On March 12, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received a petition from various labor unions addressing China's policies concerning critical maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. The petition seeks relief from alleged unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 - the same statute that has been used to address other unfair trade allegations resulting in the current special tariffs assessed against China.
On December 26, 2023, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) extended 429 total Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese goods.
On October 4, 2023, the US Aluminum Extruders Coalition and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (collectively, the "Petitioners") filed an antidumping ("AD") and countervailing ("CVD") duty petition before the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) concerning aluminum extrusions and merchandise produced from aluminum extrusions.
On May 19, 2023, the United States introduced a number of expanded sanctions and export controls on Russia and Belarus. These sanctions were imposed following the G7 Leaders’ Summit meeting conducted the prior week in Japan, and were coordinated with similar measures imposed by the other G7 countries and with Australia in an effort to further curtail the development of Russia’s military and industrial sectors in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In this advisory, we focus on the new sanctions and export controls that were imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”).
The Court of International Trade (CIT) issued its decision in the lead case challenging the imposition of List 3 / 4A Section 301 China tariffs. In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT Docket No. 21-00052. The CIT ruled that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had the authority to impose List 3 & 4A tariffs while in direct response to China imposing retaliatory tariffs. A copy of the decision can be accessed here.
CBP has postponed the January 14, 2017 migration of all reconciliation entry transmissions to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). CBP made the announcement after receiving considerable feedback concerning the complexity of this transition, as well as the impact to other programs slated for ACE deployment. The agency is expected to provide a new effective date for the reconciliation transition to ACE in the near future.
On October 14, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will start accepting petitions from companies seeking duty reductions or suspensions under the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB). The MTB provides temporary relief from ordinary import duties on goods that are not produced domestically to improve the competitiveness of U.S. companies. U.S. importers interested in having one or more of its products potentially included in the MTB will have a limited window of time to file a petition.
On August 22, 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published long-awaited interim regulations implementing the procedures for conducting investigations of alleged antidumping (AD) or countervailing duty (CVD) evasion. These new investigatory procedures were enacted to address ongoing concerns by U.S. producers that AD/CVD duties have been illegally avoided.
The complicated relationship between the U.S. and Iran continued to evolve after a flurry of events over this past weekend. The U.S. lifted sanctions on targeted sectors of the Iranian market as part of implementing a key part of a multi-lateral agreement concerning Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, while new sanctions were imposed on persons and entities involved in ballistic missile testing from last December. The sanctions relief opens up a new potential market for billions of dollars in trade, but also presents a reminder to those looking to do business in Iran that vigilance over the complex web of sanctions and export controls is essential.
The U.S. and 11 partner nations have reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The agreement will lower trade barriers and set commercial rules for the participants, which make up 40% of the global economy.
The U.S. Trade Representative and international counterparts concluded negotiations on Monday over several contentious issues, including the opening of U.S. agricultural markets in Japan and Canada, and the tightening of intellectual property rules for pharmaceuticals and technology.
