HARMONIZED TARIFF SYSTEM
Changes to the Harmonized Tariff System Effective February 3, 2007.
Acting pursuant to the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the U.S. International Trade Commission continuously reviews the Harmonized Tariff System (“HTS”) and provides recommendations to the President when modifications to the tariff are warranted.  The President is authorized to approve the modifications to the HTS if they align with U.S. obligations under the HS Convention and support the economic interests of the U.S.

This year, the changes to the HTS were substantial.  More than 350 amendments were approved by the President, including 83 chapters and 240 headings.  Tariff headings were added and many were revised or deleted.  Chapters most affected were those dealing with industrial and high-technology products (chapters 84, 85, and 90).  More…

2007 Trade Agenda – Fate of Trade Promotion Authority Looms Large.
The 2007 U.S. trade agenda for opening overseas markets for U.S. businesses will be driven at least for the first six months of this year by the pending expiration of the President's Trade Promotion Authority (“TPA”) at the end of June.  The other major factor is the new Democratic-led Congress, which has criticized certain elements of the Administration's trade policy, and has raised concerns about pending free trade agreements currently up for approval.  More…



Canada Can Take Full Advantage of ICSID.
Canadian investors now have full access to an increasingly popular international arbitration forum.  The Canadian government recently signed the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, which created the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an autonomous international organization with close links with the World Bank.  More…

Sanctions Focus – Pressure on Iran Continues.
Even before the UN Security Council issued sanctions under Resolution 1737 in December, Iran admitted that sanctions were having an impact on its ability to finance oil projects.  Iran now faces a number of sanctions initiatives, both in the UN and beyond that will increase the pressure.  The UNSCR authorizes a wide range of actions, including the denial of financial assistance to entities and individuals associated with Iran's WMD programs.  The reformist faction of the Iranian parliament criticized President Ahmadinejad's government for the Security Council sanctions on Iran and charged that the UN's actions showed the foreign ministry was incapable of looking after Iran's national interests. More…



European Commission Issues Final Report On Sector Inquiry Into Electricity and Gas Markets and Proposes Action Plan to Open Up Energy Markets in Europe.
After conducting an in-depth review of the European energy sector, the European Commission released the Final Report on the Sector Inquiry into Electricity and Gas Markets (“Commission Report”).  More…

UK Begins Initial Review of Export Control Act.
In November 2006 the United Kingdom Commons Quadripartite Committee set up to examine strategic export controls announced that it was undertaking “post-legislative scrutiny” of the Export Control Act 2002 and related Orders.  The Committee called for submissions from interested parties in relation to the efficacy of the new act and possible areas for improvement.  More…

European Commission Proposes New Measures for Dual Use Goods and Technologies.
On December 19, 2006 the European Commission adopted a number of proposals related to the export control regime in place in the European Union.   More…



The listings for the 2007 edition of Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers have been announced, and Robert MacLean, Jeff Snyder and Kristof Roox have all been ranked. In addition, the firm had three practice areas ranked including WTO/International Trade; USA, Energy: Electricity (U.S.), and Energy: Oil and Gas (U.S.). View the web announcement here. More…

ZEROING
WTO Rejects U.S. Practice of Zeroing.
On January 9, 2007, the WTO Appellate Body ruled against the United States practice of "zeroing" in virtually every aspect of antidumping proceedings, overturning an earlier Panel decision that had largely ruled in favour of the practice.  U.S. Petitioning companies support "zeroing" because it results in a dumping margin even if only a handful of transactions are dumped out of a larger pool of sales.  Respondents view “zeroing” as creating, or inflating, dumping margins, by giving less than full “credit” for sales made at above fair value prices.

In a challenge brought by Japan and joined by other countries, the Appellate Body upheld the earlier Panel's determination that the U.S. "zeroing procedures" constituted a "measure" that could be challenged "as such" under WTO dispute procedures.  The Appellate Body's agreement with the Panel largely ended there, however.  More…