On 2 June 2021, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai announced the conclusion of the one-year Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

On May 18, 2021, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice that the Parties to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) intend to hold the first meeting of the Environment Committee (Committee) virtually, on June 17, 2021.

On May 18, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security to terminate arrival restrictions applicable to flights to the United States carrying persons who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, the Republic of Guinea.

On May 12, 2021,the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at a General Motors (GM) facility are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining. The request is the first time any country has used the novel Rapid Response Labor Mechanism in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). USTR and the Department of Labor received information appearing to indicate serious violations of these workers’ rights in Silao, State of Guanajuato in connection with a recent worker vote, organized by the existing union, to approve their collective bargaining agreement.

On May 12, 2021, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that it had issued a report recommending that the President make certain modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to conform it with World Customs Organization (WCO) amendments to the global Harmonized System. The USITC’s report, Recommended Modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, 2021, Inv. No. 1205-13, USITC Publication 5171, March 2021, is available on the USITC web site.

Our Tier 1 UK trade team will talk you through what would be considered an export, when a licence is required and what safeguards are needed, helping you keep your business compliant. We will also be joined by one of our trade partners from our Palo Alto office, who will compare the UK position with the US guidance.

On April 26, 2021, the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice that makes a technical amendment to the exclusions that apply to certain products of China covered by the September 24, 2018 action (List or Tranche 3) that were exported from China before May 10, 2019, and entered the United States after May 10, 2019, and before June 15, 2019.

On April 23, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register a general notice that advises the public that the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties will remain the same from the previous quarter.

On April 22, 2021, Office of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register a notification of continuation of temporary travel restrictions at land ports of entry and ferries between the United States and Mexico from April 22, 2021 to May 21, 2021.

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that on 9 April 2021, Singapore deposited its instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General of ASEAN and became the first country to complete the official process for ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.