On April 23, 2020, the Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) announced certain measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on U.S. companies and supply chains overseas. Key measures from the announcement are summarized below.
Compliance/Registration
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 tariffs for certain List 3 (imports from China with an annual trade value of $200 billion) products. The exemptions cover one 10-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) subheading and 107 specially-prepared product descriptions, which combined cover 157 separately submitted
On April 17, 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) filed a notification of exemptions (the “Exemptions”) that identifies 10 exemptions from the temporary final rule published on April 10, 2020 (the “Rule”), which restricts the export from the United States of certain personal protective equipment (PPE) and respirators in the response to the COVID-19
On April 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order in an effort to support U.S. businesses that have faced significant financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic response by allowing deferment of duty payments. The order gives the Treasury Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the flexibility to allow for a
On March 17, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) notified Congress of its intent to negotiate a trade agreement with the Republic of Kenya (see Trump and Trade Update of March 18, 2020) and shortly thereafter solicited public comments and announced a public hearing on the proposed United States-Kenya trade agreement.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has published amendments in the Federal Register to the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. 510.101-.901 (NKSR), which became effective April 10, 2020. The new amendments incorporate into the NKSR certain provisions of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016
Despite a tightening of economic sanctions on Venezuela under President Donald Trump, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) occasionally issues General Licenses clarifying, authorizing or exempting certain U.S. activities involving the Venezuelan government or entities directly and indirectly affiliated with Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (PdVSA). Starting in January 2019, President
In addition to its role in enforcing U.S. export control laws, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is charged with administering and enforcing the antiboycott laws under the Export Administration Act. These antiboycott laws were adopted to encourage and, in some circumstances, require U.S. companies to refuse to participate in foreign
On February 13, 2020, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) fully implemented the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) (see Trump and Trade Update of January 22, 2020). Under FIRRMA, CFIUS was granted additional authority to review certain real estate transactions involving foreign persons when the public or
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), after seeking comments on whether to extend for another year certain product exclusions it granted in April 2019 (see Trump and Trade Update of February 5, 2020), has granted eight extensions covering the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and product descriptions: