The Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published a notice seeking comments from interested parties on steps Commerce should take to modify its application of a “particular market situation” (“PMS”) analysis in antidumping duty cases after a series of decisions by both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of International
On November 1, 2022, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) released the questionnaire it is requesting interested parties to submit for its consideration related to the economic impact of the Section 301 tariffs. The portal to submit responses to the questionnaire will open on November 15, 2022, and will remain open until January 17, 2023.
On September 21, 2022, the Senate passed the Kigali Amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol by a vote of 69 to 27. While many have described the passage as largely symbolic it re-affirms the US’s commitment to the hydrofluorocarbon (“HFC”) phasedown, the implementation of which is already causing shifts in import and export markets, as well as the consumer market.
On September 28, 2022, the Coalition of Freight Coupler Producers (“CFCP” or “Petitioner”), filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping duties pursuant to section 731 of the tariff act of 1930 on imports of Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the People’s Republic of China and the United Mexican States and for
On September 16, 2022, the Biden Administration announced the final rule regarding a two-year pause on the imposition of new anticircumvention duties on imports of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. This decision was in response to significant opposition from importers of solar panels who have been expressing concerns about the
July 6, 2022, will mark the four-year anniversary of the institution of Section 301 tariffs against approximately $370 Billion in imports from China into the United States. In light of this anniversary, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) is commencing the first phase of its Four-Year Review Process, which will allow representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions to submit comments on whether or not the Section 301 tariffs should continue. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2022 (unpublished version available here), USTR is requesting interested parties to address whether the imposition of the tariffs has been beneficial. Comments from domestic interested parties must be submitted in a 60-day window prior to the four-year anniversary. The first round of comments will be accepted between May 7, 2022, and July 5, 2022, for the List 1 tariffs which are set to expire on July 6, 2022. Comments related to the List 2 tariffs will be accepted between June 24, 2022, and August 22, 2022, as those tariffs are set to expire on August 23, 2022.
On March 22, 2022, the United States and the United Kingdom announced in a joint statement that the U.S. will halt Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the U.K, effective June 1, 2022, and that the U.K. will also lift retaliatory tariffs on over $500 million worth of U.S. exports to the U.K. The Section 232 tariffs were instituted in March 2018 on all imports of steel and aluminum from multiple countries.
On March 11, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“EO”) that prohibited the importation into the United States of fish, seafood, and preparations thereof; alcoholic beverages; non-industrial diamonds; and any other products of Russian Federation origin as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce. Because the Executive Order lists no effective date, implementation will be immediate. No exceptions are listed for such products that are in transit and the EO specifically states that the prohibitions apply “notwithstanding any contract entered into or license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.”
On February 10, 2022, the Department of Commerce published a Federal Register notice requesting public comments on the Section 232 exclusions process. The notice follows the agreement reached between the U.S. and the EU related to the tariff rate quotas for steel and aluminum articles from EU member countries and the President’s January 3, 2022 announcement, Adjusting Imports of Steel into the United States (Proclamation 10328).
The U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) announced on Friday that it was set to resume trade missions starting as early as March 2022. Trade missions are government- led programs where members of the trade can meet directly with foreign industries and officials to explore potential business opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic brought these missions to a sudden halt in March 2020 and no trade missions have occurred in the past 24 month. The International Trade Administration (“ITA”) is now preparing to resume in-person trade missions, where possible.