Thirty days remain to file exclusion requests for List 3 of the Section 301 tariffs on products imported from China. The official deadline for electronic submission of exclusion requests is September 30, 2019....more
8/30/2019
/ China ,
Electronic Filing ,
Exclusion List ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
The INCOTERMS published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have long served the international community by offering a “shorthand” for communicating key shipping terms. INCOTERMS are so ubiquitous in international...more
11/20/2018
/ Buyers ,
China ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Duties ,
Imports ,
International Freight ,
Manufacturers ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Section 301 ,
Sellers ,
Shipping ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Contracts ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies