On February 4, 2021, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) denied a broad challenge by Universal Steel Products and several other importers (“plaintiffs”) to Section 232 tariffs that former President Donald Trump placed on steel imports. The plaintiffs had challenged both the report by the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”)
Tariffs/Trade Policy
CIT Dismisses All but One Claim in Section 232 Steel Tariff Dispute
On January 27, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion in which it dismissed all but one claim challenging on various grounds a proclamation by former President Donald Trump (Proclamation 9980) that imposed 25% tariffs on, inter alia, various imported products made of steel pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade…
USTR Continues to Criticize China and Russia for Poor WTO Compliance
On January 15, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual reports submitted to Congress that assess China’s and Russia’s implementation of their World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. In keeping with past annual USTR reports during the administration of President Donald Trump, the reports note that these countries’ records of compliance…
Commerce Adds and Removes Entities on Entity List and the MEU List
On January 14, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice announcing the addition and removal of certain Chinese and Russian entities from the Entity List and the Military End-User (MEU) List.
Notably, BIS added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. to the Entity List for its…
President Trump Extends Import Safeguards for Large Residential Washers
On January 14, 2021, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation announcing that the United States was extending safeguard measures, in the form of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), on imports of large residential washers and various washer parts for an additional two years. Pursuant to Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, President Trump implemented…
USTR Releases Findings in Digital Services Taxes Investigations Involving Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued findings in three more Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted by Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the reports, the USTR found that each of the DSTs “discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation, and burden…
Webinar Invitation: Impact of the 2020 Election on U.S. Trade Policy
Impact of the 2020 Election on U.S. Trade Policy: Trump Transformation to Biden Restoration?
Addressing a key 2016 campaign promise, President Trump transformed decades of U.S. trade policy by weaponizing tariffs, ramping up enforcement and focusing on bilateral trade in goods. Will President-elect Biden continue any of these policies or attempt to restore the multilateral…
USTR Releases Findings in Digital Services Taxes Investigations Involving India, Italy and Turkey
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued findings in its Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted by India, Italy and Turkey. In each report, the USTR found that the DSTs: (i) create “a significant new tax burden for U.S. companies, [and] taxes an unusually broad array of digital services”;…
USTR Delays Imposition of Additional Tariffs on Certain French Products in Response to France’s Digital Services Tax
While the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) was set to impose additional import duties of 25 percent starting January 6, 2021, these retaliatory tariffs have now been further suspended according to a press release. These additional tariffs on certain products from France are in response to that country’s continued collection of a…
USTR Announces Additional Tariffs in U.S.-EU WTO Aircraft Dispute
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will add on January 12, 2021 “certain products of certain EU member States” to the list of products subject to additional duties in the ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute with the European Union (EU) over subsidies for large civil aircraft. In October 2019,…
