New Harmonized System – or HS – tariff codes debuted with the New Year in the 2017 edition of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff System – or HTS. (What’s the difference between HS and HTS? See our FAQ here. More on the rollover can be found here in our complimentary...
Pacific Alliance Expansion Plans
Could the Pacific Alliance become the vehicle for the economic ties across the Pacific Rim that were the aim of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)? The four members of the trade bloc – Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – are among Latin America’s leading advocates for...
Actively Seeking Trade Ties | Mercosur
Mercosur is looking for opportunities to do more cross-border business both within the five-member trade bloc and beyond. Foreign ministers are set to meet March 9 to discuss lowering barriers to trade among the countries that make up the “Common Market of the South”...
A Tale of Two Whistleblowers (Spoiler: Importers Lose)
by John M. Peterson, guest columnist Two recent cases brought under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) underscore how risky importing can be in this era of whistleblower lawsuits. One case won in court. The other seemed to have failed, only to get a second chance....
China in the Crosshairs as US Takes Aim at Imports
Has China moved into the crosshairs as the US takes aim at imports? Candidate Donald Trump promised pushback on Chinese imports during his campaign. Now the new president has tapped China critics and trade hawks to fill key trade posts in his administration, as the...
Ban on Forced-Labor Imports Tightened
by John M. Peterson, guest columnist Congress recently (and quietly) removed an exception to the 85-year-old prohibition on importing goods made with forced and indentured labor. Section 910 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2016 repeals the...
Enforce and Protect Act’s Unfair Trade Remedy – Whistleblowing
by John M. Peterson, guest columnist For a domestic manufacturing industry struggling against unfair import competition, few things can be as frustrating as going through the long, high-cost process of obtaining an antidumping (AD) or countervailing duty (CVD) order...
Road to Cuba for US Exporters: A Journey over Peaks and Valleys
by John S. Kavulich, guest columnist For US businesses, normalizing US-Cuban commercial relations presents the prospect of 11.3 million consumers residing 93 miles south of Key West, Florida. Taken together, they make up a market where awareness of and preference for...
Enforce and Protect Act Regulations Raise Risks for Importers
by John M. Peterson, guest columnist New Customs Enforce and Protect Act regulations have exposed US importers to heightened risk of investigation and stiff penalties for any part they may play in evading antidumping or countervailing duties – AD/CVD – on products...
Chinese CORE Steel Imports Drop 80 Percent as US Tariffs Soar
The US Department of Commerce just released its final decision in its investigations into charges of dumping and illegal government subsidization of corrosion-resistant (CORE) steel from China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan. But preliminary (and slightly...