On August 6, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation reimposing the 10% ad valorem tariff on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum products from Canada. Referencing his original Section 232 Proclamation No. 9704 of March 8, 2018 (see Update of March 8, 2018), President Trump stated that imports of this form of
USTR Grants Additional China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for Products on List/Tranche 4A and Immediately Seeks Public Comment on Possible Extensions
On August 6, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 tariffs for imports from China appearing on List4A (products from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion). The exemptions cover one 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheading and nine specially prepared product descriptions,
CIT Orders BIS to Reconsider and Further Explain Its Denial of U.S. Importer’s Section 232 Steel Exclusion Requests
On August 5, 2020, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion remanding the denial of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of a U.S. importer’s requests for exclusion of certain steel articles from Section 232 tariffs of 25 percent. In July 2019, JSW Steel (USA), Inc. (JSW)
USTR Seeks Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 List/Tranche 1 Product Exclusions Set to Expire October 2, 2020
On August 3, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products receiving exclusions from the Section 301 25 percent tariff on imports from China with an annual trade value of $34 billion
OFAC Sanctions Chinese Government Agency and Officials for Human Rights Abuses
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), Sun Jinlong, a former Political Commissar of the XPCC, and Peng Jiarui, the Deputy Party Secretary and Commander of the XPCC, in connection with human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
BIS Publishes Final Rule Suspending EAR License Exceptions for Hong Kong
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has published the final rule in the Federal Register amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to suspend all License Exceptions for Hong Kong that provide preferential treatment as compared to those available for exports to China. This amendment to the EAR implements the announcement
Treasury and State Department Issue Additional Sanctions Against the Regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
On July 29, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of State sanctioned four Syrian individuals and ten entities. The OFAC designations focus on a key supporter of Syrian President Basher al-Assad for “enriching the Syrian regime through construction of luxury real estate” and for actively
U.S. Methionine Producer Files Antidumping Petitions on Imports from France, Japan and Spain
On July 29, 2020, Novus International, Inc. (Novus) filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping duties (ADD) on imports of methionine from France, Japan and Spain. The petition alleges that imports of methionine “more than doubled from 2017 to 2019, increasing by 110.2 percent.
USTR Announces Section 301 Tariff Exclusion Extensions for Certain Imported Chinese Products on List/Tranche 2
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a Federal Register notice granted a limited number of extensions for imported Chinese products appearing on List 2 (goods valued $16 million) previously excluded from the Section 301 tariff. These extensions include certain medical supplies and products necessary to continue to combat the COVID-19 virus. In
Commerce Adds Chinese Companies to Entity List and Implements Licensing Review Process for Certain Items Related to Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Effective July 22, 2020, pursuant to a Federal Register notice, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has placed 11 Chinese entities on the Entity List stating that all “have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor