2020

China’s Ministry of Finance has announced that retaliatory tariffs it implemented on a range of U.S. goods in response to the U.S. government’s Section 301 tariffs will be reduced February 14, 2020 on certain products from 10 percent to 5 percent, and on others from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. China first implemented these retaliatory…

On February 6, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States was initiating free trade agreement negotiations with the Republic of Kenya. The announcement came shortly after President Donald Trump met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and after the third meeting of the U.S.-Kenya Trade and Investment Working Group,…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on the possible extension of Section 301 tariff exclusions for certain products that it granted on April 18, 2019, in the ongoing trade dispute with China. These exclusions were in the third batch of exclusions granted as part…

In his State of the Union address to Congress last night, President Donald Trump spoke of the “great American comeback” and claimed that “[t]he years of economic decay are over.  The days of our country being used, taken advantage of, and even scorned by other nations are long behind us.” His prepared speech focused briefly…

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 Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned eight individuals and one entity in response to Russia’s continued aggression toward Ukraine and attempted occupation of Crimea, which the United States continues to view as an illegitimate annexation since it occurred in 2014. OFAC has designated and placed on the Specially…

On January 29, 2019, President Donald Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and in remarks at the White House stated that the agreement is “the largest, fairest, most balanced, and modern trade agreement ever achieved.” He added that the agreement is “a colossal victory for our farmers, ranchers, energy workers, factory workers, and American…

On January 24, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation directing the Department of Commerce to adjust the tariff rate on imports of derivative steel and aluminum products into the United States. In earlier proclamations (see Trump and Trade Update of March 8, 2018), the president directed Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to…

In a Memorandum Opinion for the Deputy Counsel to President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (DOJ) determined that “the President may direct the Secretary of Commerce not to publish a confidential report to the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, notwithstanding a recently enacted statute…

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has published its final regulations to fully implement the updated national security review process of foreign direct investments in the United States as set forth in the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA). This law made various amendments to the CFIUS review process, including…