Page 24 - NC Triangle Vol 7 No 2

JOSEPH ROHE
government agency if they fall within certain industries. is is a very interesting develop- ment. More deals will be subject to this new level of scrutiny this year.
LIZBETH LEVINSON, FOX ROTHSCHILD:
Section 301 of the Trade Act is the principal statutory authority under which the United States may impose trade sanctions on foreign countries that either violate trade agreements or engage in other unfair trade practices. e U.S. has established three lists of goods. Tar- i s on two of the lists, which are relatively tar- geted and name speci c products, were set at 25 percent.
e third list, which is much broader, af- fects anyone who imports a product on that list. e current duty for products on this third list is 10 percent, but it will rise to 25 percent within 60 days if there is no agree- ment with China.
My advice to clients is to bring in as many products as possible, as soon as possible, in advance of the increase to 25 percent. I have also talked to many clients about asking for an exclusion from the tari s, if and when a pro- cess for requesting an exclusion is created. I do expect that there will be such a process in the future.
CASSY CREEKMAN, SAS INSTITUTE: In recent years, the U.S. government has increas- ingly imposed sanctions against companies and individuals with global reach, resulting in signi cantly more sanctions impact to the av- erage U.S. company’s supply chains, custom- ers or other business operations. is trend appears to be continuing, and there are signs – such as the recent sanctioning of a Chinese semiconductor accused of intellectual prop- erty the – that the administration may see sanctions as a tool to protect economic se- curity or technological superiority. It will be interesting to see how the government ap- proaches the tension between using sanctions to protect U.S. interests, without excessively burdening U.S. companies.
JOSEPH ROHE, FOX ROTHSCHILD: e biggest issue I am watching in 2019 is the U.S.- China relationship. It’s so impactful and there are so many trickle-down issues that come out of it, including IP, tari s, retaliatory tari s and the impact on our clients and U.S. businesses.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
STRATEGIES FOR THE TRUMP ERA
“BY BOB FRIEDMAN
Uncertainty is the number one thing that keeps business people and lawyers up at night,” said Matthew Nis Leerberg, an at-
torney with Fox Rothschild LLP who recently moderated a CLE for the Research Triangle Area Chapter of the Association of Corpo- rate Counsel. “ e constantly shi ing rules, regulations and policies governing the import and export of goods, services and intellectual property in the last couple of years are a major headache for in-house compliance lawyers. To help alleviate that pain, we have assembled a panel of our rm’s top import/export lawyers to present on ‘Trade, Tari s and Sanctions Under the Trump Administration’ for the bene t of corporate counsel in the Triangle.”
e panelists included SAS Senior Legal Counsel Cassy Creekman and Fox Rothschild attorneys Lizbeth Levinson, Joseph Rohe and Nevena Simidjiyska, who spoke on strategy and tactics for international trade under the Trump administration. Here is a sampling of the insights o ered by the panelists:
JOSEPH ROHE, FOX ROTHSCHILD: Tar- i engineering is something we can do for clients who import or manufacture products in the United States. In doing so, we use the tari schedule and regulations to mitigate the amount of duty exposure. For example, if we make a minor change to a product that doesn’t impact usability or contribute signi cantly to its cost, we can potentially shi it into a dif- ferent product classi cation with a lower rate. Columbia sportswear did this when it added a veneer of textile material to the rubber soles of its shoes. Doing this allowed the company to reclassify the product and signi cantly trim the duty exposure.
LIZBETH LEVINSON, FOX ROTHSCHILD:
Because Trump is continually making such announcements as “We’re going to be put- ting duties into e ect in the next 60 days or the next 120 days,” there has been a constant rush to beat the duties. Our trade de cit has ballooned and that is partly because everyone is trying to beat the deadlines.
NEVENA SIMIDJIYSKA, FOX ROTHSCHILD:
Never before have corporate and real estate transactions been so closely tied to U.S. pol- icy. M&A, real estate investments and private equity deals that involve foreign parties may now be required to get approval from a U.S.
MATTHEW NIS LEERBERG
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · NORTH CAROLINA TRIANGLE. 7 NO. 2 24