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On April 5, 2021, the U.S Court of International Trade (CIT) published a summary judgment opinion invalidating former President Donald Trump’s executive order, Proclamation 9980, which imposed 25 percent tariffs on various imports of aluminum and steel derivative articles pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The CIT found in favor…

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…

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.…

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…

On March 5, 2021, the United States and the European Union (EU) issued a joint statement announcing a suspension of World Trade Organization (WTO)-authorized retaliatory tariffs in the trade  dispute involving government subsidies for large civilian aircraft.  The statement notes the suspension “will cover all tariffs both on aircraft as well as on non-aircraft products,…

On March 4, 2021, the United States and the United Kingdom released a joint statement announcing a suspension of World Trade Organization (WTO)-authorized retaliatory tariffs in the WTO’s longest-running trade dispute involving government subsidies for large civilian aircraft.  The statement notes that the UK ceased applying retaliatory tariffs on January 1, 2021, and that the…

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…

On January 15, 2021, barely two weeks after holding a public hearing into the matter and just over three months after initiating an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued its findings regarding Vietnam’s currency valuation. USTR found that “Vietnam’s acts, policies, and…

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…

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”;…