On April 8, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule adding seven Chinese supercomputing entities to the Entity List for “conducting activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States” due to their support of China’s military modernization and “other
Section 301 Investigations
CIT Issues Latest Procedural Orders in China Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
On March 31, 2021, the three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) assigned to the litigation involving the potential refund of Section 301 tariffs on certain imports from China issued its fourth procedural order in the proceeding. In the order, the CIT: (1) accepted the first-filed case as the sample case for…
USTR Releases 2021 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers that addresses the status of foreign trade and investment barriers to U.S. exports worldwide. This is the U.S. government’s major annual report on the barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services, investment and electronic…
USTR Announces Further Action in Section 301 Digital Services Taxes Investigations
On March 26, 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued several Federal Register notices concerning the ongoing Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted or under consideration by 10 U.S. trading partners. For six countries, the investigations will continue and the USTR is seeking public comment on possible trade actions.…
OFAC Sanctions Additional Chinese Officials for Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang
On March 22, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Chinese government officials for “serious human rights abuses” against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In a brief press statement, the Director of OFAC stated, “Chinese authorities will continue to face consequences as long…
CBP’s Advisory Committee Issues Recommendations on Forced Labor as Priority Trade Issue
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has indicated that CBP intends to add forced labor to its list of priority trade issues. The COAC issued draft recommendations on how to “ensure a more holistic U.S. government-wide approach to addressing forced labor.” The COAC Forced Labor Working Group…
State Department Issues Second Hong Kong Autonomy Report
On March 16, 2021, the State Department identified 24 additional persons it determined are contributing to “the failure of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to meet its obligations under the Sino – British Joint Declaration … or Hong Kong’s Basic Law” and, as a result, the Department of the Treasury has sanctioned these persons.…
Company Designated as a Communist Chinese Military Company Obtains Court Injunction on Investment Ban
On March 12, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction which prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from enforcing its January 2021 designation of Xiaomi Corporation (Xiaomi) of China as a Communist Chinese Military Company (CCMC) pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13959 and Section 1237 of the National…
U.S. Government Answers Complaints in CIT China Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
On March, 11, 2021, the U.S. government, the defendant in the ongoing U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) China tariff refund litigation filed its master answer and anticipated affirmative defenses in response to the thousands of complaints challenging the legality of the additional duties implemented on certain imports from China pursuant to Section 301 of…
CIT Dismisses Case Challenging Constitutionality of Section 232 Tariffs
On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion dismissing all claims by Thyssenkrupp Materials NA Inc. (Thyssenkrupp) challenging the constitutionality of the federal government’s administration of Section 232 aluminum and steel duties under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The CIT addressed whether the modified process created by the…
