Canada is seeking public input on "economies that have publicly announced their own consultations or studies on potential [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership] accession," Global Affairs Canada said in a notice. Those countries include South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom, it said. "The Government also welcomes views on the potential accession of any other Asia-Pacific economy. The Government may opt to launch further public consultations on specific economies that formally apply to accede to the Agreement." Submissions are due Aug. 25.
Canada is seeking public comments on its July 20 proposed regulations that would amend certain import regulations, improve the country’s trade remedy system, improve its verification of import data and find additional tools it can give its customs agency to “address price distortions more effectively when calculating margins of dumping,” the country said. The regulations stem from concerns raised by Canada’s steel industry about the country’s “ability to address unfairly traded imports,” Canada said. The proposed regulations are the result of a “30-day consultation” with Canadian industries and workers. Comments are due Aug. 5.
Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) issued 262 seizure orders for undervaluation in the first quarter of 2019, a year-on-year increase of 60.7%, according to a report on the Mexican business news site Opportimes. That’s even though SAT carried out only 625 value analyses during the first quarter, 60.1% fewer than the same period the previous year, the report said.
Portugal is gaining more access to Chinese agricultural markets and signed a “protocol” with China in June that allows Portugal to export “swine offals” to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a Foreign Agricultural Service report released July 23. That move comes after a May agreement in which China agreed “to facilitate Portuguese agricultural exports,” USDA said. Portugal expects the Chinese market to “open for all Portuguese swine offals” by 2020, the report said. The agreements are expected to “transform the structure of Portuguese pork industry” and will bring challenges to “slaughterhouses without their own pork production and without export strategies,” the report said. In addition, Portugal’s pork industry plans to increase hog production “to satisfy the domestic and increasing international pork demand,” USDA said.
Brazil is establishing tariff rate quotas on a range of imports and reducing import tariffs “to correct a lack of supply in the Brazilian market,” according to a July 19 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Certain products -- including insecticides, “monochloroacetic acid,” polyester yarn, acrylic filament tow and certain vaccines -- will have their tariff rates reduced to 2 percent for one year, the report said. The reduced rates for each item will take effect at different times, ranging from July to December.
The head of the agriculture committee for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union initiated a review earlier this year of how Canada is running its tariff rate quota system for imported cheeses, according to a report in the National Post in Canada.
Canada is strengthening its antidumping regime “to better protect Canadian industry from unfair trade practices,” including making changes to its investigative and review procedures, the Canada Border Services Agency said in a July 19 press release. The changes update Canada’s criteria for beginning an investigation and detail “specific factors” for determining when CBSA should “initiate a full re-investigation or a more streamlined normal value review,” the release said.