The opinions expressed are those of David Hsu and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its partners, or its clients. The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice on any subject. No recipient of content from this site, clients or otherwise, should act on the basis of any content in this site without seeking the appropriate legal or professional advice based on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient's state.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued the final results of their second administrative reviews on anti-dumping and countervailing duty (ADD/CVD) orders regarding certain softwood lumber products from Canada.
Instead of maintaining or reducing the current duty rate of 9%, the Commerce Department decided to double the duty rate on Canadian softwood lumber to 17.9%. The new duty rates will also apply retroactively to softwood lumber imports from companies subject to the second administrative review.
If you have any questions about how the results of the administrative review will impact your business, contact David Hsu by phone/text anytime to: 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, in the fiscal year ending September 30th, CBP officers in Louisville seized over $109 million worth of counterfeit goods.
The $109 million in seized goods was accumulated during the 741 counterfeit seizures made among 343 shipments with 46% of the counterfeit goods being imported in Hong Kong. The media release also said seized goods included jewelry, footwear, bags, wallets and electronics.
If you or anyone you know has had their goods detained by Customs, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Every importer of record needs to make declarations to Customs regarding tariff classification, valuation, origin of imported goods and more. Incorrect declarations can potentially lead to long term and expensive problems for the importer.
The NAFTA rules provided a method in which importers could seek guidance from Customs through an advance ruling to predetermine tariff classification, valuation, regional value issues, questions on qualifications of originating good, country of origin marking requirements, and more. NAFTA limited requests for guidance to only importers in the US and exporters and producers in Canada and Mexico who exported their goods to the US.
Fortunately, the new USMCA implemented several key changes. First, the USMCA not only allows an importer, but also allows an exporter, producer or anyone related to the trade transaction to request an advance ruling. Advance ruling requests are no longer limited to domestic residents.
Secondly, the USMCA agreement requires Customs to make a decision within 120 days – increasing transparency and predictability to the advance ruling process. Additionally, the USMCA also identifies the subjects that can be decided through ruling requests – tariff classification, customs valuation, origin of goods, quotas or “other issues agreed upon”.
Lastly, the USMCA offers increased protection in the event of customs modifying or revoking an advance ruling. Under the USMCA, an advance ruling cannot be revoked or modified if doing so will hurt the original ruling requester – unless the requester did not follow the advance ruling or the ruling was based on false information provided by the requester.
The best way to limit your USMCA import liability is to request an advance ruling – taking out the guesswork before the goods are shipped or entered into the US. Please do not hesitate to contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Canada’s three major telecommunications companies have previously rejected use of Huawei Technologies equipment for Canada’s 5G-network. However, after two years, Canada’s government is still reviewing the potential for Huawei involvement in Canadian 5G.
Currently, Telus Corp, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications have all agreed to not choose Huawei and instead look at Ericcson and Nokia for 5G equipment. It is unknown why the shift away from Huawei, as Telus Corp and Bell Canada previously chose Huawei as the more affordable option.
As you are aware, Canada is facing pressure from the US and the UK to seek alternatives to Huawei. If you or your company does any export business with Huawei, contact our office for a no cost obligation. Contact David Hsu by phone/tezt at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com or dh@gjatradelaw.com.
This is a long read and I haven’t read through a quarter of it. Will likely take me the entire weekend to go through the agreement.
In the meantime, if you have any questions how the new USMCA rules will impact your business, give me a call anytime or text, 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection media releaes, CBP will open the USMCA Center prior to the start of the USMCA on July 1st. The USMCA Center will be the main communication hub for CBP and will include experts in operations, legal, audit and also virtual representatives from Canadian and Mexican customs authorities. The Center is there to ensure an efficient transition from NAFTA to USMCA.
Part of the center will also help the trade community with a focus on outreach, training and developing new regulations and procedures.
As you are aware, the USMCA replaces NAFTA and has been modernized to reflect technological changes in the past 25 years. The changes cover rules of origin, market to agricultural goods, digital trade, changes to labor rights of workers, and the protection of intellectual property rights.
The media release does want to remind members in the trade community the NAFTA rules will apply until July 1st. If you have any questions how the new USMCA will impact you, please contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
With all the news coverage focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration quietly notified Congress yesterday (Friday, April 24, 2020) that the U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) will take effect on July 1st.
If you have any questions how the new policy may impact your business, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. and Mexico have reached an agreement on closing border traffic between the two nations except to allow for trade and workers and essential traffic. The
Essential traffic includes for medical purposes, attend educational institutions and emergency response workers.
President Trump cited the CDC’s order on need to slow the spread of the Corona virus and to ensure there are enough health-care resources for US citizens. This closure comes a day after Canada and the US agreed to also close their border.
Besides traveling to Mexico or Canada, the State Department on Thursday issued a new travel alert asking Americans to go travel abroad and to return home unless planning to live abroad.
About 30 minutes ago, the Federal Register published the final determination decision by the International Trade Commission finding no material injury by imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico. The Final Determination can be viewed here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-03-20/pdf/2020-05845.pdf
The petitioners have 30 days to file an appeal in court. If no appeal is filed, importers who paid duties may be eligible for a refund after the deadline to appeal expires.
If you want to learn more about getting a refund for your imports of fabricated structural steel from China, Canada or Mexico, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288, or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
While the US is focused on the Corona Virus (COVID-19), on Friday, Canada formally approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the last nation needed to implement the deal to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The trade deal was ratified by the Mexican legislature last June, the US legislature this past January and formally ratified by Canada on Friday. The Canadian parliament is now shut down for five weeks in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com if you have any questions about how the new USMCA will impact you and your business!
