Perspectives on International Trade & Investment

US Government Plans to Evaluate Technology Services Transactions to Protect Against “Foreign Adversary” Threats and May Block or Undo Transactions

WASHINGTON, DC – On November 15, the US Court of International Trade denied the Trump Administration’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an importer challenging the government’s use of a Cold War-era trade law to double national security tariffs on steel imports from Turkey.

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.

IP Partner Pamela M. Deese is a featured speaker at the Brand Protection Summit, co-hosted by CounterFind and Warner Music Group on November 7th, 2019 in New York.

Twenty-five Arent Fox LLP practices have been recognized in the 2020 “Best Law Firms” rankings that are published annually by US News & World Report and Best Lawyers.

The US Trade Representative (USTR) has established a process for interested parties to request that particular products be excluded from these tariffs, which has now closed for the first three lists and is gearing up for the fourth.

On October 23, the President asked the Department of the Treasury to lift previously imposed sanctions against Turkey following the cessation of Turkey’s offensive in Syria and the implementation of a lasting ceasefire.

On October 11, 2019, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) began accepting petitions as part of the 2019 Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) process.

BIS has restricted Cuba’s access to commercial aircraft and other goods, lowered de minimis for foreign items containing US content to 10%, and restricted the temporary sojourn by aircraft in Iran, Syria, Sudan, and North Korea, as well as Cuba. 

The EO is sweeping in scope and will have a significant impact on US companies doing business with Turkey.

Arent Fox’s Director, North American Manufacturing Birgit Matthiesen will speak at the “US-Canada Trade in a New Era Seminar” hosted by the Coalition for New England Companies for Trade (CONECT).

Draft Guidance issued by the US State Department recommends that companies that export items with surveillance capabilities conduct human rights due diligence, and solicits feedback by October 4, 2019.

Soon, elected officials in Washington will be booking their return flights to the capital now that Labor Day has come and gone. After a torrid summer, the cooler autumn months ahead will be welcome news.

List 4A goes into effect, all Section 301 tariffs to increase by 5 percent, USTR deadlines loom, and the President orders American companies to “search for alternatives” to China sourcing. This is your end-of-summer Section 301 China tariffs roundup.

In recent years, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has taken a much stronger interest in the national security ramifications of sensitive data falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, including the sensitive personal data of American citizens.

The DoD, General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a key provision of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19 NDAA). 

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce the expansion of its International Trade practice with the addition of Counsel Matthew Tuchband. 

The US Senate is poised to confirm Tom Feddo to run CFIUS as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security, increasing the bandwidth of CFIUS at a critical time in its history.

WASHINGTON — Fifty Arent Fox LLP attorneys have been rated as leaders in their profession by The Best Lawyers in America 2020.

On August 5, 2019, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO), freezing all assets in which the Government of Venezuela has an interest that are in US hands and prohibiting US persons from transactions with the Government of Venezuela, unless specifically exempted or authorized.

On Friday, August 2, 2019, the US State Department announced the issuance of another round of sanctions on the Russian Government in relation to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act), which will go into effect on August 19, 2019.

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.

Earlier this month, members of Arent Fox’s Export Controls & Economic Sanctions team published analysis in WorldECR that identified problems with the application of secondary sanctions.

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 February 26, 2019, Darling Industries, Inc. (Darling) entered into a $400,000, 18-month consent agreement with the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to settle six alleged violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).