On August 14, 2020, after an extensive review and unanimous recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order directing that the already completed transaction that resulted in the acquisition of Musical.ly, now known as TikTok, by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. be unwound. The
USTR Makes Minor Revisions to List of EU Goods Subject to WTO Retaliatory Tariffs in Ongoing Dispute Over Large Civil Aircraft Subsidies
On August 12, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released an updated list of goods from the European Union (EU) that will continue to be subject to retaliatory tariffs as part of the dispute settlement at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Airbus subsidies. In June 2020, USTR sought public comment on
Federal Trade Commission Seeks Comment on “Made in USA” Labeling
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comment on the “Made in USA” claim and other unqualified U.S.-origin claims on product labels. The FTC’s statutory authority allows it to pursue enforcement actions to prevent unfair and deceptive “Made in USA” and other U.S.-origin claims. According to the
CBP Issues Notice on Country of Origin Marking for Hong Kong Products
In response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization that suspended the application of preferential trade status for Hong Kong (see Update of July 16, 2020), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Federal Register notice on August 11, 2020, that changed the country of origin marking requirements for
U.S. Sanctions Hong Kong Officials for Undermining Hong Kong’s Autonomy; China Quickly Retaliates
On August 7, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 11 individuals for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of the citizens of Hong Kong. These actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13936, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” (
U.S. International Trade Commission Releases Final Report on Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Petitions
On August 10, 2020, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released its final report on miscellaneous tariff bill petitions it received under the 2016 American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act (AMCA).
As required by the AMCA, the USITC submitted the report to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and the U.S. Senate Committee
Canada Announces Intent to Retaliate Against U.S. Reimposition of Section 232 Tariffs on Canadian Aluminum Products
As promised by Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Department of Finance issued a notice of its intent to impose countermeasures to President Donald Trump’s reimposition of 10% Section 232 national security tariffs on imports of certain Canadian aluminum products. See Update of August 7, 2020. The products subject to countermeasures will be
FEMA Extends and Revises Export Restrictions on Personal Protective Equipment
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) has issued a Federal Register notice extending and modifying the temporary final rule (“Rule”) establishing export restrictions on certain types of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) products and respirators (“Covered Products”) used in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (For more information on the April
President Trump Issues Executive Orders Prohibiting Transactions Related to TikTok and WeChat
On August 6, 2020, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders which will ban certain transactions with China-based mobile applications TikTok and WeChat. Both orders note that additional steps must be taken to deal with the national emergency with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873
USTR Grants Only 266 Product Exclusion Extensions for China Section 301 List/Tranche 3 Products – Over 700 Product Exclusions to Expire on August 7, 2020
On August 6, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice announcing that for the nearly 1,000 exclusions it has granted to date for imported products from China appearing on Section 301 List 3 (Chinese goods with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion), it will only grant