The New York Times reported on March 20 that the United States was seeking to table a proposal in the NAFTA negotiations to limit the placement of consumer warnings on food packaging with respect to foods that are high in...more
On February 14, Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Richard Burr (R-NC) jointly introduced the S. 2427, the Self-Initiations Trade Enforcement Act. If enacted, the legislation would give the Department of Commerce greater...more
The House of Representatives passed on January 16, 2018 a bill providing temporary duty relief on about 1,800 imported products that are not available or produced in the United States. The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of...more
The U.S., EU and Japan issued a joint statement at the 11th Ministerial of the World Trade Organization in Buenos Aires, pledging trilateral cooperation to combat a number of unfair market distorting and protectionist...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce self-initiated antidumping and countervailing investigations of common alloy aluminum sheet from China on November 28. An accompanying fact sheet estimates dumping margins on the subject...more
On November 2, Republicans in the House of Representatives unveiled H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, following months of negotiations between House and Senate Republicans and the Trump Administration, and moving a step...more
The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee held a hearing on October 25th to discuss the new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Process – overseen by the U.S. International Trade Commission with input from other federal agencies – to...more
As trade ministers kicked-off the fourth round of negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement in Alexandria, Virginia on October 11, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to nearby Capitol Hill to...more
Dissatisfied with the inability of high-level talks in August between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyung-chong to set a clear path forward on renegotiating the 2011...more
On March 31, 2017, President Trump issued two executive orders aimed at enhancing trade enforcement and drilling down on the causes of significant deficits with U.S. trading partners. These orders require: (1) development of...more
At the end of 2016, about 3200 petitions were filed with the ITC to suspend tariffs on products ranging from chemical manufacturing inputs to consumer products. Over the next several months, the International Trade Commission...more
A 60-day time frame for requests to suspend tariffs on qualifying imports opened on Friday, October 14 and run through Monday, December 12, 2016. During this period, requestors may submit petitions to the International Trade...more
On September 27th, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a general oversight hearing of the FTC, which covered a multitude of major policy issues and included testimony from Chairwoman Edith...more
Earlier this year, a new law revived the process for suspending tariffs on various products imported into the United States – known as the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill or MTB. The key change is moving from a legislative process...more
Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) announced the establishment of a Trade Enforcement Task Force within its Office of Trade. According to the CBP, the Task Force is designed to “further protect...more
Congress recently passed the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016, which will formalize an administrative process for temporarily lowering duties (or taxes) on imported raw materials and finished goods that are...more
For decades, the Congress regularly suspended tariffs on hundreds of imported products to benefit American businesses and consumers. This legislation was referred to as the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill or MTB. In the last few...more
The House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee held a hearing on April 14, to consider a new process for the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), which temporarily reduces or eliminates tariffs on qualifying imported products. The...more
After nearly a decade of talks, the United States and eleven other negotiating partners announced on October 5, 2015 the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, marking an important milestone toward...more
Congress has recently passed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which renewed the Generalized System of Preferences, the U.S. trade program that promotes economic growth in the developing world, allowing for nearly...more
Sponsor: Marchant (R-Texas)
- A bill to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from duty residue of bulk cargo contained in instruments of international traffic previously exported from the...more
The legislative trade agenda continued to move forward over the past several weeks with the enactment of important legislation resulting in a key victory for President Obama. After a temporary setback in the House,...more
Four key bills were introduced in both the Senate and House in late April, including the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, also known as “trade promotion authority” or “fast track,” the...more
Global Free Internet Act of 2015
Sponsor: Lofgren (D-Calif.)
A bill to combat trade barriers that threaten the maintenance of an open Internet, that mandate unique technology standards as a condition of market...more
6/1/2015
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Endangered Species ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Israel ,
Oil & Gas ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sanctions ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Textiles ,
Trade Agreements
On May 18, the World Trade Organization’s (“WTO”) Appellate Body upheld a ruling that U.S. country-of-origin labeling (“COOL”) requirements for meat continue to discriminate against imported livestock from Canada and Mexico...more