In Brief Following weeks of tariff threats from the U.S. and the imposition of retaliatory Canadian tit-for-tat tariffs and non-tariff measures, the U.S. and Canada are currently in the midst of a trade war that is expected to have significant economic repercussions. On 5 March 2025, the Government of Canada announced that it would take action under the Investment Canada Act (“ICA”) to protect Canadian companies from foreign investors looking to capitalize on the current…
The Trade Remedy Authority of Vietnam has issued Decision 460/QD-BCT on 21 February 2025 to impose the preliminary anti dumping duty rates against Hot-Rolled Steel (âAD rateâ) from China and India. Accordingly, the AD rate only applies to HRS from China. HRS from India shall not be subject to the preliminary AD rate for the reason that the HRS import volume from India does not meet the regulatory minimum amount (3% of total HRS import…
President Trump issued a memorandum on February 21, 2025, directing the US Trade Representative (âUSTRâ) to make specific determinations regarding actions the administration may take in response to digital services taxes (âDSTsâ) imposed by certain trading partners since 2019, as well as issue other recommendations to respond to trade and regulatory measures of other countries. The memorandum states that the Trump Administrationâs policy shall be to impose tariffs and take other actions in response to…
President Trump issued a memorandum directing the US Trade Representative (âUSTRâ) and Secretary of Commerce to investigate alleged harm from non-reciprocal trade measures by trade partners and to issue recommendations based on their investigation.  The memorandum argues that a range of tariff and non-tariff measures maintained by various countries have contributed to unfair and unbalanced trade and harmed the United States.  Non-tariff measures specifically identified in the memorandum as being unfair and harmful to the United States include: The memorandum directs…
The President of South Africa has recently assented to the Expropriation Bill (Bill), which is set to replace the Expropriation Act, 1975. This Bill outlines the specific procedures and conditions under which government bodies can expropriate land for public purposes. The aim is to ensure that land expropriation is conducted in a manner that serves the public interest. The Bill has sparked significant international attention, particularly after the new President of the United States (US…
President Trump signed an executive order on February 1, 2025 (“Executive Order”), imposing the long-anticipated tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“U.S. Tariffs”).Canada retaliated swiftly by implementing retaliatory tariffs/countermeasures at a rate of 25% pursuant to sections 53 and 79 of the Customs Tariff by way of an Order in Council (United States Surtax Order (2025) (“Canada Tariffs”). Read the Government of Canada’s press release here. For the…
At the time of the publication of this blogpost on February 1, 2025, Mexico, Canada, and China have not yet responded to the imposition of tariffs. Stay tuned for updates and insights and practical tips for trade between the United States and these three countries as the situation develops. President Trump signed executive orders today, February 1, 2025, imposing the long-anticipated tariffs he has called for on Canada, Mexico, and China since early in his…
In a landmark ruling on 21 November 2024, the European Court of Justice (âECJâ) dismissed an appeal, upholding the General Court of the European Union’s original decision that relocation of production from the US to Thailand with the dominant purpose of avoiding EU retaliatory tariffs on US-origin goods could not be âeconomically justifiedâ and as such falls foul of the EUâs âanti-circumventionâ rules. This decision could have wide-ranging impacts, including a significant impact on companiesâ…
We are thrilled to announce the return of Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Trade Conference, the premier flagship event for our Trade Practice Group in Asia Pacific where trade experts from 10 APAC jurisdictions will discuss the evolving geopolitical and trade regulatory landscape effecting supply chains in APAC. This conference is designed to equip you with the essential knowledge for navigating the ever-changing landscape as we share best practices for ensuring on-going compliance with trade and…
For the third week, we continued our Annual Compliance Conference with key customs developments impacting on businesses today. Specifically, we discussed the reform of the Union Customs Code in the EU, key trending customs developments in EMEA, and different methods of driving significant financial savings in global supply chains. EU customs reform: biggest overhaul since 1968 Tuesday 14 May SPEAKERS: Nicole Looks (Partner, Amsterdam), Thomas Kukanza (Senior Trade Advisor, Brussels), Sylvain Guelton (Senior Associate, Brussels),…