As the second Trump administration begins next week, developers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers are evaluating the extent of the construction industry’s international ties – and contractual exposure to potential tariff increases. While President-elect Trump has been forthright about his intent to impose and increase tariffs, he has not provided details about which products, goods, and
On November 22, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) updated the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List to add 29 companies based out of the Peoples Republic of China bringing the total number of listed companies to 107. As we previously posted here and here, companies included on the UFLPA Entity
On November 8, 2024, in Marina v. Bama Reinforcing, LLC, the Alabama Supreme Court addressed a trial court’s directed verdict on an injured construction worker’s negligence action. The worker was employed as a concrete finisher by the contractor on the new FBI building being constructed at Redstone Arsenal outside of Huntsville, Alabama. While working
In Swinerton Builders, Inc. v. Argonaut Insurance Co., Swinerton Builders, a contractor, sued a surety on bond claims arising from defaults by its subcontractor on a series of work orders. The owner of Swinerton’s mechanical subcontractor on three projects passed away unexpectedly, and the subcontractor was unable to complete its remaining work on the
In January 2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued an invitation for bids (IFB) for a dune and berm replenishment and renovation project along the New Jersey coast. The USACE received two sealed bids for the project, but both bids exceeded the independent government estimate (IGE) for the project by over $21 million.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a leading solar industry group, recently published a new supply chain traceability standard, Standard 101, for public comment. The standard is intended to provide “a rubric that manufacturers and importers can follow to trace product origins from raw materials to finished goods.” With Standard 101, SEIA seeks to
On May 16, 2024, the IRS released Notice 2024-41 (the “Notice”), modifying its preliminary guidance issued last May in Notice 2023-38 addressing the application of potential future rules that taxpayers must satisfy to qualify for the domestic content bonus tax credit amounts under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA amended §§ 45 and 48
On April 24, 2024, a coalition of domestic solar module manufacturers filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD Petition) with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) on imported crystalline silicon PV cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The AD/CVD Petition alleges
In early October, California’s governor signed into law Senate Bill 38, which amends Section 761.3 of the California Public Utilities Code to address safety concerns with the booming battery energy storage (BESS) industry in the state. The new law requires that every battery energy storage facility located in California establish an emergency response and
In December 2021, President Biden signed the UFLPA into law to restrict the import of goods mined, produced, or manufactured, in whole or in part, using forced labor from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), which we discussed here. A key feature of the law was its focus on polysilicon imports as a high-priority