On May 3, 2022, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice initiating a statutory four-year review of Section 301 tariffs on imports of certain Chinese products initially implemented by the Trump administration.

In its notice, the USTR is seeking comments from domestic industries benefiting from the two Section 301 tariff actions, which became effective

Key Notes:

  • OFAC implemented blocking and other sanctions against major Russian and Belarusian financial institutions.
  • OFAC implemented blocking and other sanctions against state-owned enterprises, prominent government officials and other persons or entities.
  • OFAC implemented blocking sanctions targeting involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
  • OFAC implemented sanctions related to Russian government debt.
  • The United States

On February 24, 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule, “Implementation of Sanctions Against Russia Under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR),” adding new Russia export license requirements and making licensing policies more stringent. The final rule is effective

Key Notes:

  • Several federal agencies recently released a business advisory emphasizing the heightened risk of doing business in Burma.
  • Four key areas of risk were identified: (1) state-owned enterprises (SOEs); (2) gems and precious metals; (3) real estate and construction projects; and (4) arms, military equipment, and related activities.
  • U.S. businesses with supply chains tied

Key Notes:

  • President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law on December 23, 2021 to continue efforts to prevent the importation into the United States of goods produced in whole or in part with forced labor in China.
  • The Act creates a rebuttable presumption that all goods produced in whole or in

On December 2, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the expansion of sanctions against Belarus in response to the Lukashenka regime’s continued “disregard for international norms.” The actions taken by OFAC pursuant to Executive Orders 14038 and 13405 include 35 new designations to the Specially Designated Nationals and

UPDATE: On December 17, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued the following statement regarding a delay in updating the 2022 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS): 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) understands that the five-year World Customs Organization harmonized tariff schedule update will not take effect January 1, 2022. CBP is

Ransomware attacks have been increasing, forcing many businesses to choose between paying a ransom and losing access to their confidential and proprietary data or information networks and systems.

On September 21, the Department of the Treasury issued an updated advisory that highlights potential sanctions risks for companies that directly make or otherwise facilitate ransomware payments

On September 20, 2021, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) published in the Federal Register amended regulations to improve its administration and enforcement of the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) laws. The AD/CVD laws are intended to provide relief to domestic industries, including businesses, workers, farmers and ranchers, from the injurious effects of unfairly traded

On September 17, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO), “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons with Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia,” targeting persons responsible for the conflict in Ethiopia, obstructing humanitarian access and preventing a ceasefire. The White House issued a statement in connection with the new sanctions indicating