President Trump’s Day 1 presidential memorandum directs a top-to-bottom review of U.S. trade and economic policy and requests that his Administration provide policy recommendations with respect to: the U.S. trade deficit and...more
1/28/2025
/ China ,
Export Controls ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
USTR
On 14 July, the same day the president signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (the act), President Trump issued the Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (the EO) directing federal agencies to impose a range of trade...more
On 27 May 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo certified to Congress that the State Department no longer considers Hong Kong to have significant autonomy from China and therefore "Hong Kong does not continue to warrant...more
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
A deeper dive into the president's FY2021 budget request for the U.S. Department of Commerce reveals new initiatives aimed at safeguarding technology.
- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)...more
2/28/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Export Controls ,
NIST ,
NTIA ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) is noteworthy for its novel “facility specific rapid response labor mechanism” (the Rapid Response Mechanism or Mechanism). The Mechanism permits the United States or...more
2/11/2020
/ Canada ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Rights ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Mexico ,
NLRB ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
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
On 14 October, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13894, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria (EO).
...more
10/18/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Unauthorized Transactions
On 4 September 2019 the U.S. State Department issued "Draft 'U.S. Government Guidance for the Export of Hardware, Software and Technology with Surveillance Capabilities and/or parts/know-how'" (draft guidance).
...more
9/12/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Big Data ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Draft Guidance ,
Drones ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Human Rights ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Social Media ,
Software Developers ,
Spyware ,
Surveillance ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments
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
The ongoing U.S.—China trade conflict touches industries from agriculture to manufacturing and products from automobiles to seafood, with the U.S. and China imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods.
In...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
The ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict touches industries from agriculture to manufacturing and products from automobiles to seafood, with the United States and China imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of...more
President Trump's Memorandum on Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods (memorandum) commissions a report, due 30 October 2019, requiring the collection and analysis of information as well as preparation of...more
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
Congress has moved closer to expanding the jurisdiction and powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the U.S. interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign...more
8/2/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Passive Activity ,
Pending Legislation ,
Trump Administration
Driven by concerns of China’s acquisition of advanced U.S. technologies, the U.S. Congress is set to enact the most significant reform to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in over a decade....more
6/29/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Passive Investments ,
Pending Legislation ,
Trump Administration
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
On June 7, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said publicly that Congress should pass legislation to amend the authorizing statute for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Government...more