In the Feb. 25 - March 3 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Trade Facilitation Agreement reached a 91% ratification rate among World Trade Organization members three years after it was introduced, according to a Feb. 22 news release from the WTO. The TFA, which applies only to WTO members who accept it, has the “potential” to “slash members' trade costs by an average” of about 14.5%, the WTO said. It reduces “time needed to import and export goods” and helps “expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods across borders.” As the TFA’s implementation rate increased, WTO members have shared information to help traders within the agreement understand varying import, export and transit procedures and the use of customs brokers, single windows and customs contact points, the WTO said.
Brokers and importers should not use the Single Window Initiative (SWI), Integrated Import Declaration (IID), Service Option 911 for goods “imported via the postal stream,” the Canada Border Services Agency said in a notice. “The SWI IID is a cargo centric model, which means the associated cargo data must be on file with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) electronically in order for a SWI IID transaction to obtain release,” it said. Imported postal goods don't have any associated cargo data, the agency said.
Airbus agreed to pay more than $3.9 billion in combined penalties for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Justice Department said Jan. 31. The bribery charges, levied by U.S., French and United Kingdom authorities, stem from Airbus’s scheme to bribe non-governmental airline executives and government officials, including officials in China, to retain aircraft contracts.
A Colombian national and Florida resident was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally exporting firearms to the National Liberation Army, a designated foreign terrorist organization in South America, the Justice Department said in a Jan. 28 press release. Francisco Joseph Arcila Ramirez worked with two others to illegally buy firearms in south Florida -- including four Draco 7.62mm caliber AK-style pistols and two Zastava M92 7.62mm AK-style pistols -- and ship them to Barranquilla, Colombia. The shipments also included about 100 AK-47 ammunition magazines and were hidden in “Husky air-compressors” bought by Arcila at a Home Depot. Arcila also planned future sales with a weapons broker for the terrorist group, which would have included more firearms magazines and components in the “coming months,” the Justice Department said. Arcila was paid about 60 million Colombian pesos for the goods, the press release said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four international petrochemical and petroleum companies that have transferred hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exports from the National Iranian Oil Company, Treasury said in a Jan. 23 press release. The NIOC is “instrumental” in Iran’s petroleum industry and helps finance Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, the agency said. OFAC sanctioned Hong Kong-based broker Triliance Petrochemical Co., Hong Kong-based Sage Energy HK, Shanghai-based Peakview Industry Co. and Dubai-based Beneathco DMCC.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a Jan. 23 guidance on the final rules for the transfer of gun export controls from the State Department to the Commerce Department, including a clarification on license submissions during the transition period. The guidance also clarifies how the rules and transition period affect technical assistance agreements, manufacturing license agreements, reporting requirements, commodity jurisdiction determinations and regulatory oversight responsibilities. The rules -- which were published Jan. 23 and transfer export control authority from the State Department to Commerce for a range of firearms, ammunition and other defense items -- will take effect March 9 (see 2001170030).
In the Jan. 17-21 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
In the Dec. 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
U.S. companies and exporters have not told the Trump administration that sanctions on Venezuela are hurting their business, according to Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s special representative for Venezuela. As the U.S. continues one of its most active sanctions regimes (see 1911190028) against a country it says is marred by corruption and human rights abuses, companies are becoming more understanding of U.S. foreign policy goals, Abrams said.