A slew of steel industry executives urged Trump administration officials to take action against steel imports in its ongoing Section 232 investigation during a May 24 Commerce Department hearing, as foreign industry and government representatives pleaded for a more measured approach. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during the hearing said that his department is working to conclude the investigation by the end of June, much sooner than the legal deadline of 270 days after the administration’s April 19 launch of the investigation, which would allow the administration to assess tariffs, quotas or other import restraints if the examination finds steel imports endanger national security (see 1704200029).
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The International Trade Commission published notices in the May 18 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of May 17 (some may also be given separate headlines):
The International Trade Commission on May 11 voted that there is a "reasonable indication" that dumped and illegally subsidized imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Belarus, Italy, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom are injuring U.S. industry, it said (here). The ITC's affirmative preliminary injury determination means ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on steel wire rod from these 10 countries will continue. The Commerce Department will now consider whether to impose cash deposit requirements on steel wire rod in its preliminary CV duty determinations for Italy and Turkey, currently due June 21, and its preliminary AD determinations for all 10 countries, due Sept. 5. Both deadlines may be postponed.
The State Department updated its list of countries (here) certified to have a regulatory program for protection of sea turtles that is comparable to that of the U.S., or to fish in conditions that pose no risk to sea turtles, and therefore eligible to export shrimp to the U.S. without a certification from a government official on State Form DS-2031. The list includes 39 countries and one economy. Countries with a comparable regulatory program include Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama and Suriname. Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Uruguay harvest in an environment that poses no risk; and the Bahamas, Belize, China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Oman, Peru, Sri Lanka and Venezuela employ practices that don’t pose a risk to sea turtles, State said.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the May 5 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (here), 31 House Democrats urged the Commerce Department to quickly intensify its trade enforcement focus regarding Russia. “While trade enforcement issues continue to be raised by this administration, to-date there has not been sufficient attention to the U.S.-Russia bilateral trade relationship,” the lawmakers wrote. The letter cited Russian protectionist policies as contributing to an 85 percent decrease in U.S. agricultural exports to the country between 2012 and 2016, down from $1.6 billion in 2012. Russia also props up failing industries through “massive subsidies,” employing “state-driven import substitution tactics” and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to undercut U.S. exports, the lawmakers said. For instance, Russia recently blocked SOEs with 50 percent or more government ownership from buying U.S. automobiles, heavy machinery and metal products, they wrote. “We look forward to working with you to ensure that the U.S.-Russian bilateral trade relationship is fair, equitable and in the best interest of America’s workers,” the lawmakers said. “Russia’s predatory and protectionist trade practices must not go unchallenged.” Commerce didn’t comment.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Belarus (A-822-806), Italy (A-475-836), South Korea (A-580-891), Russia (A-821-824), South Africa (A-791-823), Spain (A-469-816), Turkey (A-489-831), Ukraine (A-823-816), the United Arab Emirates (A-520-808) and the United Kingdom (A-412-826), and its recently initiated countervailing duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy (C-475-837) and Turkey (C-489-832).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of April 24 (some may also be given separate headlines):