2018

As part of the Trump administration’s continuing efforts under Section 301 to pressure the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to change its intellectual property and forced technology transfer practices, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced in the Federal Register today (1) which PRC products will be subject to a Section 301 25 percent…

Last Friday, the Trump administration released the list of imported products from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that will be subject to an additional 25 percent tariff. The retaliatory tariffs are the result of (1) the U.S. government’s Section 301 investigation and report that assessed the PRC government’s intellectual property and technology transfer practices…

President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un issued a joint statement at the conclusion of their summit in Singapore in which both countries committed to further negotiations and future cooperation for the development of new relations between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In the statement, Trump committed “to provide…

On June 7, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation of Shenzhen, China (ZTE Corporation) and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. of Hi-New Shenzhen, China (ZTE Kangxun) (collectively, ZTE) had agreed to additional penalties and compliance measures to replace Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) denial order imposed as a result of ZTE’s violations of its March 2017 settlement agreement. On April 15, 2018, BIS activated the suspended denial order against ZTE after learning that ZTE had not disciplined numerous employees responsible for the violations that led to the settlement agreement. Instead, ZTE rewarded those employees with bonuses. With the imposition of the denial order by BIS, ZTE announced in early May 2018 that all major operating activities of the company had ceased as a result of the denial order. On May 13, 2018, President Trump, against the advice of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials, announced that “President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”

President Donald Trump signed yesterday two presidential proclamations adjusting imports of aluminum and steel into the United States. In doing so, he stated that measures are now in place to address the impairment to the national security threatened by imports of steel and aluminum from Argentina, Brazil and Australia. South Korea previously reached an agreement with the United States on April 30 to limit its imports of steel. President Trump added, however, that “similar measures are not in place with respect to steel or aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada or the European Union” and that insufficient progress had been made in ongoing negotiations with these countries. He declared that, as of June 1, 2018, the Section 232 tariffs for steel of 25 percent and for aluminum of 10 percent will no longer be suspended for such imports from these countries. The White House indicated that it will continue discussions with them and remains open to discussions with other countries that may lead to permanent country-based exemptions.

Key Notes:

  • On May 23, 2018, the Department of Commerce self initiated a Section 232 national security investigation concerning the imports of automobiles and automotive parts.
  • A formal docket has been opened for the submission of public comments and requests to appear at a public hearing July 19-20, 2018.
  • The Department of Commerce has 270

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President Trump has released a statement setting forth the steps that his administration will undertake in an effort to protect domestic technology and intellectual property from China’s unfair and discriminatory trade practices. These actions are the result of the findings of the U.S. Trade Representative investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of…

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Donald Trump, has initiated an investigation to determine whether imports of automobiles, including SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts into the United States threaten to impair the national security as defined in Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. “There is…

In response to the United States’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, also informally known as the Iran nuclear deal) on May 8, 2018, the European Union (EU) has announced that it will take several actions in an effort to continue the full implementation of the JCPOA and to protect EU businesses.…

Over the weekend, China and the United States continued bilateral trade consultations and announced they had reached a consensus on “taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China.” In a Joint Statement, both countries agreed (1) to increases in U.S. agriculture and energy exports, (2) on the…