The original Lacey Act dates back to 1900, and its purpose is to help prevent the trade of wildlife, plants, and plant products (including timber) that has been illegally taken, held, transported, or sold. The Lacey Act and its various amendments make it unlawful to import certain products without an [...]
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has determined the 2023 trade surpluses for sugar, syrup goods, and sugar-containing products from its Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) partner countries. The level of a country’s trade surplus in these goods in 2021 helped determine whether the USTR granted duty-free status or preferential [...]
The Fish and Wildlife Service has made several amendments to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix I and II, which deals with the import and export of wild animals and plants into and out of the US. The majority of the amendments will take effect on [...]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a final rule aimed at strengthening the oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic products. The Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rule is the biggest update to the organic regulations since the original Act in 1990, according to USDA [...]
Importers of steel and aluminum products are no longer required to provide certain information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by email in order to activate approved Section 323 exclusions in Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). According to a message issued on Feb. 7, the CBP stated that it is [...]
In response to what he called Russia’s “unjustified” war against Ukraine, and the negative effects the war is having on global energy prices and the United States aluminum industry, President Joe Biden has imposed a 200% tariff on Russian aluminum products. According to a statement released by the White House, [...]
From 2018 to 2021, US importers bore nearly the full cost of the Section 232 tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel products, and the Section 301 tariffs on thousands of products imported  from China, according to a new report released by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). The report, [...]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ended its policy of enforcement discretion for foreign food facilities, This had previously provided the option to select “pending” for food facility registrations. The FDA is now beginning to cancel registrations and block imports of food from facilities that have not provided a [...]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced the latest set of updates that will be coming to the ACE reporting system over the next few months. ACE, which stands for Automated Commercial Environment, is the platform used to report imports and exports so that the government can determine admissibility. [...]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has just released a framework for how customs brokers can prepare for and respond to a worst-case scenario: a cyber attack on your data system. The guide (PDF version here) recommends the following tips: Prevention and Protection Have a written cybersecurity policy and/or set [...]
