2020

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced on June 15, 2020 that it is issuing a new rule to allow persons to share certain U.S. technology with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”) in connection with standards development in a standards setting body, despite Huawei’s designation to the Entity List.   Commerce…

On June 8, 2020, the State Department announced sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its Shanghai-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd (E-Sail) pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferators and supporters.  In a press statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that,…

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has released a statement indicating that is it extending the deadline for filing public comments until July 3, 2020 for the Section 232 investigation into imports of certain electrical steel components for incorporation into transformers, electrical transformers and transformer regulators. The initial comment period was…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice excluding certain List/Tranche 4 products (imports from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion) from Section 301 tariffs of 10 percent. The exemptions cover two 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and 32 specially-prepared product descriptions, which cover 55…

In collaboration with our foreign law firm partners, we continue to update our chart of COVID-19 measures taken by governments around the world. The government measures in the chart include economic, labor and employment, health and safety, and export and import measures.

View/download the Country Guide: Government Measures in Response to COVID-19

Today’s update includes…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued four new Frequently Asked Questions​​ (FAQs) related to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, “Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran.”  The FAQs address the manufacture of medicines, medical equipment and sanitation products in Iran, the scope of sectors targeted…

On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued new regulations under 31 CFR Part 569 to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13894 issued by President Trump on October 14, 2019.  The President issued E.O. 13894 in response to the situation in and around Syria, in particular, the military…

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has announced it will begin investigations under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act into digital services taxes that have been adopted or are being considered by Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. According to the…

On July 1, 2020, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This trilateral free trade agreement will affect many facets of the North American economy.

Please join us weekly for our four-part virtual roundtable series as we help you navigate the USMCA provisions affecting companies and understand the…