Over the past week there has been a flurry of new U.S. trade actions that have or may impose new or increased tariffs on certain imports of Chinese merchandise and solar products. These actions are pursuant to the Biden Administration’s authority under Sections 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and under the laws and regulations which allow for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties (“AD/CVD”) to address so-called unfair trade practices. …
On April 22, 2024, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced its initiation of a Section 301 investigation into China’s acts, policies and practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. The investigation is in response to a petition filed in March by five US labor unions alleging that China engages in unreasonable or discriminatory practices that provide unfair advantages in the maritime industries. The petition cited specific conduct alleged to target the maritime, logistics,…
In the realm of international trade, the anti-dumping instrument plays a crucial role in safeguarding domestic industries against unfair trading practices. The high number of anti-dumping investigations initiated around the world, as well as an increasingly broad product scope (such as touted cases on hydrogen or electric vehicles), mean that many internationally active companies will need to be aware of anti-dumping. While World Trade Organization law sets out the general framework for municipal anti-dumping rules,…
Baker McKenzie’s Global Supply Chain Compliance Blog published “CBP to Deploy the Long-Anticipated UFLPA Region Alert,” which can be viewed here.
Russia was deemed a market economy under US antidumping law since 2002 In brief On November 9, 2022, the US Department of Commerce (“DOC”) revoked Russia’s market economy status for the purpose of US antidumping law. Russia’s re-designation as a non-market economy (“NME”) – an economy where prices are set by the government rather than through supply and demand – means that, in future antidumping cases, the DOC can use special dumping calculation methods that…
Seeking public comments On November 18, 2022, the US Department of Commerce (“DOC”) published a notice of a proposed change to its particular market situation (“PMS”) methodology. Since the 2015 expansion of the DOC’s PMS authority, the DOC has been using the PMS methodology in the calculation of antidumping duty rates when it considers that there is a market distortion in the exporting country under investigation, such as the availability of low-priced energy, which reduces…
The first wave of retaliatory tariffs against certain Chinese-origin goods (the so-called Section 301 duties) are set to terminate under the Trade Act of 1974 (“Trade Act”). By statute, the measures terminate after 4 years unless an affected party benefitting from the tariffs submits a request to the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) that the action be continued within the final 60-days of the 4-year period. Once such a request is submitted, the USTR must…
Baker McKenzie’s Global Compliance News Blog published “Baker McKenzie Video Series: Biden Supply Chain Policy on Large-Capacity Batteries” which can be viewed here.
On 31 October 2021, the EU and US issued a joint statement announcing that they had reached an agreement to end their dispute over steel and aluminium tariffs. This agreement removes the US “Section 232” tariffs on imports of EU steel and aluminium, imposed during the Trump administration, whilst the EU has agreed to suspend additional duties imposed on US goods in retaliation. Both sides have also agreed to suspend disputes initiated against each other at…
Baker McKenzie’s International Commercial & Trade Blog published “United Kingdom: Update on the UK Trade Remedies Regime”, which can be viewed here.