News Articles

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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
Taiwan

China’s Economic Cost of Invading Taiwan

China and Taiwan have been locked in a tussle for decades over who gets to call the island country home. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign nation. The recent increase in tensions between China and Taiwan has many experts worried that Chinese forces may soon attempt to retake the mainland by force, but that won’t happen anytime soon. China would face a prolonged conflict on its doorstep that would worsen its already strained economic conditions.

Read More »
cyber related assets

OFAC Reissues Cyber-Related Sanctions Regulations

An inherent aspect of any new technology is that it doesn’t take long for bad actors to figure out how it can be weaponized for nefarious purposes. Cyber-related technologies represent an increasingly dangerous area of risk for everyone, whether they are individual citizens, business and infrastructure entities, or governments. Adversaries of the U.S., including China, Russia, and North Korea have engaged in acts of cyberespionage, often intended not only to cause actual harm, but also to test our ability to counter acts of malicious cyber-intrusion.

Read More »
forced labor

Forced Labor Due Diligence – Supply Chain Tracing Requirements to Comply with UFLPA, Withhold Release Orders, and More

We can all agree that goods made from forced labor, indentured labor or child labor should not be introduced into the U.S. market. Indeed, U.S. law prohibits the entry of goods made from forced labor. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) which went into effect as of June 21, 2022, expands on this prohibition by placing a ban on goods from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”) where ethnic minorities are being exploited or certain specified entities that are involved in using forced labor

Read More »
primer forced labor

Primer on Forced Labor Enforcement for U.S. Importers

This Primer provides introductory guidance to complying with U.S. forced labor laws for importers, and includes an introductory overview to forced labor laws, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) authority to enforce forced labor laws, outlines importer requirements under The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, describes the detention processes for imported goods made with forced labor, lists key recommended compliance actions for adhering to U.S. forced labor laws, and provides helpful resources for complying with U.S. forced labor laws.

Read More »
Open General Licenses

DDTC is Open to Open General Licenses

Some may be familiar with Open General Licenses (OGLs) used in the United Kingdom and some other countries. They allow export of dual-use, strategic and other controlled articles to specific destinations under certain conditions.

Read More »
sanctions

Evaluating the Efficacy of Sanctions on Russia

Since the Kremlin’s February 24th invasion of Ukraine, western countries have put in place extensive global financial ramifications. To gauge the extent of effectiveness, one must decipher the numbers behind Russia’s deceiving published economic statistics. One staggering implication of the trade war with the west lies within the entire collapse of the GDP growth acquired in the post-Soviet era.

Read More »
impact dao

ImpactDAOs: Shaping the Future of Regenerative Organizations

As Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have exploded into public consciousness, new types of DAOs are proliferating. A novel use case for DAOs, termed “ImpactDAOs”, are defined as “any DAO that creates net positive externalities to the ecosystem around it.” An ImpactDAO seeks to use web3 and crypto-economic principles to regenerate a system, increasing resources and sustainability over time.

Read More »
russian gas sanctions

European Countries Beware, Winter Is Coming, with Ice King Putin Leading the Charge

If you haven’t heard the words Ukraine or Russia within the last 5 months, one would assume that you must live under a rock, or that you’ve just decided to tune them out. Just as it seemed that we were on our way to being in the clear from the COVID pandemic and getting back to a little bit of normalcy within the global supply chain, the ever-so-sweet Putin decided to invade the Ukraine.

Read More »
ipef

U.S. Initiates Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in the South Pacific

On May 23 in Tokyo, Japan, the U.S., and other countries in the Pacific region launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (“IPEF”). The countries included are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Read More »
uflpa

CBP Releases Guidance related to Complying with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) released its first set of guidance relating to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”), which is set to take effect on June 21, 2022. CBP’s guidance takes the form of a website that is a homepage for UFLPA-related guidance, FAQs, webinars, graphics, and CBP contact information. This essential UFLPA homepage can be accessed at: www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA.

Read More »
food insecurity

Incursion and World Trade, Part 3: Over 120+ Days into the Global Effect of Inevitable Food Insecurity

Here we are, at the time of this writing over four months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with no end in sight. I will personally submit that I am, appalled that this, the murder of innocent civilians and devastation of another country’s infrastructure, can be permitted to continue, as we watch from the sidelines as if it was just another simple documentary on another war.

Read More »
section 301

Understanding the Statutory Four-Year Review Period of the Tariffs

Many importers are eagerly awaiting the United States Trade Representative’s (“USTR”) required four-year review of the Section 301 Chinese tariffs. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants the Office of the USTR a range of responsibilities and authorities to investigate and take action to enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements and respond to certain foreign trade practices.

Read More »
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

Read More »
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).

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »