Hong Kong issued a warning about trading products that may contain cannabis, THC or cannabidiol (CBD), saying violations will constitute offenses under Hong Kong’s Dangerous Drug Ordinance as well as its food regulations, according to a March 20 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture' Foreign Agricultural Service. Hong Kong specifically warned traders from exporting or importing products that contain CBD. While CBD is not classified as a dangerous drug under Hong Kong’s ordinances, the region’s food safety authority said “it is difficult to extract pure CBD that does not contain any THC,” according to the report. Violators are subject to criminal penalties, the report said, including a maximum penalty of fines of more than $600,000 or imprisonment for life. Hong Kong’s warning was prompted by Canada’s legalization of recreational marijuana last year and a 2018 Hong Kong seizure of nearly 600 pounds of a product, Juicy Wrap, suspected of containing THC, the report said. The product originated in the Philippines and was bound for Canada, according to the report.
Lawmakers rejected United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May’s European Union withdrawal deal for a third time, causing uncertainty about the future of Brexit. The deal was struck down 344-286 in a March 29 vote, on the same day the U.K. was originally scheduled to leave the EU. May had sent a letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk in March requesting a Brexit delay until July 30, but Tusk said the EU would grant a delay only if the U.K. Parliament adopted May’s withdrawal agreement when it voted for a third time (see 1903200068).
Canada may pursue an increase in its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods as part of an effort to convince President Donald Trump to end the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said in a March 29 report. Mexico too is said to be considering an expansion to its retaliatory tariffs (see 1903140025). Additional tariffs on the U.S. are hoped to push Trump toward lifting the metals tariffs as part of U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade deal, the CBC reported.
China will continue to suspend tariffs on U.S.-made cars and auto parts past April 1, according to a notice from China’s Ministry of Finance. In December, China originally announced it was suspending additional 25 percent tariffs on U.S. vehicles and parts as a show of good faith as the two countries negotiated a trade deal. The tariff suspension was scheduled to end April 1, but China announced on March 31 that the country would be upholding the suspension to “create a good atmosphere for economic and trade consultations between the two sides,” according to an unofficial translation of the announcement. The Ministry of Finance said it will announce at a later date when the extension will expire.
In the March 28 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Mexico is renewing temporary tariff increases on steel products under 186 tariff subheadings, according to a notice in the March 25 Diario Oficial. The across-the-board 15 percent tariff had originally been imposed on the same 186 tariff subheadings in June 2018, before apparently expiring on Jan. 31, 2019. The renewed tariff increases take effect March 26, and will remain in place for six months, the notice said.
Brunei Darussalam will on April 1 join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ system for exchanging electronic certificates of origin through the ASEAN Single Window (ASW), Singapore Customs said in a March 25 circular. "Brunei Darussalam will join Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam to commence live operation of the ASW for the electronic exchange of Form D under the [ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement],” the circular said. Use of the system by the original countries began Jan. 1, 2018, according to an earlier Singapore Customs circular.
In the March 25 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union is amending its regulations on plant and animal health and protection to add new requirements for border controls on hay, straw and composite foods, it said in a notice published in the March 25 Official Journal. Specifically, the EU is amending a list of categories of goods subject to “official controls, at the border control post of first arrival into the Union,” to include “hay and straw and foodstuffs containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin (‘composite products’),” the notice said. The changes apply from Dec. 14, 2019.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the State Department and the U.S. Coast Guard issued an update to its maritime petroleum shipping advisory to warn of deceptive shipping practices by Syria and highlight sanctions risks U.S. companies may face if trading with Syria or Iran. The update, a 10-page report that includes lists of ships that have “engaged in sanctionable conduct,” is aimed at “shipping companies, vessel owners, managers, operators, insurers, and financial institutions” who may face “significant U.S. sanctions risks.”