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EU imposes provisional safeguards on certain steel products

By 3 Mins Read

On 18 July 2018, the Official Journal published Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 of 17 July 2018 imposing provisional safeguard measures with regard to imports of certain steel products. On 26 March 2018, the Commission published a Notice of Initiation of a safeguard investigation concerning imports of 26 steel product categories (2018/C 111/10) in the Official Journal. The Commission decided to initiate the investigation in the light of sufficient evidence that imports of those products might cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the Union producers concerned. On 28 June, the investigation was extended to two additional product categories. There was also a high risk of further increase of imports resulting from trade diversion due to the measures against imports of steel adopted by the United States under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (‘Section 232’). The 28 product categories (‘the product concerned’ or the ‘product categories concerned’) are all covered by the steel surveillance mechanism introduced by the Commission in May 2016. They are also subject to the US tariff measures under Section 232.

WTO Members raise concerns over US Section 232 investigation on automobiles and automotive parts

By 3 Mins Read

The WTO announced that Members expressed their concerns over possible measures by the United States regarding extra duties on the import of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans, light trucks and automotive parts, at the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) held on 3 and 4 of July. Over 40 members — including the 28 European Union members — took the floor to warn of the “serious disruption” to world markets and the multilateral trading system that may arise as a result of these potential measures, particularly in light of the large proportion of global trade accounted for by these products. The announcement said:

Turkey retaliates against US tariffs on steel and aluminum

By 1 Min Read

On 21 June 2018, retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods took effect in response to the United States imposition of 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum (section 232 measures). The Turkish government had submitted its list to the WTO on 21 May 2018. Duties between 4% and 70% are being imposed on a variety of US origin goods ranging from automobiles, whiskey, tobacco, coal, cosmetics, machinery equipment, paper and petrochemical products pursuant to Decree 2018/11973 Decision on the Implementation of Additional Financial Obligation for the Imports of Certain Products Originating in the United States of America, published in the T.C. Resmî Gazete (the Official Gazette) on 25 June 2018.   

EFTA States sign FTA with Ecuador, updated FTA with Turkey

By 1 Min Read

On 25 June 2018, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its summer Ministerial meeting in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, during which the Ministers of the four EFTA States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)  with Ecuador, represented by H.E. Pablo Campana Sáenz, Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador. The signing, only two years after the launch of negotiations at the EFTA Ministerial Meeting in Bern in 2016, will strengthen economic relations between the EFTA States and Ecuador and give economic actors on both sides increased trade and investment opportunities.

US – Update on (sec. 232) national security implications of steel imports and aluminum imports

By 4 Mins Read

As you may recall, early last year, President Trump issued two presidential memoranda instructing the U.S. Commerce Department to initiate an investigation into the national security implications of steel imports and aluminum imports into the United States.  If these so-called “section 232” (section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended) investigations determine that steel import and/or aluminum imports “threaten to impair the national security[,]” then the President can impose additional customs duties (among other things) on covered products.

On June 16, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce issued his reports to the President in both matters (unclassified versions of the reports are available here).   In each case, the Department of Commerce concluded that the quantities and circumstances surrounding steel and aluminum imports “threaten to impair the national security,” thereby opening the door to the imposition of import restraints.  Specifically, Commerce’s recommendations are as follows:

US – BIS revises Entity List

By 1 Min Read

On May 26, 2017, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a final rule [Docket No. 170303229-7229-01] that amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding sixteen persons to the Entity List. The sixteen persons who are added to the Entity List have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. These sixteen persons will be…