In early August 2018, after it was determined that the Russian government was involved in an attempt to assassinate UK citizen Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal with the use of a Novichok nerve agent, the U.S. Department of State (State Department) ruled under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 that the Russian government had used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law. In an August 27, 2018 Federal Register notice, the U.S. government announced its sanctions in response, which became effective that date:

  • Foreign Assistance: Termination of assistance to Russia under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, except for urgent humanitarian assistance and food or other agricultural commodities or products.
  • Termination of Arms Sales: Termination of (a) sales to Russia under the Arms Export Control Act of any defense articles, defense services or design and construction services; and (b) licenses for the export to Russia of any item on the United States Munitions List.
  • Termination of Arms Sales Financing: Termination of all foreign military financing for Russia under the Arms Export Control Act.
  • Denial of U.S. Government Credit or Other Financial Assistance: Denial to Russia of any credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance by any department, agency or instrumentality of the U.S. government, including the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
  • Exports of National Security-Sensitive Goods and Technology: Prohibition on the export to Russia of any goods or technology on that part of the control list established under Section 2404(c)(1) of the Appendix to Title 50.

On August 27, 2018, the United States and Mexico reached a preliminary agreement “in principle, subject to finalization and implementation,” to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) stated that the updated agreement will “support mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America.” In reaching the agreement with Mexico, President Trump stated that, “America has … finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs, and our Nation’s wealth.”

On August 10, 2018, President Trump announced on Twitter that the United States would double Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, referencing the drop of the Turkish lira as his reason for hiking the tariffs. Later that day, the White House issued a presidential proclamation directing that a 50 percent ad valorem tariff…

President Trump has signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Title XVII of the NDAA). The FIRRMA expands the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to address national security concerns over foreign exploitation of certain investment structures that traditionally have fallen outside of CFIUS jurisdiction. Additionally, FIRRMA modernizes CFIUS’s processes to better enable timely and effective reviews of covered transactions.

As reported by Law360 this week, a California federal judge struck down a food additive exporter’s attempt to throw out claims saying it had smuggled glycine into the United States from China without paying more than $11 million in required duties, calling the exporter’s use of the Fifth Amendment “both a sword and shield.”

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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has finalized and released its second list of Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings totaling approximately $16 billion worth of imports from China that will be subject to a 25 percent retaliatory tariff as part of the U.S. government’s ongoing Section 301 investigation and response to China’s…

In connection with President Donald Trump’s May 8, 2018 decision to cease U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and to re-impose all sanctions lifted or waived in connection with the JCPOA, the president has issued a new Iran-related Executive Order, “Reimposing Certain Sanctions With Respect to Iran.” This completes the first of two wind-down periods for the re-imposition of certain Iranian sanctions. The terms in the Executive Order are effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on August 7, 2018. In addition, certain wind-down general licenses that allowed limited continued actions involving Iran will expire at 11:59 p.m. EDT on August 6, 2018.

The Department of Commerce has announced the initiation of a Section 232 investigation into whether the present quantity and circumstances of uranium ore and product imports into the United States threaten to impair national security. The decision was in response to a petition filed by two U.S. uranium mining companies and consultations with industry stakeholders, members of Congress, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and other interested parties. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis informing him of the initiation of the investigation.

On July 13, 2018, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued an order terminating the April 15, 2018 Denial Order against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (collectively, ZTE). The order confirms that ZTE paid the $1 billion penalty and complied with the requirement of depositing $400 million in…

What a week for U.S.-China trade relations! On July 6, the United States began imposing 25 percent tariffs on approximately $34 billion worth of Chinese products imported into the United States. China then retaliated by imposing tariffs of its own on $34 billion worth of U.S. exports to China, which the United States called “inappropriate”…