On August 12, CBP confirmed that the recent revocation of Hong Kong’s “special status” and updated China marking requirements would not render goods of Hong Kong origin subject to the additional Section 301 tariffs imposed on most goods of Chinese origin. CBP stated that “the change in marking requirements does not affect country of origin
Southeast Asia & Pacific
Section 301 (China) Product Exclusions Update: Customs Guidance for U.S. Importers
It has been almost a year since the first round of Section 301 China tariffs went into effect on July 6, 2018. Since that time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has reviewed thousands of product exclusion requests on Lists 1 and 2. Granted product exclusions are retroactive to the date of…
Bloomberg Law Features Nevena Simidjiyska’s Piece on CFIUS Grindr Determination

A Chinese company was recently forced to sell California-based Grindr, the world’s largest gay dating app, after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) determined that its ownership constituted a national security risk.
To explain the issue to readers, Bloomberg Law featured an article by Partner Nevena Simidjiyska, co-chair of the…
Duties Imposed On Nails Are Not Applicable To Zinc Wall Anchors
On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that the anti-dumping and countervailing duties for steel nails from Vietnam do not apply to zinc wall anchors.
In August 2016, OMG Inc. asked the Department of Commerce to determine whether wall anchors were within the scope of the anti-dumping and countervailing…
Vietnamese Fish Producers Challenge Antidumping Duty Rates
In an earlier post, we examined the U.S. Court of International Trade’s (CIT) opinion in which it sustained the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (“Commerce”) shift of position on antidumping duties for frozen fish fillets from Vietnam.
Two recently filed complaints brought before the CIT, however, have challenged Commerce’s application of antidumping duties to certain…
CBP Holds That Roasting Changes Coffee’s Country of Origin
In a recently issued Final Determination, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that the roasting of coffee beans substantially transforms the beans into a product of the country in which the beans were roasted.
Coffee producer Keurig Green Mountain (“Keurig”) requested the determination as to the country of origin assignment to green coffee…
The United Nations Tightens Sanctions on North Korea
The 15-member U.N. Security Council (the Council) imposed new sanctions on North Korea (also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) on November 30, 2016 by unanimously approving a resolution imposing new sanctions — UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2321.
The resolution is a clear response to North Korea carrying out…
FCPA Pilot Program: Is Voluntary Self-Disclosure the New Key to Mitigating Corporate Liability?
Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice announced a one-year pilot program under which US corporations could mitigate their own liability for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by voluntarily self-disclosing FCPA violations within their organization, in addition to fully cooperating with DOJ investigations and taking steps to remediate any misconduct. Skeptics,…
U.S. Slaps Increased Anti-Dumping Duties on Chinese and Japanese Cold-Rolled Steel Imports
Jesse Harris writes:
As a penalty for selling their products in the American market below fair value, the U.S. Department of Commerce (the “Department”) has imposed increased anti-dumping duty rates on cold-rolled steel imported from China and Japan. The duty rates imposed on China’s and Japan’s largest cold-rolled steel exporters are now 256.44% and 71.35%…
U.S. Lifts Arms Embargo on Vietnam
U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would fully lift a ban on the sale of lethal arms and military equipment to Vietnam. President Obama announced this change in U.S. policy, which has been in place for about fifty years, during his visit to Vietnam on Monday, May 23, 2016. At a joint news…