United States: International Trade & Investment

Canada does not need to choose between the United States and the rest of the world. The opportunity is to protect the North American relationship while deliberately building customers, suppliers, partnerships, and investment opportunities in additional markets.

The U.S. Department of State has removed Syria from the list of countries subject to denial under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), marking a significant shift in defense export policy. While this change allows case-by-case review of license requests for defense articles and services, it does not constitute blanket authorization and requires careful navigation of remaining Export Administration Regulations and sanctions.

The U.S. Court of International Trade has rejected Commerce's determination that chassis manufactured in Vietnam with Chinese-origin parts are covered by antidumping and countervailing duty orders on chassis from China. The court held that welding and fabrication of Chinese components into subassemblies in Vietnam removes the merchandise from the scope of the orders, potentially entitling importers to recover substantial duties paid. This decision has significant implications for companies importing chassis

The time has come. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security’s (“BIS”) Affiliates Rule that was postponed last year is slated to take effect November 10, 2026, barring another extension. The Rule was initially set to start November 10, 2025 but was extended for a year, effectively giving exporters one-year notice to conduct due diligence within its customer base to ensure compliance with the Rule.

With the ever-growing barrage of rhetoric over just how, when, and if, AI will kill us all, the conversation also lends itself to, do we believe it will be AI that kills us, or a bad actor using AI? If I showed you a picture of East Asia at night from space and pointed out that you can’t see North Korea for the lack of available electricity, (It’s 99% blacked out, and only Pyongyang shows a small cluster of light) would you think for a minute that they would have the tech savvy, and high end software, or even hardware, necessary to steal $6.7 billion in crypto since 2017?

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a proposed rule, “Regulation Crypto Assets,” 91 Fed. Reg. 54510, on August 21, 2026 (FRN). Comments are due by October 20, 2026. Comments should reference File Number S7-2026-27 and may be submitted through the SEC’s internet comment form

On August 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Trade Fraud Task Force (Task Force) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The cross-agency Task Force is a crucial part of the Administration’s enforcement agenda against tariff evasion, Customs fraud, and smuggling schemes under the Tariff Act of 1930, the False Claims Act (FCA), and Title 18’s trade fraud and conspiracy provisions.

On September 18, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began enhanced enforcement of importer of record (IOR) identity data on CBP Form 5106. CBP announced the enforcement program in a general notice published in the Federal Register. Accuracy of Importer of Record Data Submitted to CBP, 91 Fed. Reg. 53,627, 53,627 (Aug. 19, 2026). This notice states CBP’s enforcement position; it is not a new regulation and does not add new Form 5106 data elements. The enforcement includes immediate voiding of IOR numbers when CBP determines the data is inaccurate or incomplete. A voided number is “invalid for any purpose,” including entering merchandise.

Unused merchandise drawbacks allow a claimant to recover up to 99% of the duties paid on imported goods that are exported, unused, within five years of importation. 19 U.S.C. § 1313(j)(1); 19 C.F.R. § 190.31(a)-(b)(2025).