2018

The Department of Commerce has released information setting forth the process for how parties in the United States may submit requests for product-based exclusions from tariffs implemented by President Trump under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to protect national security from threats resulting from imports of aluminum and steel, as previously…

The European Union (EU) has published a list of U.S. products it might target in retaliation if President Trump moves forward with tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the Section 232 investigations. The list is divided into two categories:

  • Part A is a list of U.S. products that face immediate retaliation if the

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned five entities and 19 individuals it has identified as engaging in Russian cyber activity, including “attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Treasury Department indicated that these sanctions were…

President Trump has signed two proclamations imposing 25 percent tariffs on imports of steel mill products and 10 percent tariffs on wrought and unwrought aluminum pursuant to his announcement on March 1, 2018. The president stated that these actions were necessary to address global overcapacity and unfair trade practices in the steel and aluminum…

In the category of “we can’t make this stuff up,” there reportedly has been in the past 24 hours an all-out war within the Trump administration over any tariffs to be implemented as a result of the Section 232 investigations into steel and aluminum imports. On February 16, the Department of Commerce publicly released reports…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released the Trump administration’s Trade Policy Agenda and Annual Report detailing how the administration “is promoting free, fair, and reciprocal trade and strongly enforcing U.S. trade laws.” USTR Robert Lighthizer, in releasing the report, stated that, “President Trump has launched a new era in American trade policy.…

In wide-ranging remarks during a business session with U.S. governors, President Trump yesterday repeatedly broached the topic of international trade. The president reiterated his commitment to working on fair and reciprocal trade deals and highlighted specific trade issues:

  • Mexico – “You know, with Mexico … we probably lose $130 billion a year…. And, at some

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In an undated memo from the Department of Defense (DoD) to the Department of Commerce that was released last night, DoD concurred with Commerce’s recent Section 232 reports on steel and aluminum that have been submitted to President Trump for review. DoD agreed that “imports of foreign steel and aluminum based on unfair trading practices…

Twenty-five Republican senators authored a letter to President Trump encouraging his administration to re-engage in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement discussions, which he abandoned shortly after taking office in January 2017. Despite the withdrawal of the United States from TPP negotiations, the remaining 11 countries continued negotiating the newly approved Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement…

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has sanctioned 21 entities determined by the U.S. government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. BIS has taken this action to ensure the efficacy of existing sanctions on the Russian Federation (Russia) for violating international…