February 2020

In a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit),  a three-judge panel has upheld a lower court’s ruling that Congress’s delegation of authority over trade does not violate the Constitution. This ruling is the result of a complaint filed in June 2018 by several steel-related trade groups alleging that…

On February 27, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum declining to impose Section 232 tariffs on imports of titanium sponge. While concurring with the findings of the Department of Commerce’s Section 232 report that imports of titanium sponge threaten to impair national security, the president declined to take action in the form of…

There are growing concerns that the recent outbreak of a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV­-2, which causes “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated as COVID-19), will have a serious negative impact on the global economy. U.S. businesses who depend on Chinese suppliers may soon be facing product shortages and supply chain disruptions. This client update (i) addresses whether U.S.…

Huttig Building Products, Inc. (Huttig) has become the latest U.S. importer to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s recent Section 232 tariffs on certain steel and aluminum derivative products. In a complaint filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), Huttig argues that the president’s January 24, 2020 Proclamation imposing a 25…

On February 24, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice announcing amendments to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that revise export licensing policy toward the Russian Federation and Yemen based on national security and foreign policy concerns. Under the EAR, BIS has established various “Country Group”…

For only the fourth time, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published a Federal Register notice announcing Section 301 tariff exclusions for certain imported Chinese products appearing on List 2. These products have been subject to Section 301 tariffs since August 23, 2018, when President Donald Trump announced additional import duties on…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published a Federal Register notice announcing 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…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced in a forthcoming Federal Register notice that the United States will increase the tariffs imposed on aircraft imported from the European Union (EU) from 10% to 15% on March 18, 2020. These tariffs resulted from an October 2019 ruling by a World Trade Organization (WTO)…

In a February 13, 2020 letter to President Donald Trump, members of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of Congressional Democrats generally supportive of free trade, demanded that the final Section 232 report on automobiles and auto parts submitted to the president in February 2019 be released. Referencing provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act…

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a Federal Register notice renewing the temporary general license for Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates on the Entity List until April 1, 2020. As published on May 22, 2019, this temporary general license authorizes certain activities, including those…