Agriculture Secretary Perdue recently stated the trade damages to be addressed in a new round of farm aid is $15 to $20 billion! The general press is replete with stories about how, as these tariffs continue, companies are making sourcing changes that will be hard to reverse. So, what is the latest news?

First, there

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in May 2019

Were crimes committed? Was the President saved by the inaction of his own staff?  Did he stay on the right side of the law? Was there obstruction of justice? These and other serious topics are the source for heated discussions around water coolers, at your

In March 2018, President Trump signed an executive order imposing Section 232 tariffs on steel products at the rate of 25% and 10% tariffs on aluminum products for reasons of national security.  At this time, Canada was exempted from the steel and aluminum tariffs.  On June 1, 2018, President Trump signed an executive order to

On May 10, 2019, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) posted Customs Notice 19-08 “Final Safeguard Measures on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods”.  Effective May 13, 2019, Canada will impose definitive safeguard duties on Heavy Plate and Stainless Steel Wire for a period of 3 years. Canada is imposing tariff rate quotas

At midnight, the United States increased tariff rates on many goods from China from 10% to 25% (referred to as the “U.S. Trump Tariffs”).  The U.S. Trump Tariffs are a form of customs duty that is payable by the importer and is passed on to U.S. consumers.

As a result of the new higher U.S.

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

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 was signed into law on Friday, February 15, 2019, so the potential for another shutdown was averted, but there was a hidden gem buried in a related document. This new law contains a specific appropriation for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office which reads: “For necessary expenses of the Office

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