By Thompson Hine International Trade on April 11, 2019 A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel ruling, Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit, issued last week on a member’s use of the WTO’s so-called “national security exception” under Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) may have a significant impact on the Trump administration’s application of that exception under U.S. law, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, to impose tariffs on imports worldwide. Currently, the Trump...

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The USTR issued a press release late yesterday regarding the potential imposition of additional tariffs on certain products from the European Union. The additional tariffs would be imposed pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and would affect approximately $11 Billion in goods.  The USTR states that the tariffs are being contemplated in response to subsidies that the EU has provided to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.  The tariffs are split between two “Annexes”: one annex covering...

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By TH International Trade The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released President Donald Trump’s 2019 Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report, detailing how the Trump administration’s trade policies “are benefitting American workers and contributing to the strongest economy in decades.” Claiming that the Trump administration “inherited a significantly flawed trading system,” the report states that the administration “took immediate and decisive action to implement a new trade agenda.” The USTR indicated that it “and other parts of the Administration...

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In his second State of the Union address to Congress, President Donald Trump noted that he campaigned on several core promises, including “to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers.” He argued that his administration has “moved with urgency and historic speed to confront problems neglected by leaders of both parties over many decades” and indicated that “one priority is paramount – reversing decades of calamitous trade policies.” His prepared speech included comments on the ongoing trade dispute with...

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