Evan Yu

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Stage Set for USMCA Debate in 2019

By Melissa Morris & Evan Yu on December 7, 2018

On December 1, a day after signing the new U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), President Trump suggested to the press that he would formally notify Canada and Mexico of U.S. withdrawal from the existing NAFTA, in order to pressure Congress to pass USMCA in 2019. Meanwhile, on December 6, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), House Democratic Leader and expected Speaker of the House for the 116th Congress, on USMCA. Lighthizer…

International Trade Law

U.S. and China Agree to 90-Day Trade Truce to Negotiate “Structural” Trade Issues

By Melissa Morris & Evan Yu on December 4, 2018

Chinese Yuan Note and U.S. dollar background — Over the weekend, U.S. President Trump and China President Xi Jinping called a fragile 90 day truce that puts their tempestuous trade war on hold—for now.

On December 1, President Trump and President Xi reached agreement on the margins of the G20 in Buenos Aires to delay an increase on the third, $200 billion tranche of Section 301-related tariffs from 10% to 25%, which was originally set to take place January 1. According to the White House, the two sides will now begin a 90-day period of talks to resolve “structural” issues around IP theft, non-tariff barriers, and forced technology transfer.…

International Trade Law

European Commission announces new framework for foreign direct investment screening

By Robert Holleyman, Addie Cliffe & Evan Yu on November 21, 2018

On Tuesday, November 20, the European Commission announced a political agreement with EU member states on a new framework for foreign direct investment (FDI) screening. The legal text for the framework still needs to be finalized and released. The announcement can be found here. According to the Commission, the new framework will provide a mechanism for the Commission and EU member states to request information and raise concerns related to FDI screening, without restricting…

International Trade Law

Treasury CFIUS Pilot Program Overlaps with Made in China 2025 Sectors

By Robert Holleyman, Alan W. H. Gourley, Addie Cliffe, Evan Yu & Jing Jing Zhang on November 8, 2018

On October 10, Treasury announced interim regulations to implement certain provisions of the Foreign Investment Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which President Trump signed into law on August 13, 2018. As part of that announcement, Treasury will initiate a pilot program imposing mandatory declarations on transactions involving certain sensitive sectors. That pilot program is due to go into effect on November 10, 2018 and will cover 27 “pilot program industries.” One of the questions for analysis…

International Trade Law

2018 Midterm Elections Update: Impact on U.S. Trade Policy

By Robert Holleyman, Melissa Morris, Joshua Boswell, Jing Jing Zhang & Evan Yu on November 7, 2018

The 116th Congress begins on January 3, 2019. Based on projections from yesterday’s midterms, Democrats will control the House of Representatives by a narrow margin, while Republicans will expand their hold on the Senate. The changes to Congress are likely to shape trade policy through 2019, but much will depend on how House Democrats use their new majority, and whether trade is a priority issue or whether it will be overtaken by domestic issues. Companies…

International Trade Law

Goodbye, NAFTA. Hello, USMCA…in 2020?

By John Brew, Frances P. Hadfield, Melissa Morris & Evan Yu on October 2, 2018

After more than a year of negotiation, the United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which governed trade among the three nations. The new agreement may not go into effect until 2020 because leaders from the three countries must sign it and then Congress and the legislatures of Canada and Mexico must approve it – a process that will take months. The three NAFTA…

International Trade Law

U.S. and Japan Agree to Launch Bilateral Negotiations on a “Trade Agreement on Goods”

By Melissa Morris, Robert Holleyman, Andrew Blasi & Evan Yu on September 28, 2018

During discussions on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 26 September, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to launch bilateral negotiations to reach what Abe termed a “Trade Agreement on Goods.” The statement issued by the two leaders of the world’s first and third largest economies envisages negotiations proceeding in two phases, the first designed to achieve market-opening largely through concessions in the agriculture sector…

International Trade Law

Canada and U.S. Fail to Reach New NAFTA Agreement; Congress Notified of U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal

By Robert Holleyman, Daniel Cannistra, Melissa Morris & Evan Yu on September 1, 2018

On August 31, after a week of talks, Canada and the United States failed to reach agreement on a new NAFTA that aligns with the bilateral U.S.-Mexico agreement reached on August 27. Among the key outstanding issues is the U.S. objective of opening up Canada’s dairy market and the Canadian objective of maintaining Chapter 19 of the original NAFTA’s dispute settlement for antidumping and countervailing duty cases. Canada will resume negotiations with the U.S. on September…

International Trade Law

U.S. and Mexico Announce “Preliminary Agreement in Principle” on NAFTA Renegotiation – Canada Joins Talks

By Robert Holleyman, Daniel Cannistra, Melissa Morris & Evan Yu on August 29, 2018

On August 27, the U.S. and Mexico announced a “preliminary agreement in principle” on the renegotiation of NAFTA—a deal reached without Canada, which sat out the latest bilateral talks. Canada’s Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, has joined negotiations this week in hopes of reaching a trilateral agreement by Friday, August 31. Despite the significant publicity around this announcement, the ultimate fate of NAFTA still remains uncertain, given that Canada was not part of the bilateral deal…

International Trade Law

NAFTA Negotiation Continues – Now Complicated By Steel And Aluminum Tariffs

By Robert Holleyman, Matthew J. Morris & Evan Yu on March 13, 2018

The 7th round of NAFTA negotiations took place in Mexico City from February 25-March 5 with relatively little fanfare as the talks were overshadowed by President Trump’s comments that his administration would impose Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. Following the close of the round, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamations announcing the tariffs on March 8. Officials are nearing completion of chapters on telecommunications and technical barriers to trade and closed discussions on…

Evan Yu

Stage Set for USMCA Debate in 2019

U.S. and China Agree to 90-Day Trade Truce to Negotiate “Structural” Trade Issues

European Commission announces new framework for foreign direct investment screening

Treasury CFIUS Pilot Program Overlaps with Made in China 2025 Sectors

2018 Midterm Elections Update: Impact on U.S. Trade Policy

Goodbye, NAFTA. Hello, USMCA…in 2020?

U.S. and Japan Agree to Launch Bilateral Negotiations on a “Trade Agreement on Goods”

Canada and U.S. Fail to Reach New NAFTA Agreement; Congress Notified of U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal

U.S. and Mexico Announce “Preliminary Agreement in Principle” on NAFTA Renegotiation – Canada Joins Talks

NAFTA Negotiation Continues – Now Complicated By Steel And Aluminum Tariffs

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