Perspectives on China

In yet another action on April 28, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule imposing stricter license requirements on a wide range of exports, reexports and transfers to China, Russia, or Venezuela for “military end uses” or to “military end users.”

Rumors have circulated through the export community for months, and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has finally acted. In a final rule published April 28, 2020, BIS is removing License Exception Civil End-Users (CIV) (15 CFR §740.5) from the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

In recent years, the US Government has grown increasingly concerned by China’s official policy of “military-civil fusion” (MCF), and multiple national security agencies have sounded the alarm bell.

Arent Fox Attorney Russell Semmel will speak at the 20th Judicial Conference of the United States Court of International Trade hosted on November 18, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Arent Fox International Arbitration Associate Claudia Hartleben will speak at a forum titled “Delivering on the Promise of International Arbitration: How Can Parties Obtain the Value and Efficiency that International Commercial Arbitration Is Supposed to Provide?”

On August 1, 2019, Trump posted a tweet that beginning on September 1, 2019, importers can expect a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese goods.

At a press conference at the G20 Summit in Japan on June 29, President Trump said he will not lift current Section 301 tariffs on China, but also would not add tariffs on any additional Chinese imports “for at least the time being” as part of an agreement to resume negotiations with China. 

On May 21, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a Federal Register notice requesting comments on the proposed exclusion process for List 3 of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports.

Between the addition of Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, to the Entity List and a new EO declaring a national emergency related to information and communications technology and services, last week proved to be nonstop excitement for the export control world.

For these tariffs to become effective, the US Trade Representative will need to publish a final notice after public comment and hearing.

On Sunday, May 5, President Donald Trump announced that the Section 301 tariffs on List 3 products will increase from 10 percent to 25 percent on Friday, May 10, and to expect a fourth list of $325 billion in Chinese imports to be taxed at 25 percent.

Headlines that matter for privacy and data security.

The US Trade Representative has announced the Trump administration’s intention of leaving companies subject to the 10 percent tariff rate under Section 301 List 3 without an exclusion process. 

The Trump Administration recently announced several major decisions, including: finalizing the List 3 products subject to additional duties and revealing its implementation schedule.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer issued a statement on August 2, 2018, advising that President Trump has directed him to consider raising the previously proposed 10% additional duty to be applied to $200 billion worth of Chinese goods (referred to as the List 3 products) to 25%.

On July 6, 2018, the implementation day for the Section 301 “List 1” duties, the United States Trade Representative released the procedures for filing exclusion requests for List 1 products subject to the 25 percent tariff pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Today, the Government of Canada released the final list of goods that will be subject to retaliatory tariffs effective July 1, 2018.

Where is my child? Ask any parent who has ever lost sight of their child and they will tell you that these short moments of panic can feel like a lifetime. Thankfully, events like these can in many ways soon be a thing of the past.

When companies create anti-bribery programs and provide training to staff, many understandably focus on bribery of foreign government officials.

On June 15, the United States Trade Representative released two product lists relating to Section 301 duties.

On May 20, 2018, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin stated that the US was “putting the trade war on hold,” pending negotiations with China to reduce the US trade deficit and address certain acts, policies, and practices related to intellectual property rights.

The Trump Administration did an about-face over the weekend, announcing that the sweeping 25 percent tariffs on products imported from China were placed on hold, as the two countries try to iron out a deal that would avoid the impending trade war.

US Customs and Border Protection published guidance for claiming refunds on duty preference claims made under the Generalized System of Preferences between the program’s expiration on December 31, 2017 and the implementation date of its reauthorization date, April 22, 2018.

Arent Fox is pleased to announce the launch of a new Blockchain group that pulls together attorneys from a number of the firm’s top practices to help clients navigate this emerging technology.

Government regulators have struggled to keep pace with entrepreneurs as they launch new cryptocurrencies and trading platforms, resulting in largely unregulated virtual currency exchanges.