The Canada Border Services Agency published some rate of duty reductions included in the Canada-European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement and the Information Technology Agreement Expansion, in a new customs notice. The Canada-EFTA duty reductions apply to these subheadings:
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer said he thinks the House could be able to have a vote in the fall on the new NAFTA. Blumenauer, from Oregon and one of nine House Democrats who are tasked with negotiating changes to the deal with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, said he expects the group will meet with USTR "at least once a week." Speaking at a Washington International Trade Association event June 26, he joked that Lighthizer spends so much time meeting with House members and caucuses, "I think he travels the world just to get away from us." Lighthizer is on his way to Osaka, Japan, for the G-20 meeting. He met with the working group the afternoon before he left.
An escalating U.S. trade war with Europe would further accelerate the European Union’s efforts to sign free trade deals with other countries, potentially closing off more market access for U.S. exporters, panelists told a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee June 26.
An internal “review” at Micron Technology found the memory chip supplier could “lawfully resume shipping a subset of current products” to Huawei because they aren't subject to Commerce Department export administration regulations and entity list restrictions, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said on a fiscal Q3 call. Micron reinstated those shipments about two weeks ago, he said on June 25. Micron suspended all Huawei shipments immediately after release of the May 16 notice from Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security placing the Chinese telecom gear giant and 68 of its non-U.S. affiliates on the Entity List (see 1905240044), Mehrotra said. Micron did so to “ensure compliance” with the restrictions and begin its review, he said.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said after a June 25 hearing on Mexican labor reform that the Democrats asking for changes to the NAFTA rewrite are asking for changes that are "relatively narrow." "Our hope is we can move with dispatch, get our concerns resolved, strengthen the agreement and move forward," he said, adding that trade deal votes "never get easy, putting them off."
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 17-21 in case they were missed.
The European Union on June 24 published new regulations on technical requirements for its upgraded and upcoming electronic import and export filing systems. The notice outlines requirements for the EU and its member states on electronic systems required by the Union Customs Code, including the Customs Decisions system (CDS), Uniform User Management and Digital Signature (UUM&DS) system, European Binding Tariff Information (EBTI) system, Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) system and Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) system. Areas covered include data access and exchange, as well as the scope of what each system should be used for. The EU recently delayed implementation of many electronic capabilities until 2022-25 (See 1904250056).
The European Union is adopting changes to its system of tariff-rate quotas for agricultural and industrial products, it said in a notice published June 20 in the EU Official Journal. The changes include the creation of six new TRQs, increases to quantity for three TRQs, and the elimination of five TRQs, many because implementation of internationally-agreed tariff cuts for information technology goods mean they are no longer necessary. The changes mostly take effect July 1.
The European Union announced its latest round of tariff suspensions for goods that are otherwise unavailable in the EU, it said in a notice published June 20. Similar to what the U.S. Miscellaneous Tariff Bill allows, the duty suspensions allow products to be imported at reduced or zero duty rates. The EU is adding 97 products not currently covered by duty suspensions to its list, and modifying the conditions for 47 products that are already listed as covered by duty suspensions, it said. The EU is also ending 96 duty suspensions, either because it they are no longer in the “interest of the Union,” conflict with EU sustainability goals, or are no longer necessary because of internationally agreed tariff cuts for information technology goods. The changes apply from July 1.
The 2019 tariff rate quota for "food preparations containing more than 10 per cent but less than 50 per cent on a dry weight basis of milk solids, not in retail packaging" is nearly full, Global Affairs Canada said in a message to industry. As of March 12, 2019, there was only 14 kg of the access quantity remaining, it said in the June 19 message. "As soon as the TRQ level is fully reached, a broadcast message will be released stating that the TRQ is closed for the 2019 quota year and specific import permits under the tariff rate quota will not be issued in respect to the relevant goods." Also, "General Import Permit No. 100 – Eligible Agricultural Goods (GIP No. 100) will cover, for the balance of the 2019 quota year, unlimited imports classified under the 'over access commitment' tariff item number at the 'over access' tariff rate."