Category: News & Publications

Taiwan, Invasion & Trade, Part 2

President elect Lai Ching-te’s victory in Taipei ignited tensions across the Taiwan strait and now the geopolitical field waits to see if China will kick off World War Three. I’m only slightly joking, but Beijing has exerted diplomatic pressure on nations maintaining close ties with the island in the past and Taiwan’s decision to remain a democracy will no doubt ramp up China’s reunification process in the coming months. But how will that affect trade relations?

New Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation Initiated Covering Aluminum Extrusions from 15 Countries

On October 4, 2023, A coalition of 14 U.S. aluminum extrusion producers and labor unions filed petitions before the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking to impose antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on aluminum extrusions produced in 15 countries and exported to the U.S.

The Domino Effect: What Would an Invasion of Taiwan Mean for Global Trade

Tensions are escalating in the South China Sea, a vital maritime route for international trade. Taiwan remains at the center of this conflict and in an increasingly interconnected world, the prospect of a Taiwan invasion has far-reaching implications for global trade and geopolitics. It’s becoming even more crucial to understand the potential repercussions of such an event on the global economy as a potential invasion from China becomes increasingly more likely.

Recent Update on Forced Labor in Mexico

By Brenda Cordova, Braumiller Law Group Mexico Legal Counsel Mexico has recently published several legal instruments aimed to prevent and investigate forced and compulsory labor, including child forced or compulsory labor (forced labor). This impacts labor standards implemented by employers not just within the Mexican territory, but also from abroad, because starting May 18, 2023, goods […]

New Rules for Customs Brokers – Bringing Your Brokerage into Compliance with the Modernized Part 111

After several years of review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), the Customs Broker community, and the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Council, CBP unveiled the new Customs Broker Regulations under 19 C.F.R. Part 111.  On October 18, 2022, CBP published the final rules, Modernization of the Customs Broker Regulations, 87 FR 63267, and Elimination […]

Is There Any Hope for Hong Kong to Regain its Special Trade Status with the U.S.? (It’s Officially Hong-China now)

It seems like it was a couple decades ago, but it was only about 5 years that I was last in Hong Kong on business. I was staying at a very nice upscale hotel (plenty to choose from) directly across from a massive port, marveling at the operations that seemed to go 24/7 with the […]

The Multi-Purpose Role of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule

When goods are imported into the United States, the importer-of-record (IOR) must, with reasonable care, file an entry (CBP Form 3461) and entry summary (CBP Form 7501), or the electronic equivalents, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These documents are the IOR’s preliminary and final declarations about the nature and circumstances of the import transaction, and they tell the story of the transaction through more than forty data elements.

Made in the USA Labeling Rule – What There is to Know About Increased Enforcement Within the Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has recently begun placing more of an emphasis on Made in the USA (“MUSA”) labeling violations. A MUSA violation occurs when a company labels its product with “Made in the United States” or “USA Made Products,” among other similar phrases, when in fact the country of origin (“COO”) of the […]

Sonora Lithium

In November 2022, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry announced at COP27[1] in Sharm el-Sheikh important steps forward to address the climate crisis.  Representatives from both countries, including the state governor from Sonora and his cabinet, continued discussing important topics which resulted in agreements to cut emissions, increase investment, and promote […]

Update:  Quartz Surface Products from China – New Certification Requirements for Shipments from Malaysia

On October 21, 2022, the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (The DOC) published its Final Scope Ruling on Malaysian Processed Quartz Slab.   The DOC determined that imports of quartz slab manufactured in the People’s Republic of China (China) and processed in Malaysia are covered by the scope of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing […]