The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on regulations banning forced labor in European Union supply chains. The legislative proposal supports the EU’s goals of prohibiting the use of forced labor in manufacturing, applying to both manufacturing within Europe and also to goods imported from abroad. This
John Brew
John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring's International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations on matters involving customs administration, enforcement, compliance, litigation, legislation and policy.
John represents clients in proceedings at the administrative and judicial levels, as well as before Congress and the international bureaucracies that handle customs and trade matters. He advises clients on all substantive import regulatory issues handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as classification, valuation, origin, marking, tariff preference programs, other agency regulations, admissibility, import restrictions, quotas, drawback, audits, prior disclosures, penalties, investigations, Importer Self Assessment and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs, importations under bond, the Jones Act, vessel repairs, and foreign trade zone matters.
WTO Extends E-Commerce Moratorium to 2026
The conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (“WTO”) 13th ministerial meeting (“MC13”) this past Friday, March 1st, saw the extension of the so-called e-commerce moratorium until the next ministerial conference in two years, at which point it will permanently expire unless another agreement is reached. The moratorium, which suspends customs duties on…
Luxury automobiles from China detained by CBP over forced labor violations
“Several thousands” of vehicles from German luxury brands including Porsche, Bentley, and Audi have been detained at U.S. ports following the discovery of a Chinese subcomponent violating U.S. anti-forced labor laws. The parent company, Volkswagen Group, had sourced a key electronic component through a supplier further down the company’s supply chain and was unaware of…
New Reports Document Best Practices for Avoiding Uyghur Forced Labor in RE Supply Chains
Jan. 25, 2024—The United Kingdom (“UK”)-based Anti-Slavery International, in combination with the Investor Alliance for Human Rights and the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University, has published a series of reports addressing the issue of forced labor in solar and electric vehicle supply chains relating to Uyghur and other Turkic ethnic…
USTR Extends Section 301 Tariff Exclusions, Set to Open Up Public Docket for Comment
As the four-year review of Section 301 duties continues, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) stated last week that the Biden administration will be extending tariff exclusions through May 31, 2024. These exclusions, listed in the USTR’s index, were set to expire on December 31, 2023, but the administration chose to extend…
USTR Further Extends Section 301 Tariff Exclusions to Allow More Time for Four-Year Review
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced on September 6, 2023 the further extension of 352 reinstated exclusions and 77 COVID-related exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China. These exclusions, which cover a variety of products ranging from machinery components to medical equipment, constitute the only remaining active exclusions…
New Section 232 Exclusion Proposed Rules Will Force Additional Burden of Proof on Importers and Domestic Producers
On August 28, 2023, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) proposed new rules to streamline and strengthen the Section 232 Exclusions Process for Steel and Aluminum imports. The proposed rules will build on the five existing interim final rules and respond to public comments received by BIS since February 2022. BIS…
U.S. Department of Commerce Releases Text from IPEF Agreement on Supply Chains
On September 7, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce released the text of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement three days before a U.S. delegation is set to travel to Bangkok, Thailand for the fifth negotiating round. In this round, IPEF partners will focus on Pillars I (Trade)…
GAO Report on Section 232 Exclusions Signals Increased Enforcement for Steel and Aluminum Importers
On July 20, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report titled, Steel and Aluminum Tariffs: Agencies Should Ensure Section 232 Exclusion Requests are Needed and Duties are Paid. Following an investigation analyzing import entry data from March 2018 through September 2021, GAO published a 66-page report about the usage and administration…
House Democrats Introduce Legislation to Reauthorize and Update Key Trade Programs
On Thursday, June 22, House Democrats proposed a bill named the “American Worker and Trade Competitiveness Act”, which aims to reauthorize and update key trade programs aimed at enhancing U.S. trade competitiveness and supporting workers. Introduced by Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), ranking member of the Ways & Means trade subcommittee, the bill focuses on the Generalized…