On August 16, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) once again issued an order revising certain deadlines originally established in its July 6 decision and order granting the plaintiff group’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation involving imports of certain Chinese products. The preliminary injunction suspended
OFAC and BIS Issue “Fact Sheet: Supporting the Cuban People’s Right to Seek, Receive, and Impart Information through Safe and Secure Access to the Internet”
On August 11, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a fact sheet noting existing exemptions and authorizations available for companies, individuals and exporters to provide telecommunications-related goods and services to Cuba. The fact sheet lists OFAC general licenses
TikTok and WeChat “National Security” Cases Are Dismissed
In February 2021, President Joseph Biden’s administration sought a pause in ongoing litigation involving Chinese mobile applications TikTok and WeChat in order to evaluate the record and determine whether there was an actual national security threat as previously determined by former President Donald Trump. On June 9, 2021, President Biden issued a new executive order
CBP Releases FAQs on the Scope of the Recent WRO Related to Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued five Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) relating to its June 23, 2021 Withhold Release Order (WRO) requiring U.S. ports to detain shipments of silica-based products and materials as well as goods derived from those products manufactured by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries (“Hoshine”). Hoshine operates
Plaintiffs File Cross-Motion for Judgment on Agency Record and Response to Government’s Motion to Dismiss in the China Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
On August 2, 2021, the plaintiff group in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) filed a Cross-Motion for Judgment on the Agency Record and a Response to the Government’s Motion to Dismiss. In seeking judgment and asking that the government defendants’ motion be denied, the
Commerce Releases Uranium Section 232 National Security Report
Two years after former President Donald Trump announced that he would decline to take any further action on uranium imports despite a finding that uranium was being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States (see Update of
Commerce Releases Electrical Transformers Section 232 National Security Report
On May 4, 2020, former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of a Section 232 investigation into whether certain transformer components used in electrical power grids are imported in quantities that threaten national security. See SmarTrade Update of May 11, 2020. The investigation focused on transformers and transformer components (i.e.,
Commerce Releases Vanadium Section 232 National Security Report
On June 2, 2020, former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of a Section 232 investigation into whether the quantities or circumstances of imports of vanadium into the United States threaten to impair U.S. national security. This investigation was the result of a petition filed by U.S. producers AMG Vanadium LLC (Cambridge, Ohio)
CIT Again Adjusts Deadlines in Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
On August 2, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) held a status conference and issued its second order revising certain deadlines originally established in its July 6 decision and order granting the plaintiff group’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation involving imports of certain Chinese products.
Commerce Releases Titanium Sponge Section 232 National Security Report
Nearly a year and a half after former President Donald Trump declined to impose Section 232 tariffs on imports of titanium sponge (see Update of February 28, 2020), the Department of Commerce has released its full public report on the investigation, which found that these imports indeed threatened to impair the national security