On 24 July 2020, the European Commission announced the governments of France and Spain agreed with Airbus SE to modify the terms of the Repayable Launch Investment granted by them for development of the A350 aircraft to reflect market conditions. The announcement said: This means that the European Union and the Member States concerned – France, Spain and Germany, also known as the ‘Airbus Member States’ – are in full compliance with the rulings of…
On July 1, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register an amendment [Docket No. USTR–2020–0023] to an annex to the notice published on June 26, 2020, which requested public comments in connection with a review of the action being taken in the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of US World Trade Organization (WTO) rights in the Large Civil Aircraft dispute. The amendment adds two products to…
On 30 June 2020, the Official Journal published a notice announcing the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, signed in Hanoi on 30 June 2019, will enter into force on 1 August 2020.
On June 26, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a request for comments [Docket Number USTR-2020-0023] relating to a review being conducted by USTR of the action being taken in the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of US World Trade Organization (WTO) rights in the Large Civil Aircraft dispute. In connection with this review, USTR is considering modifying the list of products of certain current or…
On June 2, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that his office is beginning investigations into digital services taxes that have been adopted or are being considered by a number of our trading partners. The investigations will be conducted under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. This provision gives the USTR broad authority to investigate and respond to a foreign country’s action which may be unfair or discriminatory and negatively affect US Commerce. …
On June 2, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that his office is beginning investigations [Docket No. USTR-2020-0022] into digital services taxes that have been adopted or are being considered by a number of the US’ trading partners. The investigations will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This provision gives the USTR broad authority to investigate and respond to a foreign country’s action which may be unfair or…
The EC announced on 26 May that the export authorisation scheme for PPE ceased to apply as of Tuesday, 26 May 2020. The EC has decided not to extend the measure, initially introduced on 15 March to ensure adequacy of supply of such products in the EU in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure was initially extended for another month on 26 April, implementing additional reporting requirements and limiting the scope of the scheme to face masks.…
On May 27, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice of a request for emergency clearance of an information collection and a request for comments of a new information collection request (ICR) titled Large Civil Aircraft Dispute Portal. To meet the statutory schedule for revisions, USTR must open the Portal on or about June 23, 2020. Upon OMB approval of this emergency clearance request, USTR…
On 24 April 2020, the European Commission published Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/568 (the “Implementing Regulation”), which prohibits the export from the EU of certain personal protective equipment unless a licence is first obtained from an EU Member State authority. The Implementing Regulation came into force on 26 April 2020. The Implementing Regulation replaces the temporary export controls imposed by the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/402 published on 15 March 2020, as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU)…
On 6 April 2020, the European Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/502 (the “Implementing Regulation”) introducing additional tariffs on certain products originating from the US. This was adopted in retaliation to the further safeguard measures in the form of tariff increases, adopted by the United States on 24 January 2020, in relation to imports of certain derivative aluminium and steel products which took effect with unlimited duration on 8 February 2020. Effective May 2020, the…