Announcement Archive

09/12/2023 – USTR invites comments to assist in identifying significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce for inclusion in the annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report). Deadline for submission of comments is October 23, 2023. See the Federal Register notice 88 FR 62421 for further details and instructions.
09/06/2023 – July 2023 Textile and Apparel Import Report
08/25/2023 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative requests comments identifying online and physical markets to be considered for inclusion in the 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (Notorious Markets List). Written comments are due by October 6, 2023. For more details, see Federal Register notice 88 FR 58055.
08/17/2023 – The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee is seeking public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on China’s compliance with its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization. Written comments, requests to testify, and written testimony are due by September 20. A public hearing is scheduled for October 4. See Federal Register notice 88 FR 56117 for more information.
08/16/2023 – The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee is seeking public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on Russia’s implementation of its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization. Written comments, requests to testify, and written testimony are due by September 20. A public hearing is scheduled for October 12. See Federal Register notice 88 FR 53576 for more information.
08/08/2023 – June 2023 Textile and Apparel Import Report
07/06/2023 – May 2023 Textile and Apparel Import Report
06/07/2022 – April 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
05/19/2023 – Climate Adaptation Export Competitiveness Request for Information: The International Trade Administration, in partnership with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, released a Request for Information on the Federal Register seeking public comments on opportunities and challenges for U.S. exporters of climate adaptation and resilience-related technologies and services. We welcome input from U.S. industry to help align U.S. trade promotion and trade policy activities to those sectors and markets that present the greatest opportunities for exporters of climate adaptation and resilience-related technologies and services, as well as to address relevant trade barriers and promote U.S. industry competitiveness. This FRN also supports the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaption and Resilience (PREPARE). Please see additional details in the Federal Register announcement. Comments are requested no later than June 30, 2023.
05/04/2023 – March 2023 Textile and Apparel Import Report
04/05/2023 – February 2023 Textile and Apparel Import Report
3/08/2023 – January 2023 Textile and Apparel Import Repot
2/07/2023 – December 2022 (Full Year) Textile and Apparel Import Report
2/07/2023 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) extends the exclusion of products from additional duties imposed under the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. USTR has extended exclusions for 81 COVID related products through May 15, 2023 to allow for consideration of public comments regarding whether to further extend particular exclusions. The public docket for interested persons to submit comments will be open until March 7, 2023. For more details see Federal Register notice 88 FR 8027. USTR previously extended the exclusion of 352 products from additional duties through September 30, 2023. For more details see Federal Register notice 87 FR 78187.
1/05/2023 – November 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
1/4/2023 – Limitation of Duty-Free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in Haiti Under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), as Amended by the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE): For the period December 20, 2022 through December 19, 2023, the annual quantitative limit of the Haiti HOPE Value-Added program is 412,506,163 square meters equivalent (SME).
12/21/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) extends the exclusion of 352 products from additional duties imposed under the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The exclusions, scheduled to expire on December 31, 2022, have been extended for nine months through September 30, 2023. For more details see Federal Register notice 87 FR 78187. Exclusions covering 81 medical-care products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled to expire on November 30, previously had been extended for an additional three months, through February 28, 2023. For more details see Federal Register notice 87 FR 73383.
12/06/2022 – October 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
11/29/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) extends exclusions of certain medical-care products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic from additional duties imposed under the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The previous exclusions covering 81 products, scheduled to expire on November 30, have been extended for an additional three months, through February 28, 2023. For more details see Federal Register notice 87 FR 73383.
11/03/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting comments as part of its statutory four-year review of two actions taken under the Section 301 Investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. USTR is seeking public comments on the effectiveness of certain actions taken in achieving the objectives of the investigation, other actions that could be taken, and the effects of such actions on the U.S. economy, including consumers. A public docket on USTR’s web portal will be open from November 15, 2022 to January 17, 2023 for interested persons to submit comments. See Federal Register notice 87 FR 62914 for more information and the Preview of Questions for the Four-Year Review.
11/03/2022 – September 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
10/05/2022 - The U.S. Department of Commerce requests input and recommendations regarding a draft list of critical goods and materials per Executive Order 14017, which outlines U.S. policy objectives with respect to strengthening the resilience of America’s supply chains. Commerce requests comments on or before November 3, 2022 addressing the make-up of the draft list, including any recommended product additions or subtractions. See Federal Register notice 87 FR 60118 for more details and the draft list of products.
10/05/2022 – August 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
09/21/2022 - Federal Register Notice 87 FR 57681 on the Limitations on Duty and Quota-Free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in Beneficiary Sub-Saharan African Countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The new AGOA caps are for the one-year period from October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023.
09/15/2022 – USTR invites comments to assist in identifying significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce for inclusion in the annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report). Deadline for submission of comments is October 28, 2022. See the Federal Register notice 87 FR 56741 for further details and instructions.
08/26/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative requests comments identifying online and physical markets to be considered for inclusion in the 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (Notorious Markets List). Written comments are due by October 7, 2022. For more details, see Federal Register notice 87 FR 52609.
08/05/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking public comments on matters relevant to specified trade areas that will help develop objectives and positions for enhanced engagement and subsequent negotiation under the U.S.-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership. Written comments are due by September 16, 2022. See the Federal Register notice 87 FR 48060 for further details.
08/04/2022 – July 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
08/04/2022 – June 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
07/25/2022 – The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is seeking input concerning a proposed modification to the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) rules of origin for Certain Fabrics of Triacetate Filament Yarns. At the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the USITC instituted investigation No. U.S.-Korea FTA-103-033 for the purpose of providing advice on the proposed modification. Written comments are due by August 26, 2022. See the Federal Register notice for further details.
07/21/2022 – In accordance with the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, President Biden issued an executive order on June 27, 2022, increasing tariffs to 35 percent on certain products from Russia. The higher tariffs—including those on a number of textile, apparel, footwear, and travel goods products—are effective 30 days after the date of the order. See Presidential Proclamation 10420 for further details and a list of affected products.
06/14/2022 – The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released importer guidance to assist the trade community in preparing for the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) rebuttable presumption that goes into effect on June 21, 2022. The UFLPA requires CBP to apply a presumption that imports of all goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, or by entities identified by the U.S. government on the UFLPA Entity List, are presumed to be made with forced labor and are prohibited from entry into the United States. See the UFPLA Operational Guidance for Importers on the CBP website
06/06/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) extends exclusions of certain medical-care products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic from additional duties imposed under the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The previous exclusions covering 81 products scheduled to expire on May 31, has been extended for an additional six months, through November 30, 2022. For more details see Federal Register notice 87 FR 33871.
05/12/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has begun the statutory four-year review of the two actions taken under the Section 301 Investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. USTR is notifying domestic industry representatives, which benefit from the Section 301 actions, of the possible termination of additional tariffs applied on certain imports from China and of the opportunity for these representatives to request continuation. Requests for continuation must be received by July 5, 2022, for the July 6, 2018 action and by August 22, 2022, for the August 23, 2018 action. An opportunity for public comment from all interested parties will be announced as part of the review process. See Federal Register notice 87 FR 26797 for more information.
05/12/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2022 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. USTR reviewed more than one hundred trading partners for this year’s Special 301 Report and placed twenty-seven of them on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.
04/07/2022 – The European Union (EU) will be putting forward several pieces of legislation in 2022 to achieve its circular economy transition. One initiative, the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) will focus on “key product value chains” (including textiles) that the Commission sees as requiring “urgent, comprehensive and coordinated action” to jumpstart the transition to circularity. The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles was published on March 30, 2022. For more information, see the EU Strategy for Sustainable Textiles webpage. For information on how U.S. businesses can engage with the EU on circular economy, see the Service-EU market intelligence article.
04/05/2022 – February 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report.
03/24/2022 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the reinstatement of certain previously granted and extended product exclusions in the Section 301 Investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The determination reinstates 352 of the 549 eligible exclusions. The reinstated product exclusions will apply as of October 12, 2021, and extend through December 31, 2022. For more information and product details, see the Federal Register notice.
03/22/2022 – Comments are requested regarding the development of an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to deepen economic relations in the region and coordinate approaches to address global economic challenges. The U.S. Department of Commerce is seeking public comments on key areas of interest, including: digital and emerging technologies; supply chain resilience; infrastructure, decarbonization, and clean energy; and tax and anti-corruption—see Federal Register notice 87 FR 13971 . The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking public comments on U.S. interests and priorities in order to develop negotiating objectives and positions and identify potential partners—see Federal Register notice 87 FR 13789 . Comments must be submitted on or before April 11, 2022.
03/18/2022 – Effective March 14, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is detaining merchandise produced or manufactured by Li-Ning Sporting Goods at all U.S. ports of entry. This enforcement action is the result of a CBP investigation indicating Li-Ning Sporting Goods uses North Korean labor in its supply chain. The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) prohibits the entry of goods, wares, and articles mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in party by North Korean nationals or North Korean citizens anywhere in the world, unless clear and convincing evidence is provided that such goods were not made with forced labor. For more details, see the CBP Press Release and CBP’s CAATSA FAQs.
03/18/2022 – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), will hold a virtual public hearing on April 8, 2022 on the use of forced labor in China and potential measures to prevent the importation of goods made with such labor. In January, the FLETF had requested comments from the public, as required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (Federal Register notice 87 FR 3567). Members of the public interested in providing public testimony at the hearing must register here by March 30. See Federal Register notice 87 FR 15448 for more details about the hearing.
03/15/2022 – Effective March 11, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has banned the export, reexport, and transfer (in country) of luxury goods to all end users in Russia and Belarus and to certain Russian and Belarusian oligarchs and malign actors located worldwide. This action is in response to Russia’s brutal, continuing invasion of Ukraine (as substantially enabled by Belarus) in flagrant violation of international law. Among the restricted products are various apparel, home textile, floor covering, tents/camping/boating, footwear, and travel goods products. For more details and a full list of products, see the Federal Register notice 87 FR 14785.
03/15/2022 – The European Union (EU) will be putting forward several pieces of legislation over the course of 2022 to achieve its circular economy transition. One initiative, the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) will focus on “key product value chains” (identified as electronics, information and communication technologies, textiles, furniture, steel, cement, and chemicals) that the Commission sees as requiring “urgent, comprehensive and coordinated action” to jumpstart the transition to circularity. The SPI is expected to be published on March 30. For more information on the SPI and how U.S. businesses can engage with the EU on circular economy, see the U.S. Commercial Service-EU market intelligence article.
03/08/2022 – January 2022 Textile and Apparel Import Report
03/02/2022 – The European Commission is inviting public comments on how best to reduce the amount of unintentionally released microplastics into the environment. This public consultation supports the Commission’s initiative on reducing microplastics pollution, as part of its Circular Economy Action Plan and Zero Pollution Action Plan. The consultation focusses on sources known to release the largest quantity of microplastics, such as plastic pellets, synthetic textiles, and tires. See the European Commission’s Microplastic public consultation webpagefor more details.
02/06/2022 – December 2021 Textile and Apparel Import Report
01/25/2022 – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), is seeking comments from the public, as required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, on how best to ensure that goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the People’s Republic of China are not imported into the United States. Comments must be received on or before March 10, 2022. See Federal Register notice 87 FR 3567 for details.
01/06/2022 – November 2021 Textile and Apparel Import Report
01/05/2022 – Webinar on Complying with Made in USA Labeling Standards- January 19/ 2 pm EST
12/27/2021 – As part of E.O. 14017 to strengthen supply chains of critical materials, Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) invites public comments on Potential Parameters of EXIM Financing for Domestic Projects that would establish or expand U.S. manufacturing facilities that would facilitate U.S. exports. Comments on the usefulness of such an option and need for EXIM to extend its medium and long-term loans and guarantees to domestic projects with an export connection, and the hypothetical parameters of such an EXIM program are due by January 20, 2022.
12/23/2021 – Determination to Approve CAFTA-DR Commercial Availability Request for Certain Polyester/Spandex 3-Layered Bonded Fabric (#1): CA2021001.
12/23/2021 – Determination to Approve CAFTA-DR Commercial Availability Request for Certain 100% Polyester 3-Layered Bonded Fabric (#2): CA2021002.
12/21/2021 – Limitation of Duty-Free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in Haiti Under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), as Amended by the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE): For the period December 20, 2021 through December 19, 2022, the annual quantitative limit of the Haiti HOPE Value-Added program is 367,770,223 square meters equivalent (SME).
12/15/2021 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative requests comments regarding its Special 301 Review to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property (IP) rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on IP protection. Public comments are requested by January 31. See further information in Federal Register notice 86 FR 70885.
12/08/2021 – Free webinar: Complying with Made in USA Labeling Standards, January 19, 2022, 2 p.m. ET.
12/07/2021 – The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has published a Federal Register notice (16 CFR Part 323) announcing the opportunity for public comment on a request to modify the rules of origin in the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). Public comments must be received no later than January 5, 2022.
12/07/2021 – October 2021 Textile and Apparel Import Report
11/15/2021 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) extends exclusions of certain medical-care products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic from additional duties imposed under the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. To provide a transition period, USTR is extending the 99 exclusions scheduled to expire on November 14, through November 30, 2021. An additional extension of 6 months (expiring on May 31, 2022) will be provided for 81 of the COVID exclusions. For more details see the notice on USTR’s China Section 301-Tariff Actions and Exclusion Process-COVID Exclusions webpage.
11/05/2021 – September 2021 Textile and Apparel Import Report
10/06/2021 – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) invites comments on whether to reinstate particular product exclusions from additional duties related to the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. Most of the 549 previously extended exclusions have expired. The public docket at USTR Comments will be open for parties to submit comments from October 12 through December 1, 2021. Further information and a list of products can be found on USTR’s Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions Previously Extended webpage.