In the continuing, long-running trade dispute between the United States and the European Union (EU) over aircraft subsidies, the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 2, 2019, again ruled that the EU, despite earlier decisions instructing the EU to remove or alter its aircraft subsidies, has continued to provide support for the Airbus A350 and A380 jets which, in turn, has distorted the large civil aircraft market and placed U.S. aircraft manufacturers at an unfair…

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued its Section 301 investigation report this week on France’s digital services tax (DST), finding that the tax discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies. The report notes that the French DST is inconsistent with prevailing tax principles because of its unusual and inconsistent retroactivity, its application to revenue rather than income, its extraterritorial application to…

On November 27, 2019, the Department of Commerce published in the Federal Register proposed regulations for its review and potential blocking of transactions involving the information and communications technology and services supply chain (ICTS Supply Chain). The notice follows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order of May 15, 2019, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain,” which required Commerce to implement regulations governing the process and procedures that will be used to…

While no formal notice has been published by the Department of Commerce yet, President Donald Trump tweeted today that Section 232 tariffs will be re-imposed on imports of steel and aluminum products from Argentina and Brazil. In an early morning tweet, the president announced that “Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced additional Section 301 tariff exclusions for certain imported Chinese products appearing on List 3. These products have been subject to Section 301 tariffs since September 24, 2018, when President Donald Trump announced additional import duties on Chinese goods with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion. This batch of approved product exclusions covers 32 specially-prepared product descriptions covering 39 separately filed exclusion requests. These…

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency committee headed by the Department of the Treasury, is authorized to review transactions that could result in the control of U.S. businesses by foreign persons or companies in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States. CFIUS has become more widely known in the past decade amid growing concern over foreign investment in the United…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced today more Section 301 tariff exclusions for certain imported Chinese products appearing on List 3. These products have been subject to Section 301 tariffs since September 24, 2018. The USTR determined that two 10-digit subheadings will be excluded in their entirety: 8409.91.3000: Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the engines of heading 8407 or 8408: Suitable for use solely or principally with spark-ignition internal…