After eight years of negotiation, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Trade (RCEP), the world's largest regional trade agreement, was signed in an online ceremony on 15 November 2020. The trade deal lowers...more
A recent investor-state arbitration decision under the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA Chapter 11), Vento v. Mexico, demonstrates that foreign investors protected by an international...more
On 8 July 2020, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a Request for Information (RFI) regarding the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 13920 of 1 May 2020, on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System. See our prior...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on 22 June 2020 voted to adopt regulations codifying its long-standing Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims (Policy Statement). The proposed regulations come after the FTC...more
7/8/2020
/ Country of Origin ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Made in the USA ,
Online Advertisements ,
Product Labels ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On July 1, 2020, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force, and replaced the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). USMCA contains an investment chapter: Chapter 14. Like NAFTA, USMCA...more
7/8/2020
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
CPTPP ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Investment Funds ,
NAFTA ,
Remedies ,
Statute of Limitations ,
UNCITRAL ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
On 24 April 2020 United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer notified Congress that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will enter into force 1 July 2020. As a result, the North American Free...more
5/27/2020
/ Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On 1 May 2020 President Trump issued an "Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System" (the Bulk-Power System EO), which establishes a framework for imposing broad new restrictions on the acquisition,...more
On 17 April the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released significant exceptions (effective Friday 17 April, but to be published on 21 April) to FEMA's temporary final rule prohibiting exports of certain personal...more
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced it is accepting comments on potential Section 301 tariff exclusions for Chinese imports necessary to respond to the coronavirus. USTR is likely to expeditiously...more
3/30/2020
/ China ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exclusions ,
Imports ,
International Harmonization ,
Medical Supplies ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
A deeper dive into the president's FY2021 budget request for the U.S. Department of Commerce reveals new initiatives aimed at safeguarding technology.
- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)...more
2/28/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Export Controls ,
NIST ,
NTIA ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) is noteworthy for its novel “facility specific rapid response labor mechanism” (the Rapid Response Mechanism or Mechanism). The Mechanism permits the United States or...more
2/11/2020
/ Canada ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Rights ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Mexico ,
NLRB ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
On 15 January 2020, President Donald J. Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a “Phase One” Agreement between the United States and China, a truce halting the escalating trade tensions between the two global trading...more
Congressional appropriations serve as a potent tool to guide administrative actions in commerce and trade
Before departing in the final days of 2019, Congress passed a bipartisan spending package amounting to US$1.4...more
1/7/2020
/ Appropriation ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
CFIUS ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Duty Free ,
Export Controls ,
Exporters ,
Exports ,
Federal Budget ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Stream of Commerce ,
Tariffs ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Negotiations ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On 14 October, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13894, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria (EO).
...more
10/18/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Unauthorized Transactions
Consumer companies on both sides of the Pacific are feeling the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. Targeted by the retaliatory tariffs imposed by both governments and already feeling price pressure as consumer confidence has...more
9/10/2019
/ China ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On 10 July 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) to determine whether the tax is...more
8/20/2019
/ Digital Services Tax ,
Discrimination ,
E-Commerce ,
e-Services ,
France ,
Internet ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Section 301 ,
Stream of Commerce ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
USTR ,
Websites
Following on the heels of U.S. trade negotiators’ return from China, on 1 August, President Trump abruptly announced via Twitter an “additional Tariff of 10 percent on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products...more
8/14/2019
/ China ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On 10 July 2019 the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into France's digital services tax to determine whether the tax is discriminatory...more
On 13 May 2019 China's State Council Tariff Commission announced a tariff exclusion process in which importers of certain U.S. goods subject to retaliatory tariffs can apply for exclusions from Chinese tariffs on a...more
On 20 June 2019 the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the final product exclusion process for List 3 by which U.S. stakeholders can request exclusion of particular Chinese products classified...more
6/25/2019
/ China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exclusion List ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Section 301 ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USTR
Legislation funding the U.S. Government that was signed into law by President Trump on 15 February 2019 includes a provision requiring an exclusion process for articles subject to the third round of tariffs on Chinese...more
On 30 September, after an intensive, last-minute flurry of negotiations, Canada joined the United States and Mexico in a new trilateral agreement to replace the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA 1.0).
...more
10/26/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
The Department of the Interior's (DOI) "critical minerals" list could provide insight into the Trump administration's future national security and trade investigations under the Trade and Expansion Act of 1962. Already the...more
On 15 June 2018 the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the imposition of additional 25 percent tariffs (i.e., a 25 percent tax) on US$34 billion in annual imports from China. The new duties will be effective...more
As potential trade war looms, nearly 1,300 U.S.-imports may be subject to additional 25 percent tariffs under Section 301.
U.S. imports from China potentially subject to additional duties include certain chemicals,...more
4/9/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Foreign Relations ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR