On September 23, 2024, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released for public inspection a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to prohibit the sale or import of connected vehicles (CVs) with certain hardware and software that have a sufficient nexus to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or Russia. If the Vehicle Connectivity System (VCS) hardware and the VCS and Automated Driving System (ADS) software are designed, developed, manufactured or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the PRC or Russia, the transactions outlined below would be prohibited.
On September 12, 2024, the UK government published the Trade, Aircraft and Shipping Sanctions (Civil Enforcement) Regulations 2024 (the “Regulations”), granting the UK’s trade sanctions enforcement body, the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI), new implementation and enforcement powers effective from 10 October 2024. The Regulations also grant the Department for Transport (DfT) corresponding powers in relation to aircraft and shipping sanctions (i.e., sanctions relating to the movement, registration and ownership of aircrafts and ships).
On September 13, 2024 USTR announced modifications to the tariffs originally imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to pressure China to eliminate unreasonable policies and practices related to technology transfer and intellectual property protection. The changes reflect a comprehensive review of the duties required by statute.
USTR’s announcement follows its May 14, 2024 report on the four-year anniversary review of the Section 301 tariffs. The May 14, 2024, report stated that USTR would continue existing Section 301 tariffs on most products and proposed new or increased tariffs on products in certain strategic sectors, including lithium-ion batteries, lead acid battery parts, electric vehicles, critical minerals, permanent magnets, semiconductors, solar cells, ship-to-shore cranes, steel and aluminum and medical and personal protective equipment. USTR proposed granting certain limited exclusions for solar manufacturing equipment and for machinery used in domestic manufacturing.
On September 12, 2024, the Biden Administration announced a number of new trade-related measures related to imports of Chinese-manufactured goods. This announcement comes as the latest action in the Biden Administration’s efforts to reinforce American manufacturing and supply chains.
On September 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule imposing significant new export controls on quantum computing, cryocooling systems, semiconductor equipment, and additive manufacturing technologies. These controls are meant to align U.S. regulations with recent regulations adopted by several close U.S. allies and are intended to address national security concerns related to the proliferation of sensitive technologies. BIS is currently accepting comments on the interim final rule until November 5, 2024.
On 24 June 2024, the EU adopted its 14th package of sanctions against Russia. The latest measures include:
These measures are summarized in further detail below.
On May 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) to better implement the Biden-Harris Administration’s policy aimed at increasing support for the Cuban people. These amendments enhanced authorizations for internet-based services to promote internet freedom in Cuba, support independent Cuban private sector entrepreneurs, and expand access to financial services. In conjunction with these amendments, OFAC issued six new, Cuba-related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and amended eight Cuba-related FAQs. These FAQs are available here.
On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published the Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation (“Report”), which addresses the four-year review of China-related tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (“Trade Act”) (19 U.S.C. 2411). Our previous alert on this report is available here.
On May 22, 2024, USTR published a Federal Register notice which requests comments on the proposed modifications and machinery exclusion process discussed in the May 14 report. The notice does not address the status of the current exclusions from the Section 301 duties, which are due to expire at the end of May.
Below, we discuss the proposed modifications detailed in the USTR Federal Register notice. Continue reading →
On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published the Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation (“Report”), which addresses the four-year review of China-related tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (“Trade Act”) (19 U.S.C. 2411). Our previous alert on the 2018 Section 301 Investigation findings is available here.
