President Donald Trump said that the administration will begin the process of revoking Hong Kong's differential treatment from China, including its more lenient "export controls on dual-use technologies, with few exceptions."

The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 33 companies and governmental bodies to the Entity List for their roles in military and proliferation activities and human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang province, BIS said May 22.

The Commerce Department issued a notice that amends the direct product rule to so that it applies to certain foreign-made items designated with a new footnote in Commerce’s Entity List. It also applies that footnote to 93 entries on the Entity List for Huawei and its affiliates. The interim final rule takes effect May 15.

The Commerce Department announced increased restrictions on foreign-made chips exported to, and made by, Huawei and its affiliates, and said it does not expect to issue another temporary general license extension for the Chinese technology company after its latest 90-day renewal expires Aug. 13.

The Federal Maritime Commission will adopt a final rule to give industry guidance on how it assesses the “reasonableness” of detention and demurrage charges, the agency said. The rule, which was proposed in September and has garnered new attention due to charges caused by COVID-19-related shipping delays, is expected to give industry clarity on how FMC will consider whether detention and demurrage policies incentivize the movement of cargo or whether they are unjustified. The rule will become effective upon its publication in the Federal Register.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified Congress April 24 that the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement will enter into force on July 1, 2020. Following that notification to Congress, the U.S. certified to Mexico and Canada that it's ready for the NAFTA replacement to take effect.

CBP posted interim implementation instructions for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to provide "guidance with respect to preferential tariff claims under the USMCA," it said. The document covers many of the USMCA provisions, including making preference claims, rules of origin for automotive goods and country of origin marking rules. "The procedures outlined in this memorandum are in place pending the issuance of the applicable regulations," CBP said.

The U.S. will restrict exports of certain personal protective equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a notice. The restrictions, which took effect April 7 and will last for 120 days after the notice's publication in the Federal Register (scheduled for April 10), apply to certain respirators, surgical masks and surgical gloves, FEMA said. An exemption is available in specific cases, including for some export agreements in effect since at least the beginning of 2020, the agency said.

The deadline for customs payments due to the Canada Border Services Agency will be extended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency said in bulletin. "The timeframe for all payments due to the Agency (duties and taxes on regular imports, re-assessments, penalties, etc) is extended to June 30, 2020," it said. "This also includes charges on the statement of account of March due on April 1. The CBSA will change the due date automatically, there is no need for companies to apply for the extension."

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