On Friday, April 8, 2022, President Joe Biden signed H.R. 7108 into law, known as the “Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act.” This law suspends normal trade relations with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus and seeks to further leverage trade and human rights sanctions.
This new legislation will place all goods imported from the countries of Russia and Belarus to the duties rates of column 2 of the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS). Column 2 is for a list of specific countries that the US does have normal trade relations with, albeit high rates of duties.
The law went into effect on April 9th, 2022, meaning all import entries with entry dates of April 9th and beyond will be subjected to the new rates of duties.
To all importers, if you have shipments on the water en route to the United States, take a moment to identify them and understand the new rates of duty.
Please double check your import bond and reach out to your BDP import manager on any changes that may be needed to handle your immediate needs.
The White House, BDP International
