The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) recently announced its "apparent" need for public comment on key aspects of a mechanism that would license or preclear certain information and communications technology and services...more
4/26/2021
/ China ,
Comment Period ,
Cuba ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ,
Interim Rule ,
Iran ,
Licensing Rules ,
North Korea ,
Public Comment ,
Russia ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Venezuela
Back in May 2019, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 13873, which was meant to police the use of certain information and communications technology and services (ICTS) purchased from "foreign adversaries." Then,...more
4/26/2021
/ China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cuba ,
Digital Communications ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Imports ,
Information Technology ,
Interim Rule ,
Investigations ,
Iran ,
North Korea ,
Russia ,
Surveillance ,
Technology ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Venezuela
The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule on Jan. 19, 2021, amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the rescission of Sudan's designation as a State...more
President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on Jan. 25, 2021, "Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers" (E.O.), aimed at strengthening Buy American provisions. The E.O. was one of a number...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on Dec. 23, 2020, amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove Hong Kong as a separate destination listed in the EAR....more
The U.S. Court of International Trade's (CIT) docket is brimming these days, all thanks to importers who have initiated more than 3,500 actions to date challenging the Trump Administration's use of Section 301 of the Trade...more
A lawsuit filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) on Sept. 10, 2020, seeks to upend the Trump Administration's authority to levy and collect certain of the tariffs imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of...more
In struggling to address the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the United States and many other countries continue to face major shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as N95 masks, gowns and other vital materials...more
8/3/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Supplies ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Price Gouging ,
Scams ,
Supply Chain
President Donald Trump on June 4, 2020, issued the Presidential Memorandum on Protecting United States Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies. It directs the President's Working Group on Financial Markets...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on July 15, 2020, imposed a Withhold Release Order (WRO) – often referred to as a Detention Order – on imports of disposable medical gloves made by Top Glove Sdn Bhd and TG Medical Sdn...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a prepublication version of an interim final rule that will bar contractors from...more
After 26 and a half years, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has practically ceased to exist as of July 1, 2020, and has been replaced by United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Because many of NAFTA's...more
President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 139201 on May 1, 2020, declaring a national emergency in order to secure the nation's bulk-power system. The president's order explains that such systems are threatened by foreign...more
5/7/2020
/ China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Investigations ,
National Security ,
Power Grid ,
Russia ,
Section 232 ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a call for comments regarding the possible removal of Section 301 tariffs for medical-care products from China. The request for comments on the easing of Section...more
In accordance with the text of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), once all parties have notified each other in writing of the completion of their internal procedures required for the entry into force of the...more
The COVID-19 crisis has revealed the extent to which the United States and other countries are dependent upon a well-functioning global supply chain of critical medical supplies, including ventilators and Personal Protective...more
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on April 8, 2020, released an advance copy of a temporary rule banning exportation of five types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from the United States without its...more
There have been several recent developments in trade disputes involving the Trump Administration and the European Union (EU), including an increase by the U.S. Trade Representative in tariffs on new Airbus aircraft and...more
3/5/2020
/ Airbus ,
Aircraft ,
Boeing ,
Digital Services Tax ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
France ,
OECD ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Negotiations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR ,
World Economic Forum ,
WTO
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, published 10 notices on Jan. 27, 2020, regarding annual and quarterly surveys that track various types of foreign investment into the United...more
2/26/2020
/ Airlines ,
Bureau of Economic Analysis ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Ocean Transportation System ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Surveys ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a notification on Dec. 12, 2019, informing the public that it was reviewing the action being taken in the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of the United...more
1/7/2020
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Airbus ,
Aircraft ,
Aircraft Equipment ,
Boeing ,
Comment Period ,
EU ,
Imports ,
Public Notice ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Section 301 ,
Subsidies ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
WTO
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has proposed a rule implementing the terms of President Donald Trump's Executive Order 13873 (the EO) on securing the United States' information and communications technology and...more
12/27/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Digital Communications ,
Executive Orders ,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Screening Procedures ,
Supply Chain ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Sept. 4, 2019, promulgated regulations expanding the application of Executive Order 13851 ("Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua")...more
• The Trump Administration is pushing the World Trade Organization (WTO) to prevent advanced economies such as China from self-declaring as developing countries.
• If there is no progress with the WTO, the United States...more
• U.S. institutions of higher education are required to report foreign gifts and contracts under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.
• The U.S. Department of Education has launched investigations into at least four...more
7/30/2019
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Foreign Entities ,
Gifts ,
Higher Education Act ,
Investigations ,
Lack of Interpretive Guidance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Universities
• The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is conducting an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to the digital services tax (DST) bill recently approved by the French Parliament.
• Under...more
7/26/2019
/ Digital Service Providers ,
Digital Services Tax ,
Discrimination ,
France ,
International Tax Issues ,
Investigations ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Retroactive Taxes ,
Section 301 ,
Tax Policy ,
USTR ,
WTO