2019

At the direction of President Donald Trump and due to recent progress in trade negotiations with China, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the Section 301 duty rate for certain products imported from China “will remain at 10 percent until further notice.” The announcement will be formally published in the Federal…

On November 30, 2018, the United States, Mexico and Canada officially signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a proposed free trade agreement that, if approved by Congress and ratified by the governments of Canada and Mexico, would revise and modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Known as “NAFTA 2.0” during the trilateral negotiations,…

On February 27, 2019, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), testified before the House Ways & Means Committee on U.S.-China trade relations. In his brief opening statement, the ambassador stated that the United States “can compete with anyone in the world but we must have rules – enforced rules – that make sure…

President Donald Trump announced via Twitter on Sunday, February 24, 2019, that he will be postponing the scheduled March 2, 2019, increase in Section 301 tariffs from 10 to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese products due to “substantial progress” in ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries. While the postponement is…

On February 20, 2019, Vulcan Steel Products Inc. (Vulcan) filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping duties (ADD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on imports of carbon and alloy steel threaded rod (CASTR) from the People’s Republic of China, India, Taiwan and Thailand. According…

On February 19, 2019, the Coalition for Acetone Fair Trade (Coalition) filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping duties (ADD) on imports of acetone from Belgium, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and Spain. The Coalition consists of U.S. acetone producers AdvanSix Inc.,…

On February 15, 2019, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Act) that fully funds the government for the remainder of the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2019. With Congress and the president agreeing on these appropriations, a second partial government shutdown was averted. Included in the Act is a provision authorizing additional…

Key Notes:

  • President Trump’s recent executive order merely “encourages” use of goods, products and materials produced in the United States, rather than requires such use.
  • Financial assistance programs are targeted.
  • Each agency administering covered programs is required to respond to the president by May 31, 2019 on areas where Buy American principles can be maximized.

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On February 1, 2019, the American Institute of Steel Construction, LLC (AISC) filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping duties (ADD) and countervailing (CVD) duties on imports of fabricated structural steel (FSS) products from Canada, Mexico and the People’s Republic of China. FSS…

In his second State of the Union address to Congress, President Donald Trump noted that he campaigned on several core promises, including “to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers.” He argued that his administration has “moved with urgency and historic speed to confront problems neglected by leaders of both parties over…