Colombia announced unlimited duty-free treatment for imports of certain electric vehicles, and lowered import duties to 5 percent on certain motor vehicles fueled only by natural gas, according to a Nov. 21 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The changes take effect Nov. 28. In a separate decision, Colombia announced duty-free treatment for certain “household appliance inputs,” the report said. That change takes effect Dec. 3.
The Canada Border Services Agency updated its memorandum on the importation and transportation of goods on Nov. 18 to reflect updates to the definitions and “clarify corrections to cargo control documents," it said. Also new is "bond information and amounts for each mode of transportation" and "information on direct delivery of consolidated shipments," it said. CBSA also added "information on goods found astray (misrouted), non-resident importer, Carnets and other temporary imports, 'to order' shipments, moving company and personal effects, entered to arrive and value included shipments, ships stores, and duty free stores."
A moratorium on export permits for trade with Saudi Arabia is "having a negative impact on Canadian exporters," Global Affairs Canada said in a Nov. 13 memorandum. The policy, which started in November 2018 due to humanitarian concerns, only prevented new permits, while companies with existing permits were allowed to continue to export to Saudi Arabia, it said. "The open-ended nature of Canada’s moratorium on new export permits, and the lack of identified conditions that would allow a resumption of permit issuance, present a high commercial risk for Canadian companies," GAC said. Still, "it is difficult to gather precise figures on the value of lost business," it said.
China will again allow imports of beef and pork from Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Nov. 5 tweet. China stopped accepting the meat from Canada earlier this year after China said it found falsified veterinary health certificates (see 1906260053). China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang confirmed the announcement during a Nov. 6 press conference. "The Chinese Customs and the Canadian competent authority have been in close communication on this matter and working for a solution," he said. "Recently Canada proposed an action plan as a corrective measure for certificate issuance and delivery. After reviewing it, we believe this plan will meet our safety requirements and agree to accept veterinary health certificates for meat products exported to China issued by the Canadian authority."
Mexico recently passed tax legislation that amends the country’s value-added tax laws to improve collection efficiency, KPMG said in a Nov. 5 post. The legislation also clarified that revenue from certain foreign “digital or e-commerce services” provided to Mexican residents will be subject to VAT. The laws introduce new registration and reporting requirements for foreign providers, KPMG said.