The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has posted on its website advance copies of a notice to published in the Federal Register that announces USTR’s determination to make certain technical amendments to previously granted exclusions to Tranche 1 ($34 Bn.) and a separate notice to be published in the Federal Register that announces USTR’s determination to make certain technical amendments to previously granted exclusions to Tranche 2 (16 Bn). The technical amendments announced…
On May 6, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice requesting comments on whether to extend certain exclusions from the action against approximately $200 Bn. of goods from China [Tranche 3] subject to 25% additional duties imposed on September 24, 2018. At this time, USTR is not considering product exclusion notices issued after March 26, 2020. USTR initiated an exclusion process for the $200 billion action…
On May 7, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice requesting comments [Docket No. USTR-2020-0019] on the petitions submitted in connection with the 2020 GSP Annual Product Review for further review. USTR has decided to accept for review several petitions seeking to add or remove products from GSP eligibility for all GSP beneficiary countries. USTR posted a list of petitions and products accepted for review on…
On May 5, 2020, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced the formal launch of trade agreement negotiations between the US and the UK. The announcement said: In light of the ongoing global pandemic caused by Covid-19, the first round of negotiations will be conducted virtually, with UK and US negotiators engaging in discussions over the next two weeks in nearly 30 different negotiating groups covering all aspects of…
On May 4, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) posted an advance copy of a notice to be published in the Federal Register that announces the USTR’s determination to grant certain exclusion requests, as specified in the Annex to the notice, and corrects technical errors in previously announced exclusions. The product exclusions will apply as of September 24, 2018, the effective date of the $200 billion (Tranche 3) action, and extend to…
On May 4, 2020, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced he will initiate an investigation into whether laminations for stacked cores for incorporation into transformers, stacked and wound cores for incorporation into transformers, electrical transformers, and transformer regulators are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. The decision to launch an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of…
On May 1, 2020, CBP issued CSMS #42566220 – GUIDANCE: Section 301 Tranche 3 – $200B: Twelfth Round of Product Exclusions from China (9903.88.45). The operative section of the message is shown below: BACKGROUND On April 24, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published Federal Register (FR) Notice 85 FR 23122 announcing the decision to grant the twelfth round of certain requested exclusions from the Section 301 duty related to goods from China ($200B Action – Tranche…
On May 1, 2020, CBP issued CSMS #42566154 – Section 232 and Section 301 – Extensions Requests, PSCs, and Protests, which updates guidance [CSMS 19-000260] on seeking retroactive product exclusions. Additionally, the CSMS serves to provide information on the actions the Trade may take to preserve and/or extend the timeframes in which corrective action can be filed on entry summaries related to Section 232 and Section 301 product exclusion requests that have been submitted to…
On April 28, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published two new final rules and a proposed rule in the Federal Register amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to tighten restrictions on exports of technology to China, Russia, and Venezuela. According to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, these actions are intended to combat efforts by entities in China, Russia, and Venezuela to use certain US technologies obtained through civilian supply chains…
On April 29, 2020, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration (ITA), Commerce, published in the Federal Register a proposed rule [Docket ITA-2020-200408-0103] to establish an Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis (AIM) system. Over the past decade, Commerce has operated the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system to monitor for import surges of specific steel products and to monitor for potential transshipment and circumvention of US trade measures relating to these products. AIM, as proposed,…