March 2021

On March 26, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it will hold a virtual forum on April 8, 2021 to allow the public to address policy objectives and concerns over President Joseph Biden’s Executive Order 14017, which seeks to address the need for resilient, diverse and secure…

On March 26, 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued several Federal Register notices concerning the ongoing Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted or under consideration by 10 U.S. trading partners. For six countries, the investigations will continue and the USTR is seeking public comment on possible trade actions.…

On March 22, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Chinese government officials for “serious human rights abuses” against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In a brief press statement, the Director of OFAC stated, “Chinese authorities will continue to face consequences as long…

Note: This previously published client update has been revised to provide links to the official notices published by the Departments of Commerce and State on March 18, 2021.

On March 2, 2021, the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury imposed sanctions and export restrictions on numerous Russian officials and government entities in response to…

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has indicated that CBP intends to add forced labor to its list of priority trade issues. The COAC issued draft recommendations on how to “ensure a more holistic U.S. government-wide approach to addressing forced labor.” The COAC Forced Labor Working Group…

On March 12, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction which prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD)  from enforcing its January 2021 designation of Xiaomi Corporation (Xiaomi) of China as a Communist Chinese Military Company (CCMC) pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13959 and Section 1237 of the National…

On March, 11, 2021, the U.S. government, the defendant in the ongoing U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) China tariff refund litigation filed its master answer and anticipated affirmative defenses in response to the thousands of complaints challenging the legality of the additional duties implemented on certain imports from China pursuant to Section 301 of…

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice seeking public comment on the risks in the semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging supply chains. This request is a direct result of President Joseph Biden’s recent Executive Order 14017 and the need for resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains for critical…

On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion dismissing all claims by Thyssenkrupp Materials NA Inc. (Thyssenkrupp) challenging the constitutionality of the federal government’s administration of Section 232 aluminum and steel duties under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The CIT addressed whether the modified process created by the…