Importers of goods from Vietnam into Mexico cannot currently request preferential duty treatment under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations said in a May 21 circular posted by consultancy AJR Comercio Exterior. Though Vietnam has notified Mexico of the format of its certificate of origin to request preferential treatment, some doubts have surfaced about certificates that are being presented by importers, CAAAREM said.

The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of May 22 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Brazil is temporarily lowering tariffs to zero percent on 315 capital goods and information and telecommunications technology goods under its Ex-Tarifario regime, according to a May 9 notice in the Brazilian Diario Oficial. The goods, classified in chapters 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 90 of the Brazilian tariff schedule, will remain duty free through Dec. 31, 2020, said the notice, which took effect May 13. The goods had been subject to tariff rates of 12 percent to 18 percent, according to a report in Brazilian news magazine Istoe. Brazil also established a tariff-rate quota allowing 6,000 tons of vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate co-polymers classified under Brazilian subheading 3904.30.00 to enter at a 2 percent duty for a period of 12 months, with out-of-quota merchandise entering at the regular rate of 14 percent, according to an alert from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The Ex-Tarifario system allows for temporarily duty free treatment for capital and ICT goods not made in Brazil, in a manner similar to the U.S. Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.

Argentina will exempt certain capital goods and temporary imports from a fee increase that took effect May 7, according to a notice in the country’s Boletin Oficial. Effective May 21, capital goods imported for production of hydrocarbons from unconventional reserves, as well as other capital goods under certain programs and all temporary imports, will be subject to a zero percent “tasa de estadistica” (statistical fee). Argentina had increased the fee, which is similar to the U.S. Merchandise Processing Fee, to 2.5 percent for all imports beginning May 7 (see 1905090056).

Brazil is streamlining certain requirements for imports of used machinery and equipment and goods eligible for tax benefits, the Brazilian Ministry of Economy said in a May 9 press release. In a notice published May 8, the Brazil Ministry of Economy extended the validity period of domestic production analyses, which form part of the initial stage of the approval process for used and benefit-eligible goods by determining whether there are any like domestic goods, according to an alert from the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council. Brazil is also adding several documents to its Ministry of Economy Electronic Information System (SEI/ME) related to importation of used production lines to expedite the import process, the press release said.

The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of May 20 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Mexican customs will not enforce certificate of compliance requirements for imports of automobile safety belts at the time of entry into the country, said the Confederation of Mexican Customs Broker Associations in a May 15 bulletin. At this time, there are no accredited and approved certification bodies to evaluate conformity with Mexican standards for safety belts under Mexican tariff schedule subheading 8708.21.01, the bulletin said. The exemption will remain in place until one year after the policy was issued on May 2.

Guatemalan customs authorities will now allow multiple corrections to Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) certificates of origin, reversing a previous policy that only allowed COOs to be corrected once for imports from the U.S., the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 16 report. Implemented beginning April 26, the new policy “will help expedite the clearance of imported U.S. products, saving importers tens of thousands of dollars and make the import process more transparent,” the report said. Under the new policy, the COO can be corrected multiple times within 15 calendar days of written notification, which will also be provided by Guatemalan customs under the new policy.

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

The "annual interest rate for the third quarter of 2019 (July 1st 2019 to 30 September 2019) will be 1.6661," the Canada Border Services Agency said in a May 15 email. That rate affects "all importers and brokers who submit their B3s and AO notification of release queries using the CCS/CADEX system," the agency said.