As we close out a wild year for international trade regulation, after hearing much talk about outbound investment review mechanisms, we may see a final dramatic change before the ball drops...more
12/21/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Relations ,
International Trade ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Technology ,
U.S. Treasury
Key Takeaways Background Since October 7, 2022, when the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) dropped 140 pages of regulations on the semiconductor industry, U.S. passport and green card holders working at Chinese chip...more
On November 15, 2022, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) opened its docket (USTR-2022-0014) seeking public comments in its review of Lists 1 and 2 of the Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports. The tariffs were...more
11/18/2022
/ China ,
Modification ,
Public Comment ,
Questionnaires ,
Small Business ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USTR ,
Wages
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced the next steps in its review of Lists 1 and 2 of the Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports. Today, on October 17, 2022, USTR published the official request for...more
The Announcement On Friday, October 7, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released for public inspection (available ...) one hundred forty pages of regulations (which we’ll call “the Regulation” here) that...more
10/11/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Depositions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Microchip Technology ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology
In response to Russia’s illegal declaration of annexations of Ukrainian territory, the United States and the European Union have imposed additional sanctions on Russia. U.S. Response On October 4, 2022, the U.S. government...more
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Commerce Department released its final rule regarding antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) circumvention inquiries on solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and...more
The U.S. Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) thinks the FBI and other agencies are not doing enough to address the espionage threat on U.S. university campuses. It issued a report, “Enforcement Agencies Should Better...more
8/10/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Colleges ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
FBI ,
GAO ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Sanctions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Universities
Today, the United States Trade Representative issued a notice informing the importing community about a new Section 301 exclusion process and seeking comments from affected importers. The comment period begins on October 12,...more
If your company is like many, your board of directors may be demanding that you put more effort into environmental, social, and governance issues, which have become known by the now-ubiquitous acronym “ESG.” Those demands...more
10/11/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Ethical Standards ,
Exports ,
Forced Labor ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Sanctions ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Policy
The Silica Products WRO -
On June 24, the White House announced the first strike against forced labor in the solar equipment manufacturing industry. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO)...more
On June 10, 2021, China enacted the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (“AFSL”), aimed at punishing countries that impose anti-China sanctions and the companies that comply with those sanctions. The law is effective immediately, and...more
Corporate compliance programs are expected to be tailored to an organization’s unique risks. Most regulators (and most modern organizational compliance programs) prescribe risk-based compliance. But one thing is to prescribe;...more
The United States is taking increasingly aggressive actions to prohibit imports from China that may have been produced by forced labor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, China has arbitrarily detained more than one...more
On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) issued an interim final rule governing transactions in Information and Communication Technology or Services (“ICTS”) involving “foreign adversaries.” Although the...more
On January 13, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) on cotton and tomato products produced by entities operating in Xinjiang, China. The order is based on information that...more
1/27/2021
/ China ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forced Labor ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Pending Legislation ,
Supply Chain ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
On December 29, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) posted a notice granting new Section 301 product exclusions and extending existing exclusions for COVID-19 medical care products. This action is in response to USTR’s...more
1/13/2021
/ China ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exclusions ,
Imports ,
International Harmonization ,
Medical Supplies ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Most of you already know Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 because of the Trump Administration’s massive China tariffs under Section 301. Now it’s time to get acquainted with a separate process that may result in tariffs...more
1/12/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Foreign Currency ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
U.S. Treasury ,
USTR ,
Vietnam
While many of us anxiously await putting 2020 behind us, the start of the new year may have significant import duty implications for many U.S. companies.
On December 31, two significant U.S. import duty relief programs are...more
Over the past few weeks, we have been speculating on the international trends and tides we expect to see in the next four years under a new U.S. presidential administration. So that you can enjoy our prognostications (before...more
12/17/2020
/ Asia ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Recovery Plans ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
On December 2, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued an order preventing certain imported cotton products from China from being released to the importer. The products were made by Xinjian Production and Construction...more
Contrary to some expectations, the Trump Administration Department of Justice imposed record penalties under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act from 2017 through 2020. But in each of those years, fewer and fewer new FCPA...more
11/20/2020
/ Aerospace ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investigations ,
Recessions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
One point all can likely agree on in these divisive times is that the Trump Administration’s international trade policy has been aggressive. Over the past four years, we have been clinging to our seats on the rollercoaster...more
We are celebrating our 100th episode of the Nota Bene podcast by welcoming back our very first guest on the show, Scott Maberry, to examine the shifts over the past three years away from the world economic order that has...more
Unless you’re a customs or logistics professional, you may not have focused on the Incoterms changes announced by the International Chamber of Commerce in early 2020. This post provides a handy reference to the revised...more