The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently released preliminary guidance on the implementation of a price cap policy on Russian crude oil and petroleum products. This policy has major implications for maritime service providers and maritime supply chains.
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Claire Schachter
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Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Part II: Enforcement
By Jeffrey Weiss & Claire Schachter on
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) supports the existing prohibition on the importation of goods into the United States made with forced labor under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1307). Enforcement of the UFLPA began on June 21, 2022. Companies with supply chains that have links to Xinjiang specifically and China more generally should be concerned about the implications of UFLPA enforcement.
The UFLPA requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to apply a presumption that imports of all goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (Xinjiang), or by entities on the UFLPA Entity List (described below), are prohibited from entry into the United States under 19 U.S.C. § 1307. The scope of the UFLPA extends to goods made outside of or shipped through China that include inputs made wholly or in part in Xinjiang. There is no de minimis exception. Priority enforcement areas include polysilicon, cotton, and tomatoes.…
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US Threatens to Ramp Up Pressure on EU in Boeing-Airbus Subsidy Dispute with Tariffs up to 100% on Range of European Products
By Jacob Nelson, Zachary Simmons & Claire Schachter on
Posted in International Trade
On December 12, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice proposing to impose tariffs of up to 100% ad valorem on a wide range of European products. If enacted, these proposed tariffs would escalate the US response to the European Union’s (EU) subsidization of Airbus, which the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body found to violate WTO rules. USTR has already imposed duties of 10% and 25% – effective October 18, 2019 – on a variety of European goods in response to these subsidies. USTR is currently seeking comments on the December 12 proposal with respect to both product coverage and duty rates, which must be submitted January 13, 2020.
USTR’s proposal to impose additional duties on European products follows recent developments in the decades-old dispute between the United States and Europe at the WTO. In particular, since the imposition of 10% and 25% duties on $7.5 billion of European goods on October 18, which followed an arbitral award permitting the United States to retaliate up to $7.5 billion, a WTO compliance panel determined that the EU had not ceased providing WTO-inconsistent subsidies to Airbus. Citing the compliance panel’s report and the “lack of progress in efforts to resolve this dispute,” USTR announced that it was initiating a process to assess whether it should subject additional European products to duties, and also whether it should increase tariff rates on products covered under the original $7.5 billion action.…