The Census Bureau emailed tips last week on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System.
European officials last week called for more EU-U.S. cooperation on China policy, particularly around trade restrictions, to respond to Beijing’s unfair market practices and deter its military.
When Bloomberg asked former President Donald Trump if he has thought about easing or eliminating sanctions on Russia as part of a peace settlement in Ukraine if he is reelected, the Republican nominee replied, "Yeah. So what we’re doing with sanctions is we’re forcing everyone away from us. So I don’t love sanctions. I found them very useful with Iran, but I didn’t even need sanctions with Iran so much. I told China that and Russia is in a similar position."
The Commerce Department’s spring 2024 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security features a range of upcoming rules that could update and expand U.S. export control regulations, including new controls on the activities of U.S. persons in support of foreign military and intelligence agencies, revised regulatory language to address “diversion concerns,” new multilateral restrictions on emerging technologies and broader license requirements for Pakistan.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is recommending exporters, reexporters and other businesses add a new customer screening tool to their due diligence steps before trading in goods that could later be diverted to Russia’s military, especially for microelectronics and other sensitive goods Russia is looking to import. In new guidance published this week, BIS also clarified the specific compliance steps companies and universities should take if they receive a red-flag letter, an is-informed letter or other written warnings from the agency about certain risky customers or transactions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said July 8 that he hopes to have a "significant package of China-related legislation" signed into law this year, including measures to "punish" Chinese military firms that provide material support to Russia and Iran.
The Philippines last month updated import duty rates for a range of commodities, including a lower tariff rate for rice, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a recent report. The country lowered its rice duty from 35% to 15%, USDA said, adding that the tariff changes are meant to “augment supply, manage prices, and temper inflationary pressure of various commodities.”
A former top trade negotiator in Mexico, Juan Carlos Baker Pineda, said he doesn't think the review of the USMCA will be about fine-tuning or technical changes to the trade pact.
Canada this week launched a 30-day consultation period as it decides whether to impose additional duties or take other measures against Chinese electronic vehicle imports. The consultations, which began July 2 and will run through Aug. 1, “seek views on potential policy responses,” Canada said, including new tariffs on a range of battery, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles.
The Census Bureau on July 1 updated its tables of Schedule B and Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes that are no longer valid for the Automated Export System, the agency said in an email to industry. AES will accept shipments with outdated codes during a 30-day grace period that began when the codes expired June 30, Census said. Reporting an outdated code after the grace period will “result in a fatal error.”