News Articles

Harmonized Tariff

Shiny New Machines – Modifications to Chapter 84 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule

There are new tariff classifications for machinery under Chapter 84 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). The changes to Chapter 84, as well as many other areas of the HTSUS, took effect on January 27, 2022, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10326 (December 23, 2021). Many of the changes to Chapter 84 were made to keep up with technological innovations and commercial use.

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vietnam trade

Vietnam Trade, An Overview 2022

Many factors have contributed to reshaping and redefining Vietnam’s growing dynamic economy, which had once been coined by the United States as an underdeveloped country but is aggressively emerging to a developing country status.

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Countervailing Duty

New Importer, Old Baggage Successor Liability for Antidumping & Countervailing Duties

Imagine your company imports from a vendor in Vietnam and sells them at a competitive margin in the U.S. Business is so-so until the Department of Commerce conducts an Antidumping or Countervailing Duty (“AD/CVD”) review that encompasses your company or its foreign vendor and determines the origin of your goods to be China, which causes you to owe backlogged AD/CVD at rates over 100% ad valorem for the past year.

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trump tariffs

Trump-Era Tariffs – Any Relief On The Horizon?

The costly Trump-Era tariffs and trade policies have largely remained in effect nearly a year into the Biden Administration. Now more than ever, importers are looking for ways to avoid or mitigate duty exposure. Below is the lowdown of present relief from the Trump tariffs and a forecast of further relief to come.

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nuclear export controls

Nuclear Export Controls: A Brief Overview of NRC and DoE Regulations

Two bodies of export regulations typically come to mind when we think of export controls: the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC).

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cfdi

Complemento Carta Porte in Mexico

Generally, Mexican taxpayers are required to issue a CFDI for their acts, duties, income, or tax retentions. The so called CFDI is an acronym for Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet , and some refer to it as the electronic invoice.

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Chinas-dual-circulation

China’s Dual Circulation Policy

Almost two years now into the global pandemic and the world’s two most powerful economies are having to take a hard long look at their supply chain shortcomings, as well as becoming economically self-sufficient to a great extent. During the pandemic it became painfully obvious that the U.S. has become far too dependent on China for imports of many essential needs.

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incoterms

Incoterms – Two Years Later

In September 2019, the International Chamber of Commerce released Incoterms 2020, heralded as a groundbreaking version of Incoterms that would bring great change to the supply chain community. Two years later, we look back on the changes that occurred and how they have affected us.

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CBP-Continuing-education

Continuing the Proposal for Customs Broker Continuing Education

On Oct. 28, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on continuing education for individually licensed customs brokers. After receiving comments and feedback from the trade, CBP published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on this proposal on Sept. 10, 2021.

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CBP-Operation-update

CBP August 2021 Operational Update

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP” or “Customs”) recently released its August 2021 operational statistics. These statistics are important for CBP to review monthly/yearly to better understand and ensure enforcement efforts continue to improve.

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Regulation-for-Decentralized-Finance

Approaches to Regulation for Decentralized Finance

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is a term describing the assortment of different financial applications enabled by blockchain technology and cryptocurrency with the aim to decentralize financial services that are currently intermediated by financial institutions.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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