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By: Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Blog Authors

Danyal Arnold
Chloe Baldwin
Yongqing Bao
Christophe Bondy
Charlotte Brett
Henry Cao
Eric Emerson
Alexandre Genest
Paul Hurst
Hunter Johnston
Nicholas Kimbrell
Amy Lentz
David O'Sullivan
Marcia Pulcherio
Daniel Rubenstein
Claire Schachter
Katy Shin
Zachary Simmons
Yumiko Takahashi
Luke Tillman
Stephanie Wang
Jeffrey Weiss

Latest from Global Trade Policy Blog

On January 25, 2021, the EU-Korea Panel of Experts found that Korea had failed to uphold its labor obligations to “respect, promote, and realise” the right to freedom of association and to take concrete steps to ratify all eight fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO). In the final report, the Panel recommended Korea to bring its domestic laws “into conformity with the principles concerning freedom of association” but recognized that Korea had “ma[de]…
On February 18, 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) published its Communication on an Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy which we previously analyzed in our blog post. Below, we look into the Communication’s Annex on Reforming the WTO: Towards a Sustainable and Effective Multilateral Trading System. The Commission in its Trade Policy Review listed reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a clear European Union (EU) priority. The Commission notes in the…
As the Biden Administration settles into its second month in office some signals have emerged that have offered insights into the potential direction of US trade policy. Key trade officials, including United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, have testified before the Senate as part of their confirmation processes.  The testimonies and responses of both nominees, in combination with the recently released USTR “2021 Presidential Trade Policy Agenda” report, have…
International Trade Associate Zachary Simmons authored an opinion piece, “Global LGBTQ+ Rights Could Be Elevated Through Biden’s Trade Policy,” for The Advocate. The article, published on February 24, 2021, advocates for the inclusion of global LGBT rights objectives in US trade policy on various policy and political grounds. As the Biden Administration places particular emphasis on human rights considerations in crafting its policies toward the rest of the world, the article promotes the idea that…
On February 25, 2021, the Senate Finance Committee held hearings on the nomination of Katherine Tai to become the next United States Trade Representative. In her opening remarks, Tai made clear that her first priority would be to help American communities emerge from the pandemic and related economic crisis. With regard to trade specifically, she discussed the importance of a worker-focused trade policy. As part of that policy, she committed to pursuing approaches that “advance…
On January 25, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (“E.O.”) 14005, “Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers.” The E.O. establishes as policy that the US Government “use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States” and “should, whenever possible, procure goods, products, materials, and services from…
In order to ensure that the United States possesses resilient supply chains that protect national security, meet America’s needs during emergencies and keep America competitive globally, the Biden Administration has issued an executive order on “America’s Supply Chains.” The order initiates two tiers of supply chain reviews: a 100-day supply chain review of four specific U.S. industries and a year-long review of six sector-wide U.S. supply chains. These reviews will lead to the issuance of…
On 1 January 2021, the Japan-UK Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Japan-UK CEPA) came into force, after only a few months of intense negotiations. Japan and the UK embarked on formal negotiations on 9 June 2020 and reached an agreement in principle on the deal on 11 September 2020. This remarkably speedy achievement reflected enormous pressure from business leaders to have a deal in place before the end of the UK-EU transition period on 31 December…
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The European Commission published its Communication on An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy on 18 February 2021 (the Communication). This follows a consultation on the EU’s Trade Policy Review which closed in November 2020. The Communication seeks to reset the course of the EU’s trade policy in the context of global uncertainty and increased competition. Its key theme is “open strategic autonomy”, a concept characterized by three main elements: 1) furthering openness and engagement…
Recent decisions from the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) have clarified the basis for legal challenges to the tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on imports of steel and aluminum products on the grounds of national security. While the court has generally rejected wholesale challenges to these duties, other cases suggest that parties appealing the denial of specific exclusions to these duties might have some ability to obtain relief. In Universal Steel Products, Inc.…