International Trade & Supply Chain

On December 23, 2021 President Biden signed H.R. 6256, wide-reaching legislation aimed at preventing the importation of goods “mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor” from China, in particular the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (the “XUAR”).  See Text – H.R.6256 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): To ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.  The bill specifically references cotton, tomatoes and polysilicon, but in fact covers all types of products as well as manufacturers and even companies involved in the recruitment and transport of workers.

In Husch Blackwell’s November 2021 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • The U.S. set to rollback existing Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs
  • The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative extending exclusions for COVID related products
  • An update on U.S. Department of Commerce decisions

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On December 1, 2021, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) announced in the Federal Register the opportunity to request an annual administrative review for products that are currently subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. The products and countries that have been listed in the Federal Register notice are the following:

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced in a notice that 81 COVID specific product exclusions would be extended for an additional 6 months, with all COVID exclusions receiving an additional 16-day transition period. The exclusions on the 81 products was set to expire on November 14, 2021, but will now be pushed back until May 31, 2022, allowing these medical – care products to remain free from additional duties upon importation. The announcement comes after USTR requested public comments on August 27, 2021 on whether the exclusions should be further extended.

On October 31, 2021, the Secretary of Commerce and United States Trade Representative released a statement confirming that the United States and the European Union (EU) have come to an agreement (Agreement) that will modify the current section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

On November 2, 2021, the Ad Hoc Coalition of American SAP Producers (“Petitioner”), filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping duties on imports of superabsorbent polymers from Korea.

SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The merchandise covered by this order is superabsorbent polymers (“SAP”), insoluble in water, which result from a polymerization of primarily acrylic acid…