Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published two Federal Register notices announcing hearings for the recently initiated Section 301 investigations into Vietnam’s currency valuation practices (85 FR 75397) and import of illegal timber (85 FR 75398). The hearings follow the announcement of the investigations in October of this year and
Please Join Crowell & Moring for an Election 2020 Webinar Series – Election 2020: U.S. International Trade Policy and Its Impact on Cross-Border Business Strategy
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2020
Time: 9:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Duration: 1 hour
The second webinar in our Election 2020 series will focus on the candidates’ positions on International Trade issues and how the election results might impact businesses in 2021 and beyond. In this roundtable webinar, a team of lawyers
USTR Launches Section 301 Investigation Targeting Imports from Vietnam
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, at the direction of the President, a two-part investigation is being initiated into Vietnam under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. USTR, in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury, will review policies related to the import and use of
HTMX et al. v. United States – An (ongoing?) Opportunity for Importers to Recover Section 301 Tariffs Paid on Section 301 List 3 (and List 4a) Products
The Court of International Trade (“CIT”) saw nearly 3,000 complaints filed over a period of four days from Friday, September 18, 2020 to Monday, September 22, 2020 challenging the United States Trade Representative’s (“USTR”) authority to levy Section 301 Tariffs on products found on List 3 (and frequently, also those also found on List 4A)
USTR Launches 301 Investigations into Digital Services Taxes
Opens Door for Potential Retaliatory Tariffs by United States
On June 2, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) launched a series of Section 301 trade investigations into digital services taxes (DST) adopted or under consideration by a number of United States (U.S.) trading partners – including Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European
U.S. Prepares Tariffs on $2.4 Billion in French Goods in Retaliation for Digital Services Tax
On December 2, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the timeline for a proposal to impose up to 100% tariffs on up to $2.4 billion in French goods. The details for this proposal were published in a Federal Register notice. According to the notice, USTR determined that “France’s Digital Services Tax [DST]
USTR Announces China Section 301 List 4 with Public Hearing and Comment Dates
In a soon to be published Federal Register Notice, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced a proposed additional ad valorem duty of up to 25 percent on products from China with an annual trade value of an estimated $300 billion. The proposed product list (“List 4”) is located in the Annex to the notice
Trump Administration Readies $11 Billion in Tariffs against EU and Schedules Section 301 Hearing in WTO Airbus Case
On April 8, 2019, the Trump administration released a list (see Annex) of $11 billion of European goods threatened with tariffs because of the WTO decision finding that “harmful subsidies” support the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. This case had been in litigation at the WTO for 14 years. It began in 2004 when the United States
USTR: No Exclusion Process on $200 Billion List 3 Products Unless Tariff Raised to 25%
On October 18, 2018, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and ten other Democratic senators sent a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) asking why an exclusion process was not in place for the 10 percent tariff on List 3’s $200 billion
USTR Announces Special Review under Section 301 – Hearing Set for February 27
The USTR published a Federal Register Notice announcing its yearly “special review” to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection under Section 301 of