News Articles

Revisions and updates to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)

Hot (or at least warm) Off the Press: Updates & Revisions to the ITAR

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is continuing its project to revise and update the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Some of the changes are editorial and some are substantive. If you are affected by the ITAR or think you might be, you will need to stay on top of the changes because some (or all) may affect you.

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Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field

Regenerative Finance (ReFi): Tokenizing Carbon Offsets and Incentives

Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field that offers an opportunity to rethink how we approach finance, investing, and sustainable economic development. ReFi takes a holistic approach to finance and development, considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of financial decisions, and aims to create a regenerative economic ecosystem rather than following a primarily extractive approach.

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Harmonized Tariff Schedule

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.

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Sonora Lithium

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

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Defense Technology and Security Administration DTSA

U.S. Bill Introduced to Move Export Controls From Commerce to DTSA. Is This a Good Idea?

On October 28, 2022, on the eve of the mid-term elections, a bill was introduced in the House that, unless you are an export control/compliance nerd, most would not have given it any thought. This bill, H.R. 9241, called the “Prioritizing National Security in Export Controls Act of 2022” was introduced by Representative Jim Banks, (R-Indiana) and co-sponsored by Robert Wittman, (R-Virginia), and Gregory Steube, (R-Florida).

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China Tariffs

Section 301 Update: Four-Year Review, Exclusions, Litigation, and the Future of China Tariffs

China Tariffs are here to stay – for now. The Biden Administration continues to defend the Trump-era tariffs on goods from China with little guidance as domestic inflation climbs steadily. Meanwhile, 2022 has been a busy year for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”). The agency was instructed by the Court of International Trade to provide further written justification for the Section 301 Actions for Lists 3 and 4a in the wake of the agency’s obligatory four-year review of each tariff action.

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Tuas port

Tuas Megaport in Singapore, An Upcoming Model to the World in Port Operations, and soon to be Light Years Ahead of the Globes Largest Ports

The Maritime Port Authority (MPA in Singapore) is currently in the process of building the Tuas Port, which will be the biggest port in the world with a capacity of 60 million TEU’s (twenty-foot equivalent units) once it is fully completed in 2040. PSA, the company taking the lead in the construction has implemented a four-phase process, with the first phase officially opening this September 2022, with three berths being operational.

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Antidumping

Antidumping Duties – Can I Obtain a Separate Lower Rate?

In Antidumping (AD) investigations, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) typically selects only a limited number of exporting entities for review, with these exporters referred to as “individual” or “named” respondents. Selection of these respondents is based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Data, and in most cases due to limited DOC resources, will consist of only a few of the largest exporters.

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Semiconductor

The Semiconductor Industry in México

According to the science of composition, a semiconductor is a material which, when subject to light, heat or a specific electrical voltage may be transformed into a conductor. Semiconductors are used to produce memory sticks, PC cards, smart cards, microchips, microprocessors, transistors, compact flash, start media, among many other items.

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CBDC

Can, and Should, the U.S. Government Develop a CBDC System?

In response to the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets[1] issued on March 9, 2022, both the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Treasury Department (Treasury) have recently issued reports analyzing the possible design and feasibility of creating a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).[2] The reports make clear that significant technical issues and major policy considerations need to be addressed for the U.S. to develop a CBDC.

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Section 301 Actions

Snapshot of Section 301 Litigation – Litigating the Adequacy of the USTR’s Rationale for List 3 and List 4a

The legality of the Section 301 Actions for List 3 ($200 Billion Trade Action) and 4a ($300 Billion Trade Action) continues to be contentiously disputed before the Court of International Trade. The mass action, In re Section 301 Cases, No. 21-00052, encompasses claims of over 6,500 Plaintiffs that argue the Section 301 Duties, enacted under the Trade Act of 1974, are illegal.

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US and Canada Investment in Mexico

Legal Framework Governing Foreign Direct Investment from the United States and Canada in Mexico

A large number of companies considering relocating their business abroad have turned their eyes to Mexico, which has become an attractive place for investors to relocate their business, mainly because it is close to the United States and Canada (nearshoring), the labor costs are relatively low, the availability of IMMEX (maquiladora) program, and because there is a preferential treatment to originating goods and foreign investments from the United States and Canada that are protected under the USMCA, among other factors.

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Prior-disclosure

Should You File a Prior Disclosure in 2023?

2023 is more than a brand-new year – it is an opportunity for your company to prioritize supply chain and customs compliance. For some companies, this means filing a prior disclosure with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Companies that are frequent importers are seriously considering disclosing entry violations under the condition that Customs will not issue civil penalties against them.

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The U.S. and China are in a trade war

Doing Business with China Continues to Get More Difficult for U.S. Companies

The year 2022 saw a substantial increase in export restrictions applicable to China. The U.S. and China are not only in a trade war but there is also an effort by the U.S. to (1) prevent development of supercomputers, semiconductors and related products and technologies, and (2) prevent use of forced labor – especially involving the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region.

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China and India trade with Russia at record levels

China and India, A Year Later, Post Invasion, Still Walking the Tightrope With the U.S. as They Continue to Set Records in Trade with Russia

China’s trade with Russia hit a record $190 billion U.S. in 2022, key operative word “record.” China is setting a course to become Russia’s top trade partner and prove to the world just what the “no limits” partnership can produce. An additional “maybe some limits” friend to Russia among the world’s larger economies is India.

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Exporting to Mexico legal requirements

Exporting to Mexico

If you are relocating to Mexico, or you are a producer, distributor, seller, etc., and the recipient of your goods is in Mexico because your client, final consumer, manufacturer, distributor, service provider, etc. is there, then, it is more than likely that you will be the exporter or the party responsible for reviewing and preparing some or all of the records needed to ship the goods to Mexico.

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