On October 5, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a technical correction to the HTSUS modifications that were made in the Annexes to Proclamation 10053 of June 29, 2020 (85 FR 39821), which implemented the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA or Agreement). These corrections are contained in an Annex to the document and are retroactive to July 1, 2020: Annex Effective with respect to goods of USMCA countries…
On September 23, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to continue until October 21, 2020, to temporarily limit the travel of individuals from Canada into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States-Canada border. Such travel will be limited to “essential travel,” as further defined in the document. In a separate notice published…
On September 15, 2020, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it was suspending the 10% additional duty on Canadian non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum retroactively to September 1, 2020 after consultations with the Canadian government. The US originally imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel in 2018 under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 through Proclamation 9704 of March 8, 2018. Negotiations with Canada resulted in Proclamation 9893 of May 19, 2019 excluding…
On 9 September 2020, the Department for International Trade (DIT) announced that the UK has taken a major step in the process of joining CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), one of the world’s largest and most dynamic free trade areas. The press release stated in part: International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, alongside the current chair of the CPTPP Commission, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Márquez, opened discussions between senior UK trade officials and…
On August 21, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to continue until September 21, 2020, to temporarily limit the travel of individuals from Canada into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States-Canada border. Such travel will be limited to “essential travel,” as further defined in the document. In a separate notice published…
On August 13, 2020, CBP issued CSMS #43654621 – GUIDANCE: Additional Duty Under Section 232 on Imports of Aluminum Articles from Canada, which is reproduced below: Background On March 8, 2018, the President issued Proclamation 9704 on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), providing for additional import duties for aluminum articles, effective March 23, 2018. On August 6,…
On August 8, 2020, the Department of Finance posted a “Notice of intent to impose countermeasures action against the United States in response to tariffs on Canadian aluminum products” and invited the public to comment no later than September 6, 2020, on the products originating in the United States that will be subject to countermeasures for the 10% additional duties announced by the US on August 6, 2020 (to take effect on August 16). The…
On August 6, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States, which amended Proclamation 9704 of March 8, 2018 to impose a 10% additional ad valorem duty on imports from Canada of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum provided for in subheading 7601.10, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS or HTSUS). The additional duty was imposed under sec. 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and will take…
On 24 July 2020, the European Commission announced that at a meeting of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body, the European Union, backed by ten other members of the World Trade Organization (Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Republic of Korea and Switzerland), submitted a joint communication calling for more transparency in respect of trade-related measures introduced by partners around the world in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim is to…
On July 22, 2020 the Canada Gazette published a series or orders and regulations to implement the Canada, United States, Mexico Agreement (CUSMA in Canada, USMCA in the United States and T-MEC in Mexico) which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement on July 1, 2020. The orders and regulations are [links are to the Canada Gazette, not individual regulations] Order Repealing Certain Orders Made Under the Customs Tariff (CUSMA) (SOR/2020-154, June 30, 2020)CUSMA Rules…