USTR

On April 17, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a new Executive Order (“EO”) building upon a previous EO, Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, which was issued by his prior administration on May 7, 2020.  The new EO directs the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”), and the Interagency Seafood

This blog post covers the most important developments in the trade sphere for the week of March 17-21, 2025.

State Department Determines All Agency Actions on International Trade are “Foreign Affairs Functions” of the U.S. Government

On March 13, 2025, the State Department published a notice in the Federal Register designating all agency action with

On Tuesday, the U.S. government began investigating China’s dominance in the shipbuilding industry. The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces is holding a hearing on U.S. shipbuilding, with a public hearing by the Office of the United States Trade Representative scheduled for March 24.

In addition to the service fee imposed on port

This blog post covers trade developments occurring during the sixth week of the new Trump Administration. It covers events occurring through 12:00 pm Eastern time on Friday, February 28. 

Import-Related Developments

Potential Retaliation for Global Digital Services Taxes

After we published our Week Five in Trade post last week concerning additional sector-specific import tariffs

On Thursday, February 13, 2025, President Trump signed a memorandum entitled “Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs.”  The memorandum stopped well short of immediately imposing a tariff regime and instead directs the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with other Executive Branch departments and agencies, to take actions to investigate the

On Friday, December 13, 2024, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it has initiated an investigation into Nicaragua’s acts, policies, and practices related to labor rights, human rights, and the rule of law under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This investigation marks a historic first under Section 301, focusing on

On May 24, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that 249 products that were eligible for exclusions from 2018 will no longer be eligible for these exclusions, effective June 14, 2024.  The original expiration date was May 31, 2024, but USTR granted a grace period in order for U.S. importers to adjust their sourcing

On May 22, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative released a draft Federal Register notice containing the list of imported goods for which it proposes to increase Section 301 duty rates.  USTR also announced that it was considering an exclusion process by which U.S. manufacturers may request that “particular machinery used in domestic manufacturing be temporarily

On December 26, 2023, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that it will further extend 352 reinstated exclusions and 77 COVID-related exclusions to duties imposed on goods from China pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 until May 31, 2024.  USTR imposed Section 301 duties in four tranches or “lists,” and