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…
USTR Again Extends Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for Certain Medical Products from China Necessary for COVID-19 Response
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it will continue to exclude Section 301 duties on imports of certain Chinese medical care products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The current exclusions were set to expire on March 31, 2021 (see Update of December 23, 2020); however, with this…
CIT Questions Use of First Sale Rule for NME Countries Commonly Used to Mitigate China Tariffs
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has called into question the “First Sale Rule” tariff mitigation strategy deployed by an increasing number of companies to reduce Section 301 tariffs on China-sourced goods. In Meyer Corp. v. U.S., No. 13-00154, Slip Op. 21-26 (March 1, 2021), the CIT questioned whether the First Sale Rule…
USTR Releases President Biden’s 2021 Trade Agenda and 2020 Annual Report
On March 1, 2021, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released President Joseph Biden’s 2021 Trade Agenda and 2020 Annual Report. Providing an overview of “a comprehensive trade policy in support of the administration’s effort to help the U.S. recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build back better,” the report states…
CIT Issues Procedural Orders in China Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
The three-judge panel established by the Court of International Trade (CIT) to manage the China Section 301 tariff refund litigation has issued two procedural orders in the recently-established master case (Court No. 21-cv-00052-3JP) (see Update of February 8, 2021), setting a path forward for this massive litigation.
In a February 10, 2021 order…
Biden Administration Asks Federal Courts to Pause TikTok and WeChat Cases
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed motions in federal court seeking a pause in litigation involving TikTok and WeChat until the new administration of President Joseph Biden has time to consider former President Trump’s August 6, 2020 Executive Orders declaring that these Chinese social media apps are a national security threat and prohibiting certain…
CIT Proceeds with China Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation with Appointment of Three-Judge Panel
In a February 5, 2021 order, after months of delay, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) is proceeding in the China Section 301 tariff refund litigation with the appointment of a three-judge panel consisting of Judge Mark A. Barnett, Judge Claire R. Kelly and Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves. This is the CIT’s first action…
Webinar Invitation: Considerations for Cross-Border M&A: Canada, the UK & the U.S.
Considerations for Cross-Border M&A: Canada, the UK & the U.S. – Trends in Antitrust & National Security Merger Review
A SmarTrade webinar presented by Thompson Hine LLP
The past year saw significant developments in the cross-border M&A review processes in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. National security reviews in Canada and the…
BIS Issues Interim Final Rule Expanding Certain Controls on Activities of U.S. Persons
On January 15, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule implementing further provisions of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 by: (i) imposing additional export license requirements under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in connection with certain military-intelligence end uses and end users; (ii) clarifying…
