A top U.S. Department of Agriculture official said he was “elated” to hear about the upcoming October meeting between top-level U.S. and China officials, but warned that a trade deal may still be far away. “I hope this is a very serious attempt to get going and to get back to the table and really bring this to fruition,” said Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, speaking during a Sept. 5 conference call with reporters.
The State Department is seeking feedback to inform its development of a draft guidance for exports of hardware, software and technology with “surveillance capabilities,” the agency said in a Sept. 4 press release. The guidance will give exporters insight “on considerations to weigh prior to exporting these items” and will give “businesses greater understanding of the human rights concerns the U.S. government may have with the export,” the press release said. Comments are due Oct. 4.
The Federal Maritime Commission would like to update the processes for revoking or denying ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) licenses, the agency said in a notice. While the FMC previously updated the processes in 2015, "the revised process, however, has proved to be imprecise in certain respects and has not led to the reduction in time and expense that was anticipated," it said. The agency's proposal would include a new hearing procedure that is "based on the procedure for formal small Shipping Act claims," it said. "The new hearing procedure would be overseen by an administrative law judge and would represent the type of expedient, low-burden process sought in the previous rulemaking while fulfilling the need for more detailed procedural requirements." Comments on the proposal are due Oct. 3.
The International Chamber of Commerce is expected to revise its incoterms to “clearly and accurately reflect current trade practices” when it releases its new set of the international commercial terms in September, according to an Aug. 29 post from Export Solutions.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments at regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2019-0012, on tariff and non-tariff barriers in 61 countries, the European Union and the countries of the Arab League (some of which are included in the list that follows). The topics stakeholders can comment on are wide-ranging -- from tariffs, customs practices, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures not based on science, to subsidies, intellectual property enforcement, data localization, discriminatory licensing or regulatory actions and investment restrictions. They also asked about Buy America-equivalent policies in other markets. The countries under review for the annual trade barriers report are: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine and Vietnam. Comments are due by midnight Oct. 31.
The State Department approved potential military sales to Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania and South Korea, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Aug. 27.
If the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is passed, its impact will be felt almost immediately, Vice President Mike Pence said, speaking to reporters in South Carolina on Aug. 27.
The National Pork Producers Council applauded the U.S. and Japan trade agreement, saying it would place U.S. pork exporters “back on a level playing field” with competitors in one of the U.S.’s “most important export markets.” “We look forward to rapid implementation of the agreement as international competitors are currently taking U.S. pork market share through more favorable access,” NPPC President David Herring said in an Aug. 25 statement. The council, citing a study, said U.S. exports to Japan will grow from $1.6 billion in 2018 to more than $2.2 billion “over the next 15 years” as a result of the trade deal. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the agreement at the G-7 summit in France (see 1908260033).
The State Department issued three technical corrections to the Cuba Restricted List, in a notice.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls rescheduled its In-House Seminar from Sept. 18 to Oct. 9 due to scheduling conflicts, the DDTC said in an Aug. 22 notice. DDTC is extending registration for an additional week, but remains "first-come, first-served." Questions should be directed to DDTCInHouseSeminars@state.gov.