On September 25 and after years of litigation, the Federal Circuit upheld tariffs on Chinese goods imposed during President Donald Trump’s first term under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 . The three-judge panel unanimously agreed that the administration had the authority to expand the initial tariffs from USD 50 billion to USD 320 billion worth of Chinese goods on products in 2019. Importers challenged the tariffs arguing they were unlawful. The court…
The US Department of Commerce announced that it had initiated separate investigations under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 into imports of a broad array of medical goods and imports of robotics and industrial machinery. These new investigations illustrate the administration’s growing reliance on Section 232 investigations to impose tariffs. Section 232 authorizes the President, through the US Department of Commerce, to examine national security impacts of specific imports. In addition to…
On September 25, President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to announce a new wave of tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, targeting furniture, pharmaceuticals and trucks. These measures, set to take effect on October 1, 2025, are framed as necessary for national security and are being implemented to revitalize domestic manufacturing, and seem to follow from the previously announced initiation of Section 232 investigations covering such products.…
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in VOS Selections, Inc. v. Trump on September 9, agreeing to review a recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that held that the invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on dozens of trading partners is illegal. For further information on what’s at stake in VOS Selections, see our earlier commentary here and here. The Court has also consolidated…
On July 30 and 31, President Trump issued several significant trade measures. The new developments come just days, or in some cases, hours, before the August 1 deadline for the “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs to resume. New Reciprocal Tariffs Announced On July 31, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates.” The Order sets new tariff rates for dozens of countries just hours before the “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs were…
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the formation of the Market, Government, and Consumer Fraud Unit (MGCF Unit). The MGCF will reportedly sit within the DOJ’s Fraud Section. Although the details of the MGCF Unit’s precise remit are still forthcoming, we expect the MGCF Unit will be empowered to pursue criminal investigations and prosecutions of tariff evasion techniques such as misclassifying or undervaluing goods, as well as transshipping goods to a different country and…
On the evening of June 29, 2025, Canada announced it would cease collections of its digital services tax (DST) that was otherwise due the following day and would rescind the Digital Services Tax Act (DSTA), after President Trump’s threat to suspend bilateral trade talks. Prime Minister Carney and President Trump have each confirmed that they will resume negotiations with a view toward agreeing a trade deal by July 21, 2025. What is the DST? The…
Our speakers provided a global overview of the hot topics and key trends across customs law and policy. A diverse range of regional trends were spotlighted across the US, EU, UK, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East. This included the ‘new era’ of digitisation and data sharing between customs authorities in the EU, the focus on trade facilitation across Latin America and Africa to promote regional economic growth, the convergence with the Russia…
On 15 May 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has delivered a judgment in the ‘Tauritus’ case, offering crucial guidance on how to determine the customs value of imported products when their final price is not fixed at the time of importation but is subject to a provisional pricing arrangement. The ruling provides important considerations and clarification for businesses engaged in transactions with such pricing mechanisms. The judgement can be found via…
Our popular Annual Compliance Conference, which attracts senior in-house legal and compliance professionals every year from across the world, will be held virtually from 3 to 12 June 2025.The conference will provide you with valuable insights from our international trade, compliance and investigations, regulatory and antitrust lawyers. We will delve into critical topics shaping the future of global businesses such as sanctions, export controls, customs and tariffs, national security laws, antitrust, product regulation, ESG and…