Published originally by the Journal of Commerce in December 2018 When the General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) took effect on May 25, 2018, American companies found themselves in a quandary. The language of the regulations was sufficiently broad to initially conclude that even if a company had no presence or operation in Europe, it would be required to comply. As a reminder, the EU member countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,…

One of the bills signed into law by California Governor Edmund G. Brown from the most recent legislative session aims to hold customers accountable when hiring trucking companies that have a record of Labor Code violations. Under SB 1402, customers who utilize trucking companies to deliver goods from California’s ports may be held jointly and severally liable for certain Labor Code violations committed by those trucking companies. Here is the explanation for the need…

Over the weekend, President Trump announced a deal with China. The result is the 10% tariff imposed on goods on List 3 of Chinese made goods will remain in place for an additional 90 days rather than increase to 25% on January 1, 2019. The challenge is there was no joint communique issued by the parties. As a result, the actual parameters of the deal are open to doubt. China supposedly agreed to buy large…

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in November 2018 One of the many frustrations facing international traders trying to import goods into the U.S. is whether or not they will be accepted as importer of record by Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”).   CBP established a program to deal with what it views as the irregularities frequently associated with shipments originating in China (among other countries) – the New Importer Task Force.  This effort is…

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in October 2018 While a lot of well-deserved attention is being paid to the steel, aluminum and China tariffs, and the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, change is afoot in many other ways. For example, in July 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued an advisory about risks to the supply chain through links to North Korea. In October 2018, OFAC issued a reminder through the Financial Crimes…

On October 11, 2018, Canada’s Department of Finance announced that effective October 25, 2018, Canada will be imposing emergency tariff rate quotas on 7 categories of steel products.  The Department of Finance has prepared a report and there will be an Order in Council under section 55 of the Customs Tariff to implement the emergency steel safeguard tariff rate quotas before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal determines if the protection is warranted. The Report indicates…

On September, 2018, the United States, Canada, and Mexico announced that a new NAFTA was agreed and would be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) (also known as NAFTA 2.0).  The text of the USMCA was posted on the United States Trade Representative website. LexSage has published an USMCA Resource Guide with USMCA Chapters, NAFTA Chapters and TPP (not CPTPP) Chapters and comparison tables. The USMCA is not yet law in any of the United…