On April 10, 2019, the Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile (Coalition) filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping (ADD) and countervailing (CVD) duties on imports of ceramic tile products from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Coalition consists of U.S. ceramic
Trade Remedy/Enforcement
OFAC Settles With Standard Chartered Bank Over Violations of U.S. Economic Sanctions
On April 9, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $639,023,750 settlement with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), a UK-based financial institution, over potential civil liability related to alleged violations of the now-repealed U.S. economic sanctions on Burma and Sudan and the continuing sanctions on Cuba, Iran and…
Trump Administration Increases Sanctions on Iran
In recent weeks the U.S. government has taken two notable steps to further sanction and pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran. On March 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against 25 individuals and entities by placing them on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. This…
WTO Dispute Settlement Panel’s Decision to Rule on National Security Exception May Have a Major Impact on Trump Administration’s Section 232 Tariffs
A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel ruling, Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit, issued last week on a member’s use of the WTO’s so-called “national security exception” under Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) may have a significant impact on the Trump administration’s application of…
USTR Releases 2019 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 around the world. This report is the U.S. government’s major annual report on the barriers to trade, investment and services that U.S.…
U.S. Producers File Antidumping Petition on Sodium Sulfate Anhydrous Imports from Canada
On March 27, 2019, Cooper Natural Resources, Inc., Elementis Global LLC and Searles Valley Minerals, Inc. filed a petition on behalf of the domestic industry with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping duties on imports of sodium sulfate anhydrous (SSA) from Canada. According to the petition…
U.S. Court of International Trade Upholds Constitutionality of the President’s Power to Implement Steel Tariffs under Section 232
On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) denied a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 in a lawsuit brought by the American Institute of International Steel and other steel importers. In a 2-1 decision, the three-judge panel in American Institute for International…
USTR Releases Second List of Product Exclusions from Section 301 China Tariffs
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another list of product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on imported goods from China, granting full or partial exemptions in response to 87 separate exclusion requests, according to a pre-publication copy of the notice. The exclusions cover a wide range of products, including, inter alia, certain…
USTR Lighthizer Testifies before Senate on “The Road Ahead for the WTO”
On March 12, 2019, Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), testified before the Senate Finance Committee regarding the World Trade Organization (WTO) and President Donald Trump’s desire for a more effective international trading system. In his prepared remarks, Ambassador Lighthizer stated that the United States remains active at all levels of the WTO but…
Mexico Prepares Additional Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Products
On March 6, 2019, during a meeting of the Foreign Trade Commission of the Mexican Senate, Luz Maria de la Mora-Sanchez, Foreign Trade Undersecretary of Mexico’s Ministry of Economy, announced that the Mexican government is planning to include additional items on its list of U.S. products subject to retaliatory measures, which were originally imposed on…
