The U.S. and Brazil cannot achieve a traditional free trade agreement, because Brazil is a party to Mercosur, a regional customs union -- even if the long-term participation in Mercosur is in question. But Renata Vasconcellos, senior policy director Brazil-U.S. Business Council, said her group “fully supports" what she called a "non-traditional trade agreement." Vasconcellos was one of many panelists speaking at American University Nov. 5 at an International Trade Symposium focused on Brazilian issues. "I’m concerned about the closing of this window. Let’s take what we can get now," she said.
Natural Resources Canada released an updated list of Harmonized System tariff codes that will be affected by coming energy efficiency regulations, the Canada Border Services Agency said in an emailed message. The "list of HS codes for regulated energy-using products has been revised to reflect the Amendment 15 and 16 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations coming into force on Dec. 12, 2019," it said in the notice. The list of codes includes "effective dates and expiry dates for each of the affected HS codes."
Indonesia issued a guidance clarifying its import duty and value-added tax exemptions for certain imports that fall under certain contracts, KPMG said in a Nov. 1 post. Indonesia clarified that its exemptions apply to imports under “contracts of work” or “coal contracts of work,” the post said, and provide exemptions and reductions of import duties and exemption of import VATs. Indonesia bans any transfers, re-exports or destruction of goods imported under the measures until two years have elapsed from the import date, the post said, and requires importers to first receive approval from Indonesian customs and other agencies. Violations may result in import duties, VATs and further penalties.
Indonesia and South Korea “successfully” concluded recent negotiations on a trade deal and expect to sign the agreement in early 2020, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a Nov. 4 report. The deal will allow Indonesia to export more fish and agricultural goods to South Korea while also opening its market to more South Korean industrial goods, the report said. The agreement is expected to eliminate import taxes on more than 95 percent of Indonesian exports to South Korea and 93 percent of South Korean exports to Indonesia, the HKTDC said, an increase from 90.2 percent and 80.1 percent duty free over the existing South Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations trade agreement, respectively. The tariff cuts will apply to steel products and auto parts but not to a “number of agricultural items currently traded between the two countries.”
In the Oct. 30-31 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union published the 2020 edition of its Combined Nomenclature tariff schedule in the Nov. 1 Official Journal. Changes include the tariff reductions under the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, as well as amendments to tariff provisions to keep up with technological and commercial developments, the EU Commission said in its preamble to the new edition.
Notable international barriers to U.S. exports include Chinese food restrictions and inconsistent standardization laws, Brazil’s strict telecommunications requirements, Thailand’s discriminatory customs procedures and Europe’s value-added tax system, trade groups said in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The comments, due Oct. 31, were in response to USTR’s request for input for its upcoming National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.
Mexico is extending increased duties on a range of textiles, apparel and footwear products through 2024, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in an Oct. 31 report. Mexico is imposing a 25 percent duty on 274 apparel and made-up textile tariff lines and a 25 percent or 30 percent duty on footwear tariff lines through Sept. 30, 2021, the report said. Those duties are scheduled to fall to 20 percent on Oct. 1, 2024.
The United Kingdom Department for International Trade released an Oct. 29 guidance on preparing British business to import from the European Union after Brexit. The guidance features a six-step process importers should follow, including details about import declarations, setting up a duty deferment account and checking duty rates.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 30 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):