CBP will require ACE for reporting all in-bond exports, arrivals and diversions starting July 29, the agency said in a CSMS message. "CBP will no longer accept paper copies of the CBPF 7512 to perform arrival and export functionality," though air shipments will still be exempt from the requirements, it said. "An ACE edit will issue a rejection if these actions are not performed," CBP said. "At this time, no date is set for implementation of the provision requiring the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule number requirement for Immediate Transportation movements." The Automated In-Bond Processing Business Process document is the "official publication which provides both CBP and the trade community with guidance, requirements and responsibilities when processing in-bond cargo," the agency said.
In the June 28 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union and Mercosur on June 28 agreed to a trade deal that will eliminate most tariffs on trade between the two blocs, the European Commission said in a press release. “The agreement concluded today will cover a population of 780 million and cement the close political and economic relations between the EU and Mercosur countries,” the press release said.
Even if a deal is struck with China, things won't return to how they were before, a trade consultant and the National Foreign Trade Council CEO agreed while on a panel. Rufus Yerxa, CEO of the National Foreign Trade Council, told the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference June 28: "I fear we get to a situation where we can’t go back, and we can’t go forward, either."
A new round of tariff cuts under the World Trade Organization’s expanded Information Technology Agreement take effect July 1, again lowering duties on information technology goods in some 50 countries around the world. For some countries, including the U.S., this third round marks the last set of tariff cuts under the expanded agreement, with all tariffs for covered goods now being set to zero. Other countries, particularly in the developing world, were given longer implementation periods, and tariff cuts stretch out until 2024.
President Donald Trump said he won't lift current U.S. tariffs, but also won't add tariffs on any more Chinese imports "for at least the time being." He said during a press conference at the G20 Summit in Japan that negotiations will resume "where we left off to see if we can make a deal."
Trade lawyers talking about changes to NAFTA's rule of origin said they're fairly optimistic the trade deal rewrite will be ratified in Congress in 2019. But aside from the auto sector, which has a multiyear transition period, they're concerned that by the time ratification comes, there won't be time for importers and exporters to adjust by Jan. 1, 2020, when the replacement agreement is supposed to be in force.
The U.S.-China trade war “is taking its toll, especially on China,” eMarketer reported June 25, cutting its 2019 outlook for China and the U.S. As a result, China won't surpass the U.S. in total retail sales this year, as expected, and won't, based on current conditions, until 2021, when it's forecast to pass the U.S. by $93 billion. EMarketer forecasts China retail sales will hit $5.3 trillion this year, up from $5.1 trillion in 2018 vs. U.S. retail sales of $5.5 trillion this year, up from $5.3 trillion. Slowing auto sales are the main drag on the Chinese economy, it said. The U.S. “is not immune to the effects of retaliatory Chinese tariffs,” the research firm said, cutting its previous outlook for U.S. retail sales growth from 3.2 percent to 3 percent, amounting to $5.47 trillion. By share, the U.S. has 21.9 percent of the global retail market vs. China at 21.1 percent, but China’s e-commerce market -- “by far the largest” globally at $1.93 trillion -- is three times that of the U.S.; that forecast is “largely unchanged.” Despite the slight slowdown this year, it said, U.S. e-commerce sales are expected to exceed 10 percent of total retail sales for the first time, with e-commerce growing 14 percent to $586.9 billion.
The European Union and Vietnam will sign a new free trade agreement June 30 that will eliminate almost all tariffs on goods traded between them, the European Commission said in a June 25 press release. The agreement will also address non-tariff barriers between the two countries, and will include requirements for customs and trade facilitation, as well as labor rights and environmental protection.
In the June 26 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: