2019

While no formal notice has been published by the Department of Commerce yet, President Donald Trump tweeted today that Section 232 tariffs will be re-imposed on imports of steel and aluminum products from Argentina and Brazil. In an early morning tweet, the president announced that “Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced additional Section 301 tariff exclusions for certain imported Chinese products appearing on List 3. These products have been subject to Section 301 tariffs since September 24, 2018, when President Donald Trump announced additional import duties on Chinese goods with an annual trade value of approximately…

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency committee headed by the Department of the Treasury, is authorized to review transactions that could result in the control of U.S. businesses by foreign persons or companies in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United…

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced this week that it will again extend the temporary general license it issued in May 2019 (see Trump and Trade Update of May 21, 2019 and August 19, 2019) that partially continued the availability of exports under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for …

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced today more Section 301 tariff exclusions for certain imported Chinese products appearing on List 3. These products have been subject to Section 301 tariffs since September 24, 2018. The USTR determined that two 10-digit subheadings will be excluded in their entirety:

  • 8409.91.3000: Parts suitable for use

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On the 40th anniversary of the Iranian takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the hostage-taking of more than 50 U.S. diplomats and officials, the United States announced November 4, 2019, a further tightening of sanctions on Iran. In its statement supporting these sanctions, the White House explained, “The Iranian regime continues to…

On November 1, the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a decision arising from a longstanding dispute between the United States and China concerning certain methodologies used by the United States in anti-dumping (AD) proceedings involving imports of Chinese products. In this dispute, China argued that certain methodologies used by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce)…

In an October 28, 2019 memorandum for Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General (IG) issued a “management alert” over concerns about the “lack of transparency that contributes to the appearance of improper influence in decision-making” for the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion process. While not requesting…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it is seeking public comment on its consideration of extending certain product exclusions it granted in December 2018 in the ongoing trade dispute with China [update: USTR Federal Register notice of October 31, 2019]. These exclusions were part of the first round of…

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced a new “humanitarian mechanism” to ensure transparency in humanitarian trade with Iran. According to OFAC, this mechanism “will help the international community perform enhanced due diligence on humanitarian trade to ensure that funds associated with permissible trade in support of the Iranian…