The Canada Border Services Agency on July 2 updated a notice on the tariff classification of front-mount mowers, the agency said in Memorandum D10-14-27. "Front-mount mowers, without the mower deck, are to be classified as tractors of subheading 8701.91.00, 8701.92.00, 8701.93.00, 8701.94.00, or 8701.95.90, depending on engine power," the agency said. The mower decks "are classified under tariff item 8433.19.00 as other mowers for lawns, parks, or sports-grounds," it said. "Lawn tractors remain classified under tariff item 8433.11.00 as mowers powered, with the cutting device rotating in a horizontal plane for lawns, parks, or sports-grounds and are subject to the applicable rates of duty."

Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows:

Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy will stop issuing certificates of origin for exports under free trade agreements with the European Union, the European Free Trade Association and Japan, and exporters must instead obtain authorized exporter status to obtain benefits under the agreements, according to a circular from the Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations. Exporters with existing authorizations on the Registry of Eligible Products for Tariff Preferences for Obtaining Certificates of Origin under the agreements will be given an authorized exporter number. Exporters that want to export more types of goods must file new requests in the registry and certify compliance with origin requirements in the Mexican single window, said the circular, which was posted by Mexican consultancy AJR Comercio Exterior. The new scheme will not apply for merchandise subject to some export quotas and some goods listed in an annex to the Mexico-Japan FTA.

The Canada Border Services Agency signed Mutual Recognition Agreements with the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department and with the New Zealand Customs Service, the CBSA said in a June 29 news release. The MRAs allow for participant countries to consider Trusted Trader programs administered by other countries as part of customs processing. "Each MRA signifies that the CBSA’s Partners in Protection program members will be recognized by, and receive trade facilitation benefits from, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department’s Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme and the New Zealand Customs Service’s Secure Exports Scheme (SES) program, respectively," the CBSA said. "The CBSA will reciprocate by providing similar benefits to members of Hong Kong’s AEO programme and New Zealand’s SES program." The countries signed the MRAs while at a World Customs Organization Council session in Brussels, Belgium, the agency said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency updated its "Request for Documentation Review form (5272)" with "an important change to the form to enhance the section for payment process," the agency said in a June 27 email. "While CFIA clients have been previously advised to refrain from providing credit card information on the form, specific instructions have now been included on the form to explain how payment can be made using a credit card as well as steps to follow to sign up for a CFIA account," it said.

Canada issued multiple new regulations related to Canada’s accession to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Among those is the new permit for the export of Arms Trade Treaty items to the U.S. meant to "provide a streamlined permitting process for the export of most ATT items." The regulations also include a brokering control list, brokering permit regulations, and regulations specifying activities that do not constitute brokering. The regulations will take effect on Sept. 1, according to another notice. The regulations were proposed in March (see 1904150033).

Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit recently issued its General Foreign Trade Regulations for 2019. Published in three separate parts in the June 24 Diario Oficial, the new 2019 version includes changes to provisions on suspension of import and export permits, and requires from Dec. 1 that importers transmit value declarations electronically through the Mexican single window, according to a summary of the changes from the Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations (CAAAREM) posted by trade consultancy AJR Comercio. The Mexican agency published Annexes 1-A and 22 to the new regulations the following day. Among new provisions of the annexes are changes to guidelines on how to fill out Mexican import and export declarations (i.e., pedimentos) related to a field for declared value, according to another CAAAREM circular.

The Canada Border Services Agency published some rate of duty reductions included in the Canada-European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement and the Information Technology Agreement Expansion, in a new customs notice. The Canada-EFTA duty reductions apply to these subheadings:

Canada updated its compositional standards for vodka, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a notice. The new standard, which "allows vodka to be produced from agricultural products other than potato and cereal grain," aligns the requirements with major trading partners, the CFIA said. The update includes a new labeling requirement. "When vodka is produced from agricultural material other than just potatoes or cereal grains, the material used in producing the vodka must be indicated on the label with the expression 'Produced from' and the names of the material used," it said. Starting Dec. 14, 2022, "only the new regulatory requirements apply," the agency said.

Canada needs to step up its meat export certification system, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said during a June 26 press conference. Asked about a temporary ban on Canadian meat, Shuang said that Chinese customs found "ractopamine residues in pork products exported from Canada to China." During a subsequent investigation, China found "the official veterinary health certificates for the batch of pork exported to China were counterfeit and the number of those forgery certificates was up to 188," he said. "These forged certificates were sent to the Chinese regulatory authorities through Canadian official certificate notification channel, which reflects that the Canadian meat export supervision system has obvious safety loopholes."