On 14 July, the same day the president signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (the act), President Trump issued the Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (the EO) directing federal agencies to impose a range of trade...more
On 27 May 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo certified to Congress that the State Department no longer considers Hong Kong to have significant autonomy from China and therefore "Hong Kong does not continue to warrant...more
On 24 April 2020 United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer notified Congress that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will enter into force 1 July 2020. As a result, the North American Free...more
5/27/2020
/ Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On 19 April, President Trump issued an Executive Order providing for a temporary 90-day deferral, of estimated payments of duties, taxes, and fees to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by importers “suffering significant...more
4/22/2020
/ Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Deferred Action ,
Executive Orders ,
Extreme Hardship ,
Imports ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Relief Measures ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced it is accepting comments on potential Section 301 tariff exclusions for Chinese imports necessary to respond to the coronavirus. USTR is likely to expeditiously...more
3/30/2020
/ China ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exclusions ,
Imports ,
International Harmonization ,
Medical Supplies ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
The United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) is noteworthy for its novel “facility specific rapid response labor mechanism” (the Rapid Response Mechanism or Mechanism). The Mechanism permits the United States or...more
2/11/2020
/ Canada ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Rights ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Mexico ,
NLRB ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On 15 January 2020, President Donald J. Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a “Phase One” Agreement between the United States and China, a truce halting the escalating trade tensions between the two global trading...more
On 14 October, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13894, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria (EO).
...more
10/18/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Unauthorized Transactions
Consumer companies on both sides of the Pacific are feeling the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. Targeted by the retaliatory tariffs imposed by both governments and already feeling price pressure as consumer confidence has...more
9/10/2019
/ China ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Following on the heels of U.S. trade negotiators’ return from China, on 1 August, President Trump abruptly announced via Twitter an “additional Tariff of 10 percent on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products...more
8/14/2019
/ China ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On 20 June 2019 the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the final product exclusion process for List 3 by which U.S. stakeholders can request exclusion of particular Chinese products classified...more
6/25/2019
/ China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exclusion List ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Section 301 ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USTR
Legislation funding the U.S. Government that was signed into law by President Trump on 15 February 2019 includes a provision requiring an exclusion process for articles subject to the third round of tariffs on Chinese...more
On 30 September, after an intensive, last-minute flurry of negotiations, Canada joined the United States and Mexico in a new trilateral agreement to replace the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA 1.0).
...more
10/26/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) further ratcheted up trade tensions by announcing a 10 percent ad valorem duty on US$200 billion of Chinese imports. The list covers 6,031 tariff provisions, spanning a range of goods...more
On 15 June 2018 the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the imposition of additional 25 percent tariffs (i.e., a 25 percent tax) on US$34 billion in annual imports from China. The new duties will be effective...more
On April 3, 2018, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued recommended tariffs on US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods that the United States says benefit from Beijing’s industrial “Made in China 2025” plan....more
5/2/2018
/ Aerospace ,
Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Defense Sector ,
Imports ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
As potential trade war looms, nearly 1,300 U.S.-imports may be subject to additional 25 percent tariffs under Section 301.
U.S. imports from China potentially subject to additional duties include certain chemicals,...more
4/9/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Foreign Relations ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
U.S. trading partners have begun to signal their plans to consider retaliatory measures in response to President Trump’s Section 232 Investigations on steel imports. In particular, European Union (EU) officials recently...more
7/18/2017
/ Dairy Farmers ,
EU ,
Food Supply ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Wine & Alcohol
On May 18, 2017, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer formally notified Congress of the Trump Administration's intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. The...more
5/26/2017
/ Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Relations ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR