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Stuart P. Seidel

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On May 18, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security to terminate, as of 12:01 EDT on May 14, 2021, arrival restrictions applicable to flights to the United States carrying persons who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, the Republic of Guinea. These arrival restrictions were initiated due to outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD)…

On 11 May 2021, the World Customs Organization announced that the 2020 edition of Operation Pandora targeting the illicit trafficking of cultural goods has been the most successful to date with over 56,400 cultural goods seized. These goods include archaeological objects, furniture, coins, paintings, musical instruments and sculptures. Excerpts from the announcement follow: Running from 1 June to 31 October 2020, Operation Pandora V saw the involvement of Customs and other law enforcement authorities from…

On May 12, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it will replace aging rail scanning systems at twelve rail ports of entry on the US southern and northern land borders with high energy rail scanners as part of a $46 million initiative to enhance the security and efficiency of rail cargo inspections at locations throughout the United States. The new scanners use linear accelerators to generate X-rays from electricity rather than radioactive…

On May 14, 2021, USTR announced that Ambassador Katherine Tai will host the inaugural Free Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on May 17-18, 2021. Mexican Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier, and Canada Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, Mary Ng, will attend the virtual meeting. The USMCA modernized the trading relationship between the three countries for the 21st century. The FTC is the first step toward realizing the…

Action by USTR marks the first use of the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism On May 12, 2021,the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at a General Motors (GM) facility are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining. The request is the first time any country has used the novel Rapid Response Labor Mechanism in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). USTR and…

On May 12, 2021, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that it had issued a report recommending that the President make certain modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to conform it with World Customs Organization (WCO) amendments to the global Harmonized System. The USITC’s report, Recommended Modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, 2021, Inv. No. 1205-13, USITC Publication 5171, March 2021, is available on the USITC web site. The announcement said:…

Wednesday 26 May 2021 | 4.00 – 4.30 PM BST As companies make increasing use of cloud services, and with the ease of remote working allowing people to log on worldwide, the risk of accidentally breaching export controls is increasing. Sending or providing access to controlled information abroad, even to members of your company, could leave you with a fine or even a criminal conviction. The UK Export Control Joint Unit has published new guidance…

The EU, as a result of the United States’ failure to bring the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (‘CDSOA’) in compliance with its obligations under the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) agreements, was authorised to impose an additional customs duty on certain products of the United States. In conformity with the WTO authorisation to suspend the application of concessions to the United States, the Commission is to adjust the level of suspension annually to the…

On April 29, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register a general notice that announces that CBP is modifying the collections process for deferred payments of internal revenue taxes owed on consumption entries of distilled spirits, wines, and beer imported into the United States (other than in bulk containers). The primary modification announced in the notice is the harmonization of the determination of the due date for deferred tax payments…

On April 26, 2021, the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice that makes a technical amendment to the exclusions that apply to certain products of China covered by the September 24, 2018 action (List or Tranche 3) that were exported from China before May 10, 2019, and entered the United States after May 10, 2019, and before June 15, 2019. The September action imposed additional 10% ad valorem duties on…