The Dominican Republic is imposing higher duties on imports of U.S. mozzarella cheese after reaching the threshold for safeguard measures under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report. The country activated the safeguard after importing 472 metric tons of mozzarella cheese from the U.S. so far this year, the agency said,. The cheese will now be subject to an 11.2% tariff for the rest of the year. It was previously subject to a 2% out of quota tariff rate.
Brazil recently added 454 items and removed 603 items from its list of foreign capital goods and information technology and telecommunications goods subject to duty-free treatment under its Ex-Tarifario regime, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 3. They include goods classified in Harmonized System chapters 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 90, and they will benefit from duty‑free treatment through Dec. 31, 2025.
China will reimpose tariffs on 134 items from Taiwan because Taipei didn't reciprocate with similar tariff concessions as part of a trade deal with Beijing, China's Ministry of Commerce announced May 31, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said it revoked the previously issued tariff suspensions because Taiwan violated the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on gradually eliminating tariffs on most of the goods traded between the parties. The tariffs will be reinstated starting June 15, Chinese state-run news outlet Xinhua reported.
The Council of the European Union on May 30 approved a regulation that will impose tariffs on cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and Belarus, with the goal of halting all imports of these goods into the EU. The duties also applied to beet-pulp pellets and dried peas from Russia and Belarus, which currently enter the bloc duty-free. The duties will enter into force July 1.
The Council of the European Union on May 30 cleared the way for the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement to enter into force, the council announced. It will take effect on the first day of the second month after the date on which the countries have told each other they have completed their internal procedures.
Congress, federal agencies and state bar associations should work together on new regulations to ensure U.S. lawyers aren't enabling Russia-related sanctions evasion, Stanford Law School lecturer Erik Jensen and a host of law students recommended in a recent report.
The Federal Maritime Commission collected more than $2.3 million in fines after entering into compromise agreements with three companies, the FMC said May 29. The companies, CMA-CGM, Vangaurd Logistics Services and Shipco Transport, paid money to resolve various allegations of shipping violations that had been investigated by the commission’s Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations and Compliance.
The U.S. and other countries imposing sanctions and export controls on Russia need a more “aggressive” plan to cripple Moscow’s war effort, a group of researchers and economists said, including through tighter financial restrictions, new bans on Russian commodities and broader export controls. They also said American lawyers should have to follow strict due diligence and reporting rules when taking on clients with ties to Russia, and said the price cap on Russian oil should be lowered.
Brazil temporarily removed tariffs on all imports of paddy rice, husked/brown rice and milled rice, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report last week. The duty suspension, meant to prevent “potential supply issues” and replenish Brazilian rice stocks following recent floods, is effective from May 21 until Dec. 31, USDA said. The agency said this could “stimulate” American rice exporters to focus on Brazil, pointing to a similar situation in 2020 when Brazil introduced duty-free imports and the U.S. became the top exporter behind the Mercosur countries in Latin America.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 21 defended the U.S. government's use of sanctions against China, saying the Biden administration resorts to punitive measures only when diplomatic efforts fail to achieve the desired result.