U.S. International Trade Commission
On August 29, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the new Trade Fraud Task Force focused on robust enforcement of import laws and regulations. A partnership between the DOJ Civil and Criminal Divisions and the...more
In early 2025, the U.S. government imposed steep tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) targeting imports from China, Canada, and Mexico. These tariffs were levied, in part, as penalties for the...more
1. Announcement - On August 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the formation of a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force (the “Task Force”) to enhance enforcement against importers and other entities...more
This bulletin was originally published on July 11, 2025. It has been updated to reflect changes from an Executive Order published by the White House on July 30, 2025, titled "Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All...more
The Realities of Free Trade - Many of our basic freedoms are guaranteed by the Constitution. Speech, press, assembly, religion: these are all accepted as sacrosanct rights by reasonable people across the political spectrum....more
Several fundamental conditions are widely presumed necessary for a country to enjoy the benefits of global trade. One condition is that import activity ought not exceed export activity.1 Put more simply, we must sell more...more
The various tariffs that President Trump has imposed since retaking office are based on delegated authority found in several existing statutes. But a century ago, tariffs were primarily the purview of Congress. One of the...more
On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced a new 10% global “reciprocal” tariff on U.S. imports from all countries, with higher tariff rates for a large number of countries that range from 11 to 50% ad valorem (the...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Jan. 21, 2025 (Jan. 21 NPRM), narrowing the scope of the administrative exemption under...more
As President Trump begins his second term, the absence of tariffs among the more than 200 executive orders signed on his first day in office was a notable deviation from expectations. However, the President announced plans to...more
On January 14, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a proposal to alter its regulations regarding de minimis imports. Section 321(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930 currently authorizes duty exemptions, as well...more
On November 25, 2024, President-elect Trump announced that he would impose an additional 10% tariff on China, and 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, garnering considerable attention both for their potential to reshape the U.S....more
In today’s complex global marketplace, businesses are increasingly confronted with the challenges of supply chain disruptions, rising costs, and fierce competition—all exacerbated by trade remedy tariffs. While many of these...more
President-elect Trump has repeatedly stated that he will increase tariffs. While it is unclear to what extent, while campaigning he proposed a 10% to 20% tariff on all imports and an additional 60% or more on goods from...more
President-elect Donald Trump has made several recent statements concerning his intention to exercise his authority as President to raise tariffs unilaterally on goods from China, from Mexico and Canada (Washinton Post,...more
The United States has a long history of using tariffs. The first significant tariff legislation was the Tariff Act of 1789, signed by President George Washington. Tariffs have been used for various purposes over the years,...more
[Written by: Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group] Several tribunals and courts were established at various periods of America’s history to resolve trade-related litigation, both at the trial and...more
President-Elect Trump campaigned on the promise to increase tariffs on imports to the United States. Shortly after the election he announced significant tariffs on goods from the three largest trading partners: China, Mexico,...more
This is the second of a three-part series about the USMCA joint review process, focusing on China, Mexico, and competing visions of a “worker-centered” trade policy. Part one introduces the USMCA joint review process and...more
Although no one can predict what U.S. trade policy will be under the next administration, one thing we know for sure is that the Trump Administration’s policies were very muscular with the goal of forcing U.S. companies to...more
There is an increasing demand to do something about the de minimis shipments under §321 of the Tariff Act (19 USC 1321). What is §321? Let’s take a look at some of the text from Title 19: “The Secretary of the Treasury,...more
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana. As an example of this I present to you the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. If you are not familiar with this, it is worth taking a moment...more
On March 22, 2024, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) released its anticipated new final countervailing duty regulations authorizing the agency to investigate subsidies provided by third country governments to...more
In February 2024, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began taking a new approach to Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enforcement—questionnaires. Once again, the solar industry is among the first targets, vanguards...more
From Wikipedia: De minimis is a Latin expression meaning “pertaining to minimal things”, normally in the terms de minimis non curat praetor. (“The praetor does not concern himself with trifles”) or de minimis non curat lex...more