Effective April 17, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has amended its regulations implementing the Enforce and Protect Act of 2015 (“EAPA”), a statute granting increased authority to investigate allegations of evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty (“AD/CVD”) orders.  The amendments were issued in a final rule of March 18, 2024, and they are the first since CBP issued interim regulations following EAPA’s enactment. One of the most anticipated amendments is that CBP will now issue administrative protective orders (“APOs) granting parties access to business confidenti ..read more

     On March 28, 2024, CC Metals and Alloys, LLC (“CCMA”) and Ferroglobe USA, Inc.(“Ferroglobe”) (“Petitioners”), filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on ferrosilicon from the Federative Republic of Brazil (“Brazil”), the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Kazakhstan”), Malaysia, and the Russian Federation (“Russia”). SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION The following language describes the imported merchandise from Brazil, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Russia that is within the scope of this Petition: The scope of this investigation covers all forms and si ..read more

A recent ruling analyzed whether certain functions performed in preparation for filing an entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) arise to the level of “Customs Business” that must be performed by a licensed broker. Ruling HQ H326926, issued to Heizwerthy Customs & Freight Solutions (“Heizwerthy”), states that allowing an unlicensed company to extract and key in entry-related data elements constitutes impermissible Customs Business. As one of few rulings on the topic, this development provides important insight for brokers and importers on what activities are considered Cust ..read more

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 it established a process by which importers could request exclusions for particular products on each list.  Both the reinstated exclusions and the COVID-related exclusions were previously extended but were set to expire on December 31, 2023 ..read more

On December 8, 2023, Senators Bill Cassidy and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced a new version of the Customs Modernization bill to amend the Tariff Act of 1930. The new proposal comes over two years after Senator Cassidy initially proposed draft legislation, which we explained in a prior post. The most recent proposed bill aims to strengthen U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”) authority to enforce Customs regulations of international shipments. Since enactment of the Customs Modernization Act of 1993, U.S. trade volumes have increased significantly from $600 billion to over $2.7 trilli ..read more

On July 26, 2023, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (“FLETF”) issued the first annual update to its guidelines for enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevent Act (“UFLPA”) in a Report to Congress titled “2023 Updates to the Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People’s Republic of China” (“Updated UFLPA Strategy”).  This report is the first strategy update since the UFLPA came into effect a little over one year ago. The Updated UFLPA Strategy explains how several agencies have significantly reallocated resources to mee ..read more

The Department of Homeland Security announced on August 1, 2023, that it is adding three entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) Entity List, the consolidated register of four lists required by section 2(d)(2)(B) of the UFLPA. The UFLPA and its Entity List are explained in more detail in a prior post. The update adds Camel Group Co., Ltd. to the section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) list, which identifies “entities working with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of ..read more

We are pleased to announce that our team’s fourth-annual international trade law year-in-review report was published just before the New Year. In it, we take a detailed look at how 2022 played out and explore how 2023 might develop. As companies continue to work through the challenges associated with supply chain dislocations, geopolitical turmoil, and evolving trade policy, regulation, and enforcement, we hope the framework presented in our report will help your business maximize potential cost savings and minimize potential risks ..read more

On September 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a notice that it is automatically initiating five-year Sunset Reviews for antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders from: People’s Republic of China Paper Clips (5th Review) A–570–826 France Brass Sheet & Strip (5th Review) A–427–602 Germany Brass Sheet & Strip (5th Review) A–428–602 Italy Brass Sheet & Strip (5th Review) A–475–601 Japan Brass Sheet & Strip (5th Review) A–588–704 SS Sheet & Strip (4th Review) A–588–845 South Korea SS Sheet & Strip (4th Review) A–580–834 SS ..read more

On September 1, 2022, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) announced in the Federal Register the opportunity to request an annual administrative review for products that are currently subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. The products and countries that have been listed in the Federal Register notice are the following: AD Belarus: Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars Brazil: Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber India: Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Lined Paper Oil Country Tubular Goods Indonesia: Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars Japan: Methionine Stainless ..read more