FDA has signed an agreement to expand its food safety collaboration with its Mexican regulatory counterparts, the agency announced Oct. 5. The “statement of intent” signed by FDA and the Mexican National Service of Agro-Alimentary Public Health Safety and Quality (SENASICA) and Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) “embraces the use of new and emerging technologies to strengthen the Participants’ respective technical and predictive capabilities; leverages food safety programs at SENASICA and COFEPRIS and their work with local industry; and further enhances collaborations with other key partners in the United States and Mexico, among others,” FDA said. The statement also says FDA, SENASICA and COFEPRIS intend to expand the scope of their 2014 agreement on produce safety to cover other foods.
Canada published its notice for now-suspended plans to implement retaliatory tariffs on aluminum goods from the U.S. in the Sept. 30 Canada Gazette, Part II. Canada was set to apply the tariffs once the U.S. tariffs on goods from Canada took effect on Sept. 16, but after the U.S. decided Sept. 15 not to implement its tariffs, Canada said it would follow suit (see 2009150048). “Given the timing of the U.S. announcement on September 15, 2020, just hours before Canada’s planned announcement of surtaxes entering into effect, the Order in Council to impose surtaxes (the “Surtax Order”) was already approved and set to enter into force on September 16, 2020,” a Department of Finance Canada spokesperson said.
Mexico's cabinet members in charge of implementing labor law changes and managing the USMCA more broadly said they are helping the private sector evaluate whether businesses could be a target of the rapid response mechanism, and they are working on the four-year process of democratizing labor unions in the country. Labor Secretary Luisa Maria Alcalde de Lujan said new laws include eliminating the former arbitration system, which was part of the executive branch, and creating a system of labor judges.
As trade and labor attorneys wait to see which company is the target of a promised AFL-CIO rapid response complaint, Warren Payne, a senior adviser for Mayer Brown's public policy and international trade practices, said there can be informed speculation on who might be first.
CBP will extend its travel restrictions on the northern and southern borders through Oct. 21, it said in two notices released Sept. 21. The travel restrictions were to expire Sept. 21 (see 2008200003). The travel bans do not apply to cargo, and exempt crossing the border from Canada or Mexico to work in the U.S.
Brazil established or renewed tariff-rate quotas on a range of imports to address the lack of supply in the domestic market, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said Sept. 17. Duties for the in-quota imports will be reduced by 2% for one year, HKTDC said, affecting up to 6,240 tons of “acrylic/modacrylic filament tow,” 72,000 tons of lignosulfonates, 2.5 million bands “suitable for use on arms or wrists” in “blood pressure measuring devices,” and 2,500 tons of certain “nickel-chrome-molybdenum alloy plates.” Brazil also established or renewed for one year an in-quota tariff rate of zero for certain vaccines. Other TRQs will benefit imports of certain ethyl alcohol and certain rice products.