The implementation of new 25% Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum, and certain derivatives, effective March 12, 2025, which are in addition to any special rate of duty otherwise applicable, are affecting importers globally....more
4/25/2025
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Reciprocity Rules ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On April 16, 2025, the Department of Commerce announced that it initiated an investigation on April 1, 2025, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, into imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment...more
4/17/2025
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Customs ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Imports ,
Investigations ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Section 232 ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
WTO
On April 2, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) imposing global reciprocal tariffs (White House Fact Sheet). The EO drew enough parallels to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that Trump mentioned it in his Rose Garden...more
On February 1, 2025, President Trump issued three executive orders imposing tariffs on nearly all imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. However, on February 3, the President said on social media that the tariffs on Canada...more
2/6/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration
Tariffs remain the focus of the incoming Trump Administration. Over the past several months, the announcements from president-elect Trump and his transition team have been dynamic. We expect the Trump trade policy team to use...more
1/15/2025
/ China ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
In two recent rules, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has begun to take significant steps to monitor, and potentially control access to, U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) technology. AI...more
On October 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of Treasury released a pre-publication version of its final rule containing the outbound investment regulations.
The rule arrives a little over a year after Executive Order 14105,...more
10/31/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
Enforcement ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Outbound Transactions ,
SAFE ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On July 22, 2024, the Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a significant planned extension to its recordkeeping requirements, which will increase the retention period from five to ten...more
In an era where technological prowess and economic security are more entangled than ever, the United States has refined its approach towards restricting outbound investments. As we have been blogging since 2022, the past two...more
6/26/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Investment ,
Notification Requirements ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. State Department has proposed amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to increase the fees required for Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) registration. The ITAR requires persons...more
Last year, we published an update on BIS’s foray into prohibiting EAR99 items for export to Russia and Belarus. We noted (somewhat in jest) that kitchen sinks may one day be added. Well, that day has come. Stainless steel...more
6/21/2024
/ Belarus ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Software ,
Technology Sector
The solar industry is starting to get whiplash. Over the past year in particular, the industry has experienced a whirlwind of regulatory changes making solar tariffs some of the most complex tariffs in all of U.S. importing...more
6/19/2024
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Batteries ,
Cambodia ,
China ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Energy Sector ,
Imports ,
Malaysia ,
Manufacturers ,
Popular ,
Section 201 ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Thailand ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) ,
Vietnam
Effective April 24, the statute of limitations (“SoL”) under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (“TWEA”) has been extended from five to ten years. It would have been...more
On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a package of three rules (the 2023 Rules) targeting the Chinese semiconductor industry. The rules update the substantial semiconductor...more
10/23/2023
/ China ,
Commerce Control List ,
ECCNs ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Semiconductors ,
Software ,
Technology ,
Trade Restrictions
The U.S. antiboycott laws and regulations have been around since the era of disco. In stark contrast to fast-moving sanctions and export controls, we rarely see updates to the antiboycott regulations or enforcement...more
On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) ordering the issuance of outbound investment restrictions. This E.O. comes after nearly a year of anticipation (as we have documented on several occasions...more
8/14/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury
On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) ordering the issuance of outbound investment restrictions. This E.O. comes after nearly a year of anticipation (as we have documented on several occasions...more
8/11/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector
On March 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed guidance clarifying how manufacturers may meet the critical minerals and battery sourcing requirements for the clean...more
7/3/2023
/ Automotive Industry ,
Batteries ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Japan ,
Lithium Batteries ,
South Korea ,
Tax Credits ,
UK ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
On May 16, 2023, President Joseph Biden vetoed the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would have nullified the temporary moratorium on the collection of antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) duties on imports of...more
5/19/2023
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Biden Administration ,
Cambodia ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Imports ,
Malaysia ,
Presidential Veto ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
Tariffs ,
Thailand ,
Vietnam
When can an employer use the “national security exception” under U.S. anti-discrimination law to make a hiring decision based on the national origin of the candidate? An often overlooked area of compliance is how to comply...more
4/27/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Procedures ,
ITAR ,
Required Documentation
The Moving Target -
We have been writing since last July about the proposed outbound investment measures that would review and possibly deny proposed outbound investments from the United States to China. Rumors swirled...more
In response to Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, both the United States and the European Union have imposed additional sanctions and further restricted exports to Russia and Iran. These new controls span many...more
2/28/2023
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Occasionally, on our blog, we allow ourselves to indulge in prognostication. Similarly, and also occasionally, we are wrong. Nevertheless, we hope to distinguish ourselves by our candor and admit our misses....more
1/19/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Batteries ,
Biotechnology ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Executive Orders ,
Investment ,
Investment Controls ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology
As we close out a wild year for international trade regulation, after hearing much talk about outbound investment review mechanisms, we may see a final dramatic change before the ball drops...more
12/21/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Relations ,
International Trade ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Technology ,
U.S. Treasury
On November 15, 2022, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) opened its docket (USTR-2022-0014) seeking public comments in its review of Lists 1 and 2 of the Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports. The tariffs were...more
11/18/2022
/ China ,
Modification ,
Public Comment ,
Questionnaires ,
Small Business ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USTR ,
Wages