On August 2, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) held a status conference and issued its second order revising certain deadlines originally established in its July 6 decision and order granting the plaintiff group’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation involving imports of certain Chinese products.…

Nearly a year and a half after former President Donald Trump declined to impose Section 232 tariffs on imports of titanium sponge (see Update of February 28, 2020), the Department of Commerce has released its full public report on the investigation, which found that these imports indeed threatened to impair the national security…

On July 22 and again on July 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned several Cuban individuals and entities in connection with actions to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests in Cuba that began on July 11, 2021. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, “The Cuban people are protesting…

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the “Committee”), an inter-agency committee headed by the Department of the Treasury, has released its 2020 Annual Report to Congress (Report). CFIUS is authorized to review transactions that could result in the control of U.S. businesses by foreign persons or companies, as well as…

Key Notes:

  • On July 13, the U.S. government released an updated version of the Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory advising U.S. companies of the widespread, PRC-government sponsored forced labor and intrusive surveillance practices targeting ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang.
  • The Advisory urges U.S. companies with supply chains, ventures or investments connected to Xinjiang to

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On July 23, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement agreement with Payoneer Inc. (“Payoneer”), a publicly traded New York-based online money transmitter and provider of prepaid access.  Payoneer agreed to pay a civil penalty of approximately $1.4 million to settle its potential liability for 2,260 apparent…

On July 20, 2021,  the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an order revising certain deadlines established in its July 6 decision and order granting the plaintiff group’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation involving imports of certain Chinese products. The preliminary injunction suspended liquidation of unliquidated…

On July 20, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has issued General License (GL) 5G, “Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After October 21, 2021,” which continues to delay U.S. persons’ ability to enforce…

On July 14, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published in the Federal Register (86 Fed. Reg. 37022-35) its final rule for “Made in USA” and other “unqualified U.S.-origin claims” on product labels. The final rule is effective on August 13, 2021.

The final rule codifies a longstanding FTC policy and practice that a product…