Best Practices

Diaz Trade Law Now Filing List 4A Complaints – Join Section 301 Refund Lawsuit Now to Demand Refunds

301 Lawsuit Background

In mid-September, a coalition of importers filed a Court challenge to the USTR’s imposition of Section 301 duties on certain imports from China under Lists 3 and 4.  These duties were imposed as part of a process purportedly intended to address intellectual property abuses by China.  Specifically, this coalition has claimed that these duties were imposed contrary to law and ignored the statutory deadlines in Section 301.  Further, the coalition has argued that these duties were not imposed in response to the intellectual property violations alleged in the initiation notice, but rather were filed in response to the retaliatory tariffs enacted by China.  Accordingly, the coalition argues, such tariffs were void from the initial imposition.

Since the original coalition filed the lawsuit, over 3,500 complaints have been filed impacting more than 10,000 plaintiffs, including over a hundred of Diaz Trade Law’s clients. Due to the nature of U.S. law, if the challenge is upheld, retroactive relief will only be available to those parties that have filed a court challenge. Diaz Trade Law filed these complaints under a statute of limitations theory which dictated that any challenge must be filed within 2 years of the Government Action. To ensure consideration, a Court case should have been filed by Monday, September 21, 2020. If you have not yet filed a case, there are alternate theories which would justify a later filing date, albeit with some additional risk. If you have not yet filed an action, you should do so quickly.

Who Can Join the List 4A Lawsuit?

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Maritime Industry Rocked by Cyber Attacks

Co-Authored by Sharath Patil

The maritime industry has been rocked by a string of cyber-attacks in recent weeks. Two of the most severe incidents involved the United Nation’s shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”), and the French shipping company CMA GCM S.A. (“CMA GCM”). These attacks remind the shipping industry about the dangers of such attacks and the importance of cybersecurity compliance. From a trade and customs perspective, such incidents trigger post incident analysis and other measures as part of the U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s (“CBP”) Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Minimum Security Criteria. We will discuss two of the most severe cyber-attack incidents in recent weeks below and then discuss the trade and customs implications of such attacks.

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The U.S.-Brazil Trade Agreement is Imminent

Co-Authored by Sharath Patil

On October 5, 2020, Brazil’s Assistant Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade and International Affairs, Yana Dumaresq, stated during an Atlantic Council online panel discussion that a U.S.-Brazil trade agreement that covers trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, and anti-corruption is in legal scrub and the text should be finalized by mid-October. “We hope to have them signed this month,” Dumaresq said. The U.S. Commerce Department’s lead negotiator on this agreement, Joseph Semsar, said that “this is a unique opportunity to get things done that seemed unattainable.” These latest developments are a result of months of negotiations between the two major economies. Trade facilitation Back in April 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) released a statement describing meetings between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and President Donald Trump and ambitious plans to strengthen trade and economies ties.

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Using WROs to Fight Forced Labor

Forced Labor is the third most lucrative illicit trade, behind only drugs and weapons, and has an annual trade value of roughly $150 Billion. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), nearly 28 million people are trapped in forced labor, including over 3 million children.

Thankfully, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been working to curb this inhumane practice.

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The Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act Expired October 1 – What You Need to Know

Co-Authored by Sharath Patil.

The Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (“CBTPA”) is an Act of U.S. legislation which expired on October 1, 2020. The CBTPA sought to strengthen Caribbean basin economies by extending preferential trade and tariff treatment and increase U.S. export opportunities in those countries. Upon the expiration of the CBTPA at midnight on October 1, 2020, importers may not file otherwise CBTPA-eligible without the payment of duties and other fees set at normal trade relation duty rates.

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