On May 26, 2020, as required under the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act, the White House released its report, “United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China,” detailing a government-wide strategy concerning the People’s Republic of China (China or PRC). Recognizing that 40 years of direct engagement with China has not
Changing Hong Kong’s Special Trade Status? State Department Refuses to Certify Hong Kong’s Autonomy
Hong Kong currently enjoys special trade status with the United States in comparison to China, as a result of China’s agreement in 1997 to allow Hong Kong continued autonomy in many economic and administrative ways. As recent press articles have indicated, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has increasingly cracked down on the Hong Kong
DOJ Charges 33 Individuals for $2.5B Scheme Violating North Korea Sanctions
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging 28 North Korean and 5 Chinese individuals (“Defendants”) with facilitating more than $2.5 billion in illegal payments for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile program through North Korea’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank (“FTB”). DOJ alleges that the scheme involved “covert branches” of FTB in China, Russia, Libya,
State Department Ends Sanctions Waiver Program on JCPOA-Related Iran Nuclear Projects; OFAC Designates Two Iranian Officials
On May 27, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States was ending the sanctions waiver pertaining to the remaining nuclear projects in Iran covered by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Arak reactor modernization conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and the export
USTR Revokes Two Section 301 Product Exclusions for List/Tranche 4 Products
In a May 28, 2020 Federal Register notice, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), without explanation or precedent, revoked two granted Section 301 product exclusions. In early May 2020, the USTR approved a batch of product exclusions for certain List/Tranche 4 products (imports from China with an annual trade value of $300
USTR Releases Negotiating Objectives for U.S.-Kenya Trade Agreement; ITC Initiates Investigation on Probable Economic Impact on Imports from Kenya
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its summary of specific negotiating objectives for the initiation of U.S.-Kenya trade negotiations. As part of the process of formulating these objectives, the USTR on March 23, 2020, solicited public comments (see Trump and Trade Update of April 13, 2020) and received over
CFIUS Issues Proposed Rule That Would Alter Mandatory Declarations
On May 21, 2020, the Department of the Treasury published in the Federal Register a proposed rule to modify certain regulations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) pursuant to the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). While the CFIUS notification process remains largely a voluntary process with
Commerce Seeks Comments on the Product Exclusion Process for Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
The Department of Commerce has issued a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on (1) the appropriateness of the information its Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) requested and considered in applying the Section 232 exclusion criteria to product exclusion requests, and (2) the efficiency and transparency of the product exclusion process itself. This request
Commerce Requests Public Comment on Section 232 National Security Investigation Concerning Imports of Mobile Cranes
On May 26, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a Federal Register notice seeking public comment, data analyses, and other relevant information concerning the Department of Commerce’s May 6 initiation of a national security investigation into the impact of imports of mobile cranes pursuant to Section 232 of the
Commerce Requests Public Comment on Section 232 National Security Investigation Concerning Imports Related to Electrical Transformers for Bulk-Power System Grid
On May 19, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a Federal Register notice seeking public comment, data analyses, and other relevant information pertaining to Commerce’s May 11 initiation of a national security investigation into imports of certain components for incorporation into transformers, electrical transformers and transformer regulators pursuant to