On June 22, 2020, the US Supreme Court issued an order denying a Petition for Certiorari (review) filed by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) challenging the Administration’s authority to assess tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The AIIS had unsuccessfully argued in lower courts that Sec. 232 improperly delegated to the Executive branch the power to assess tariffs, reserved to Congress under the Constitution. The Supreme Court order…
On June 22, 2020 US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. USCBP-2020-0033] that announces the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) will hold its quarterly meeting on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 from 1-5 p.m. EDT. The meeting will be open to the public via webinar only. There is no on-site, in-person option for this quarterly meeting. Comments are due by July 14, 2020. Agenda The COAC will…
On June 15, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection issued CSMS #43044185 – GUIDANCE: Section 301 Tranche 3 – $200B: 14th Round of Product Exclusions from China (9903.88.48), reproduced below: Background On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published Federal Register (FR) Notice 85 FR 32094 announcing the decision to grant the 14th round of certain requested exclusions from the Section 301 duty related to goods from China ($200B Action – Tranche 3). These product exclusions relate…
On June 115, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection issued CSMS #43043838 – GUIDANCE: Extension of Certain Product Exclusions Covered under Tranche 1 ($34B Action) of China Section 301 Remedy, reproduced below: Background On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published Federal Register (FR) Notice 85 FR 33775 to extend through December 31, 2020 certain product exclusions previously covered by the June 4, 2019 notice (see 84 FR 25895) for Section 301 duties on China ($34B…
On June 12, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. USTR–2020–0001] expressly rescinding the withdrawal, issued in October 2019 (the October Withdrawal), of the exclusion of bifacial solar panels from application of the safeguard measure on imports of certain solar products pursuant to a Section 201 investigation. The October Withdrawal is superseded by the withdrawal determination made by the USTR in April 2020 that…
On June 12, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Technology Evaluation, US Department of Commerce published in the Federal Register an extension of the comment period on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Laminations for Stacked Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, Stacked Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, Wound Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, Electrical Transformers, and Transformer Regulators. The comment period for the proposed rule was originally published on…
Join us on June 18 at 11 am Eastern for Part 3 of our webinar series on the USMCA, as we approach entry-into-force of the agreement on July 1, 2020. In this webinar, “USMCA: Labor Rules and Trade Remedies,” Baker McKenzie experts from the United States, Mexico and Canada will discuss how to prepare for enforcement under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRLM). Join us for a 60-minute discussion about the RRLM*: how it originated, and how…
On June 8, 2020, the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the USTR’s determination to make a technical amendment to one previously granted exclusion: U.S. note 20(q)(131) to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is modified by deleting “each valued over $20 but not over $35” and inserting “each valued not over $35” in lieu thereof. The amendment is retroactive…
On June 8, 2020, 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 for Tranche 4. As set out in the Annex, the exclusions are reflected in two ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 32 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 55 separate exclusion requests. In accordance with the October 24, 2019, notice (See 84…
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. …