Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in February 2019

Of all the questions asked of trade attorneys, this is likely the most frequent one.  The answer is both a study in current events, but also much more complex.  Let’s start at the obvious beginning point. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) receives advance information about

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in January 2019

One of the topics that consistently makes the top 5 in just about every survey of issues of concern to companies is the cost of regulatory compliance. This is true in large measure because the complexity of the issues covered by those regulations keeps increasing

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

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

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

Canada

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,

Late in the evening on September 30, 2018, the United States, Canada and Mexico announced the conclusion of negotiations of the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (”USMCA”) (also known as NAFTA 2.0). While the text of USMCA remains to be finalized, formally signed and ratified by each of the three countries, a preliminary

Published by the Journal of Commerce in September 2018.

While we are all understandably caught up in the trade war with China and wait to see whether additional tariffs will be imposed on more Chinese-made goods, the Korea – U.S. Free Trade Agreement revisions have been made public by the U.S. Trade Representative. Those changes

On August 1, 2018, USTR Lighthizer issued a press release indicating he was following through with President Trump’s direction and will consider raising the rate of duty from 10% to 25% on those products on China 301 List 3. A formal notice in the Federal Register is expected soon.

Mr. Lighthizer also announced the written