Jacob Kopnick

The importance and size of the Mexico-U.S. trading relationship does not receive enough recognition in the U.S., Mexico's outgoing ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, said Feb. 5 during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mexico is the U.S.'s no. 1 trading partner, she said, and the economies are inexorably linked, with the automobile supply chain as just one example of it. One piece of a car will cross the border an average of seven times before final assembly, she said.

South Korea Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee dropped her candidacy for World Trade Organization director-general, clearing a path for Nigeria's Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be elected. Announcing her decision at a Feb. 5 briefing in Seoul, Yoo said it was made in coordination with the U.S. as a way to reach a consensus among WTO members on the one candidate who will lead the organization, according to a report in The Korea Herald.

One of the largest impacts felt from the drastic change in mandate and reach of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. in the last few years is how lawyers, business people and investors are viewing the committee. Speaking at a Capitol Forum webinar on Feb. 4, three CFIUS industry experts highlighted how far more resources are being exerted on CFIUS compliance measures than at any time since its inception. This is largely due to the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, which greatly overhauled CFIUS's responsibilities, including introducing certain mandatory filings for certain foreign transactions (see 1910310053).

Firearms trade expert Michael Andersen is the new director of regulatory services for Orchid, a federal firearms license business and compliance software company. Andersen will lead Orchid's international trade practice related to import/export licensing, alcohol, tobacco and firearms compliance, and firearms e-commerce regulations, the company said in a news release. Previously, Andersen was the director of compliance at Brownells, working on federal firearms compliance and international trade programs.

The International Court of Justice threw out U.S. objections to Iran's case against the U.S.'s extensive sanctions regime that say this case is outside the court's scope. In a Feb. 3 decision, the ICJ rejected the U.S. notions that the court didn't have jurisdiction over matters of trade or transactions between Iran and third countries and of the underlying treaty in which Iran staked its claim. Iran claims that the 2018 U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions violates the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights. It brought its case to the ICJ following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimpose sanctions. The ICJ decision cannot be appealed and will lead to the court hearing Iran's main claim on the merits next.

As part of an information technology revamping effort, the Indian government introduced an online e-filing system for those looking to import products under the subcontinent's tariff-rate quota system. The new online module, the e-TRQ System, must be used effective Feb. 8 by all importers to submit their TRQ applications on the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's website. Requests for changes or amendments to the TRQ licenses also must be submitted online through the e-TRQ system and no paper copies of the licenses will be provided. Any TRQ applications already submitted for fiscal year 2021-22 yet to be processed will be migrated to the new system with no additional action required of the filing party.

The Russian government in November 2020 approved a proposal to replace its tariff rate quotas on imported beef with a flat rate tariff of 27.5%, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report Feb. 1. The proposal now awaits approval by the Eurasian Economic Commission, and, if approved, would enter into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. High-quality beef would remain unaffected as it is currently not subject to quotas. The U.S. has not had market access in Russia for its beef exports since 2014 when Moscow banned U.S. agriculture and livestock exports in apparent retaliation for the U.S.'s stance on Russia's support for Ukrainian rebels (see 1412230061). Prior to 2014, U.S. beef exports operated under a 15% tariff rate, and if Russia decides to lift its ban on American beef in 2022, that rate will apply to high-quality beef, but all other beef exports would be subjected to the 27.5% flat rate.

Mexico announced changes to its Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program to offer customs-related benefits for maquiladora factories. One of the largest changes allows tariff relief for a period of 36 months for items imported temporarily into Mexico or with regard to maquiladora factories, merchandise transferred to companies not operating under the IMMEX (Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicio de Exportación) regime, KPMG said in an alert Feb. 2. Mexico also added two additional digits to its commercial identification numbers to exert more statistical control over its import and export transactions, along with eliminating certain low-volume tariff items and subheadings -- changes made effective at the end of 2020. Other changes include the possibility of canceling value-added tax certifications if companies did not timely submit their renewal request at the end of 2020. Also, firms must now evaluate the implications of “subcontracted” personnel for VAT certification purposes, as the information from suppliers must be updated, due to labor reforms in USMCA.

While just two weeks into the Biden administration, any sense of urgency needed to bring the U.S. back into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to dismantle Iran's ability to create a nuclear weapon is not being felt from either the Americans or Europeans. Speaking at a Feb. 3 Chatham House event on the future of the JCPOA, Middle East experts Dalia Dassa Kaye and Azadeh Zamirirad from the Wilson Center and the Middle East and Africa Division, SWP Berlin, respectively, both shared the view of a lack of urgency amid high expectations for the new U.S. president to lead the U.S. to rejoin the agreement.

The U.S. moved to seize all oil aboard a Liberia-flagged vessel, the M/T Achilleas, via a forfeiture complaint filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the oil is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the IRGC-Qods Force, both U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations. The complaint alleges the IRGC and IRGC-Qods Force schemed to deliver the oil to a customer abroad and that the origins of the oil were disguised using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means to trick the owners of the Achilleas into transporting the oil, the Department of Justice announced in a Feb. 3 news release.