As part of the UK’s new approach to US tariffs announced on 8th December 2020, the government announced it would be rolling over the rebalancing measures taken by the EU in response to the US Section 232 additional tariffs on UK steel, aluminium and derivatives.
On May 25, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register a document that reopens the comment period for the interim final rule published on March 15, 2021 which amends the CBP regulations to provide for mandatory advance electronic data (AED) for international mail shipments.
On May 26, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will publish in the Federal Register a document [CBP Dec. 21-09] announcing the quota quantity of tuna in airtight containers for Calendar Year (CY) 2021.
On 16 May 2021, the People’s Republic of China’s Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council issued Circular [2021] No. 5 to extend the effective period for the second product exclusion list for the second batch of US products subject to Chinese retaliatory tariffs from 19 May 2021 to 25 December 2021.
On May 27, 2021 the Department of State published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would update the definition of regular employee in section 120.39 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow subject persons to work remotely, and to clarify the contractual relationships that meet the definition of regular employee.
Developing new ESG and climate disclosure requirements (including those relating to supply chain impacts) is one of the SEC’s key priorities, and there have been indications that proposed rule-making on the issue may be imminent. The topic was once again raised by SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee this week at the 2021 ESG Disclosure Priorities Event.
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued a Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest. The Memo instructs over 15 US Federal Government departments and agencies to conduct an interagency review to examine corruption as a national security threat and jointly develop a strategy that will significantly enhance the United States’ ability to combat corruption.
The US Customs and Border Protection has issued a Withhold Release Order against a Chinese fishing fleet for suspected use of forced labor in its fishing operations. The WRO instructs CBP personnel at all US ports of entry to detain tuna, swordfish, and other seafood that has been harvested by a fleet of 32 vessels owned and operated by Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd.
On 28 May 2021, US Customs and Border Protection published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to distribute assessed antidumping or countervailing duties in connection with countervailing duty orders, antidumping duty orders, or findings under the Antidumping Act of 1921 (known collectively as the continued dumping and subsidy offset) for Fiscal Year 2021 pursuant to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (CDSOA).
Mini vandePol, Gerald Lam and Andrea Kan of Baker McKenzie and Vivian Wu of FenXun Partners set out the framework of the various US and PRC sanction regimes, and discuss best practices for financial institutions to consider and implement.