Thompson Hine LLP (LexBlog China)
-
Lock-up the Formula and Throw Away the Key: Recent Trade Secret Guilty Plea Highlights Continued Focus on China-related Trade Secret Prosecutions
Trade secrets are often a company’s most valuable asset, whether those secrets involve cutting-edge medical research or the formula for Coca-Cola. Businesses must take significant steps to protect these valuable “crown jewels” at all costs, whether by securing them on a network or a locked room, encrypting them, or restricting employee access on a need-to-know...
-
USTR Grants Extensions for Certain China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for Products on List/Tranche 4A
On August 28, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice announcing the extension of numerous product exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs for imports from China appearing on List 4A (products from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion). The exemptions include 14 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)...
-
Department of Commerce Adds 60 Companies to the Entity List, Including 24 Chinese Companies, for Involvement in Militarizing the South China Sea
On August 26, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it was adding 24 Chinese companies to the Entity List for their role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarize the internationally condemned artificial islands in the South China Sea. “The United States, China’s neighbors, and the international...
-
USTR Retroactively Excludes Two Additional Chinese Products from Section 301 Tariffs and Amends Other Product Exclusion Descriptions
On August 21, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 import tariffs for two additional List/Tranche 3 products from China (import from China with an annual trade value of $200 billion): Wallets, whether or not with wrist straps, of reinforced plastics, each measuring at least 17.5...
-
U.S. Sanctions Hong Kong Officials for Undermining Hong Kong’s Autonomy; China Quickly Retaliates
On August 7, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 11 individuals for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of the citizens of Hong Kong. These actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13936, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” (see...
-
USTR Grants Only 266 Product Exclusion Extensions for China Section 301 List/Tranche 3 Products – Over 700 Product Exclusions to Expire on August 7, 2020
On August 6, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice announcing that for the nearly 1,000 exclusions it has granted to date for imported products from China appearing on Section 301 List 3 (Chinese goods with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion), it will only grant...
-
President Trump Issues Executive Orders Prohibiting Transactions Related to TikTok and WeChat
On August 6, 2020, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders which will ban certain transactions with China-based mobile applications TikTok and WeChat. Both orders note that additional steps must be taken to deal with the national emergency with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873...
-
USTR Grants Additional China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for Products on List/Tranche 4A and Immediately Seeks Public Comment on Possible Extensions
On August 6, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 tariffs for imports from China appearing on List4A (products from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion). The exemptions cover one 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheading and nine specially prepared product descriptions, which altogether...
-
USTR Seeks Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 List/Tranche 1 Product Exclusions Set to Expire October 2, 2020
On August 3, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products receiving exclusions from the Section 301 25 percent tariff on imports from China with an annual trade value of $34 billion...
-
BIS Publishes Final Rule Suspending EAR License Exceptions for Hong Kong
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has published the final rule in the Federal Register amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to suspend all License Exceptions for Hong Kong that provide preferential treatment as compared to those available for exports to China. This amendment to the EAR implements the announcement...
-
USTR Grants Additional China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for Products on List/Tranche 4A
On July 20, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 tariffs for imports from China appearing on List4A (products from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion). The exemptions cover 11 ten-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and 53 specially prepared product descriptions,...
-
Commerce Adds Chinese Companies to Entity List and Implements Licensing Review Process for Certain Items Related to Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Effective July 22, 2020, pursuant to a Federal Register notice, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has placed 11 Chinese entities on the Entity List stating that all “have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and...
-
USTR Seeks Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 List/Tranche 4 Product Exclusions
On July 17, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products that have received exclusions in the China Section 301 process from the 7.5 percent tariff on imports from China with an...
-
President Trump Signs the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and Issues Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization
On July 14, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the “Hong Kong Autonomy Act” (H.R. 7440), which authorizes and imposes sanctions on foreign persons, entities and financial institutions contributing to China’s actions to remove autonomy from Hong Kong. Unanimously passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate in early July, this new...
-
Departments of State, Commerce, Homeland Security and the Treasury Caution Businesses Regarding Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang
On July 1, 2020, the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, Homeland Security and the Treasury issued an advisory detailing the risk of exposure to businesses with supply chain entities that engage in human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China. Key Notes: The departments’ joint “Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory” urges...
-
U.S. Tightens Export Controls for Hong Kong – Pompeo States That If China Treats Hong Kong as “One Country, One System,” So Must the United States
On June 29, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States was ending exports of U.S.-origin defense equipment to Hong Kong and “will take steps toward imposing the same restrictions on U.S. defense and dual-use technologies to Hong Kong as it does for China.” The secretary noted that the United States “can...
-
Department of Commerce Partially Delays Electronic Export Information (EEI) Filing Requirements for Certain Shipments to China, Russia and Venezuela
On June 25, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it would be delaying the effective date for certain filing requirements set forth in April 2020 regulations on military-related exports to China, Russia and Venezuela. After significant pushback from industry representatives that more time was needed to transition to...
-
USTR Issues Notice Seeking Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 List/Tranche 4 Product Exclusions, Including Exemptions for Certain Medical Supplies
On June 23, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products that have received exclusions in the China Section 301 process from the 7.5 percent tariffs on imports from China with an...
-
USTR Issues Notices Seeking Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for List/Tranche 2 Products Set to Expire in September and October 2020
On June 22, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released two Federal Register notices seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products that have received exclusions in the China Section 301 process from the 25 percent tariff on imports from China with an...
-
USTR Issues China Section 301 Tariff Exclusion for One Product Under List/Tranche 3
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 import tariffs for one additional List 3 product from China (imports from China with an annual trade value of $200 billion): Motorboats with displacement hulls of reinforced fiberglass and wood, each motorboat measuring not less than 14.47 m...
-
USTR Issues Additional China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for List/Tranche 4 Products
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice excluding certain List/Tranche 4 products (imports from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion) from Section 301 tariffs of 10 percent. The exemptions cover two 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and 32 specially-prepared product descriptions, which cover 55...
-
USTR Issues Notice Seeking Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for List/Tranche 3 Products Set to Expire in August 2020
On May 29, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products that have received exclusions in the China Section 301 process from the 25 percent tariff on imports from China with an...
-
USTR Issues Notice Seeking Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 List/Tranche 1 Product Exclusions Set to Expire in September 2020
On May 29, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products receiving exclusions in the China Section 301 process from the 25 percent tariff on imports from China with an annual trade...
-
White House Releases Report on Strategic Approach to China
On May 26, 2020, as required under the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act, the White House released its report, “United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China”, detailing a government-wide strategy concerning the People’s Republic of China (China or PRC). Recognizing that 40 years of direct engagement with China has not resulted in...
-
USTR Grants Extensions for Imported Chinese Products With Section 301 Tariff Exclusions Expiring June 4, 2020
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), after seeking comments on whether to extend for up to 12 months exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs granted in June 2019 for certain imports from China (see Trump and Trade Update of March 22, 2020), has approved 16 extensions covering the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)...
-
USTR Revokes Two Section 301 Product Exclusions for List/Tranche 4 Products
In a May 28, 2020 Federal Register notice, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), without explanation or precedent, revoked two granted Section 301 product exclusions. In early May 2020, the USTR approved a batch of product exclusions for certain List/Tranche 4 products (imports from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion)...
-
USTR Issues Additional China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for List/Tranche 3 Products
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice exempting Section 301 import tariffs for certain List 3 products from China (imports from China with an annual trade value of $200 billion). The exemptions cover 17 ten-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) subheadings and 61 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover...
-
USTR Grants Extensions for Imported Chinese Products With Section 301 Tariff Exclusions Expiring May 14, 2020
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), after seeking comments on whether to extend for up to 12 months exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs granted in May 2019 for certain imports from China (see Trump and Trade Update of March 2, 2020), has approved 13 extensions covering the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)...
-
USTR Issues Another Round of China Section 301 Tariff Exclusions for List/Tranche 4 Products, Including Medical Products
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice excluding certain List/Tranche 4 products (imports from China with an annual trade value of $300 billion) from China Section 301 tariffs. The exemptions cover three 10-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) subheadings and five specially-prepared product descriptions, which cover 27 separately submitted...
-
USTR Issues Notice Seeking Public Comment on Extending China Section 301 List/Tranche 3 Product Exclusions Set to Expire in August 2020
On May 6, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on whether extensions for up to 12 months should be granted for particular products that have received exclusions in the China Section 301 process from the 25 percent tariffs on imports from China with an...