The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has announced that it is further restricting access by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and its designated non-U.S. affiliates (“Huawei”) to U.S.-produced technology and software. As we have previously discussed, BIS first added Huawei to its Entity List on May 15, 2019 and has continued to impose additional export restrictions on Huawei under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). Most recently, BIS published a Federal Register notice to implement the following enhancements. Although BIS published this Federal Register notice on August 20, 2020, the following rule changes took effect retroactively as of August 17, 2020:
U.S. Seeks Snapback of U.N. Sanctions on Iran Despite Departure from Nuclear Deal
The United States is formally demanding that the United Nations (U.N.) reimpose sanctions on Iran for its failure to meet commitments to limit its nuclear program set forth under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). U.N. sanctions on Iran were lifted in 2015 as part of the terms of the JCPOA, which included the United States, European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China as signatories. The U.S. formally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and reinstated sanctions on Iran.
Updated CBP Marking Guidance on Goods from Hong Kong; Effective Date Pushed Back to November 9, 2020
On August 10, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice announcing that goods produced in Hong Kong and exported to the U.S. must now be marked as a product of China (e.g., Made in China), which we covered in a previous post here. The marking changes were originally set
USTR Requests Comments on China’s WTO Compliance
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) requests comments to assist in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on China’s compliance with commitments made in connection to its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. The deadline for the submission of comments is September 16, 2020. The interagency Trade Policy
Commerce Proposes Modifications to AD/CVD Laws to Strengthen Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) announced in a Federal Register notice that it is proposing significant changes to its antidumping and countervailing duty regulations. The last time such sweeping changes were undertaken were in 1997 after the WTO went into effect. Commerce is requesting comments on the proposed changes by September 14, 2020.
Among the most significant changes outlined in Commerce’s proposal are the changes to its conduct of scope proceedings, which determine whether a certain product is subject to the scope of an AD or CVD order; and to circumvention proceedings where importers are alleged to be avoiding duties, often by using components from the subject country to assemble the product in another country not subject to the relevant AD/CVD order. Currently, both types of proceedings are governed by the same set of regulations in 19 C.F.R. §351.225. Commerce’s proposal would separate the two proceedings into unique regulatory frameworks.
Update: Goods from Hong Kong and China Tariffs
On August 10, 2020 Customs issued a notice announcing that goods produced in Hong Kong and exported to the U.S. must now be marked as a product of China (e.g., Made in China). To see our previous post on the issue, click here. The marking changes are set to take effect on September 25,
USTR Revises List of EU Imports Subject to Section 301 Tariffs
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued an updated list of goods from the European Union (EU) subject to Section 301 tariffs as part of the Large Civil Aircraft dispute. In October 2019, the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of the U.S. and Boeing in the dispute against the EU and Airbus,
BIS Announces Virtual 2020 Export Controls Conference
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will be holding a virtual conference on export control policy on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, after its annual in-person conference originally due to be held this summer was cancelled due to the coronavirus. The planned agenda for the BIS conference includes sessions on:
- Executive Order 13873: Securing the
CBP Issues Marking Guidance for Goods Produced in Hong Kong
On August 10, 2020, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice that goods produced in Hong Kong will need to be marked as a product of China starting on September 25, 2020. The marking changes are the result of the July 14, 2020 Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization that ended Hong Kong’s special trade status.
Canada Announces Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Imports
On August 7, 2020, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that Canada will be imposing retaliatory tariffs on $2.7 billion worth of U.S. imports in response to President Trump’s decision to re-implement a 10% ad valorem tariff on non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada (HTS subheading 7601.10). During a news conference Freeland stated, “We will