On August 24, 2020, TikTok Inc. and its Chinese parent, ByteDance, Ltd., filed suit in the Central District of California against President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and the U.S. Department of Commerce, in an effort to prevent the government from banning its video-sharing mobile application pursuant to the Executive Order issued
Commerce and Treasury Departments Sanction Entities Supporting Iran’s Mahan Air
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against several persons and entities determined to be supporting Iran’s Mahan Air in violation of U.S. sanctions toward Iran. According to both agencies, the involved companies have provided key parts and logistics services
ITC Section 332 Investigation Seeks Public Comment on COVID-19 Related Industry Sectors and Products
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced on August 21, 2020 that it has initiated a Section 332 general factfinding investigation on COVID-19 related industry sectors and particular products. The investigation, COVID-19 Related Goods: The U.S. Industry, Market, Trade, and Supply Chain Challenges, was requested by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways
Treasury and State Departments Continue to Tighten Sanctions Against Syrian President Basher al-Assad’s Regime
On August 20, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of State sanctioned six Syrian individuals in President Basher al-Assad’s office and the Syrian Ba’ath Party who have contributed to the oppression of the Assad regime. The sanctioned individuals are: (1) President al-Assad’s media adviser, Luna al
United States and the European Union Agree to Certain Tariff Reductions
On August 21, 2020, the United States and the European Union (EU) agreed to tariff reductions on several products unrelated to ongoing trade disputes involving Section 232 national security tariffs on aluminum and steel products and retaliatory tariffs under the WTO dispute involving large commercial aircraft. In a Joint Statement issued by the Office of
USTR Retroactively Excludes Two Additional Chinese Products from Section 301 Tariffs and Amends Other Product Exclusion Descriptions
On August 21, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 import tariffs for two additional List/Tranche 3 products from China (import from China with an annual trade value of $200 billion):
- Wallets, whether or not with wrist straps, of reinforced plastics, each measuring at least 17.5
Commerce Adds Further Huawei Affiliates to Entity List and Tightens Huawei-Related Direct Product Rule
On August 17, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice and Final Rule taking several actions directly impacting Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) and its non-U.S. affiliates. Importantly, after issuing and extending a temporary general license since May 2019, BIS removed that license and replaced it
President Trump Orders Chinese Company ByteDance to Divest Its Holdings in TikTok (formerly Musical.ly)
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