In a series of notices, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) granted exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for certain imported Chinese products on List 1 (valued at $34 billion), List 2 (valued at $16 billion and List 3 (valued at $200 billion). Products on these lists currently face a 25 percent Section 301…

In September, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) continued to tighten its sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, and addressed a sanctions-evading scheme for Syria involving several Russian entities.

  • Iran: On September 20, 2019, OFAC announced that it was designating the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the National Development

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On October 11, 2019, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will begin accepting Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) petitions for duty suspension or reduction. Before opening the process and electronic portal for filings, the ITC will be holding a “MTB Walk-Through” on October 8, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. The walk-through will provide…

In what has been called a “mini-trade deal” or the “first stage” of a broader trade agreement, the United States and Japan have reached agreement in several areas of trade between the countries involving market access, reduced tariffs and digital trade. President Donald Trump announced that Japan will be liberalizing market access for certain U.S.…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has issued proposed regulations concerning the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that will fully implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). The proposed regulations were published in two parts in the Federal Register:

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On September 11, 2019, the Customs Tariff Commission of China’s State Council (CTCSC) announced its first batch of tariff exclusions for imports of U.S. products, covering shrimp, fish meal, lubricants and more, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Finance press release. These exclusions will be executed under two different lists:

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The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that, effective October 9, 2019, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) will be amended to further restrict certain financial transactions involving Cuba and to deny Cuba access to hard currency. In a press release, OFAC announced that these changes will amend certain…

President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that his administration will delay until October 15, 2019, its increase in Section 301 tariffs from 25 percent to 30 percent on products from China appearing on Tranches/Lists 1-3. The president and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had previously indicated that the 5 percent increase would…

In the past week, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has continued to increase pressure on Iran and North Korea by further identifying certain individuals and entities in the shipping sector as engaging in illicit activities and tightening related economic sanctions.

On August 30, 2019, OFAC designated two individuals, three…

Following up on President Donald Trump’s tweets and an earlier press statement (see Trump and Trade Update of August 26, 2019), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has formally published a Federal Register notice requesting public comment on its intent to increase the Section 301 tariff from 25 percent to 30 percent…