President Donald Trump said the tariffs on goods from Mexico that were set to begin on June 10 will not take effect on that date after a deal was reached between the two countries. "I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico," Trump said in a tweet. "The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended."
In the June 5 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The New Democrats caucus, which includes the most pro-free-trade members in the party in the House of Representatives, has released a lengthy list of things they want to see in exchange for their votes for the new NAFTA ratification.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 28-31 in case they were missed.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of June 3 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
China opened an investigation into FedEx after it said the shipping company “failed to deliver” packages to certain addresses in China, state-media reported June 1. China suspects FedEx of “undermining the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese clients,” the report said, damaging the rights and interests of FedEx’s clients and violating industry laws.
China is investigating complaints from U.S. exporters about Chinese customs clearances, including accusations of slower processing, increased inspections and inexplicable delays in licensing approval, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said during a June 2 press conference. Wang said he did not know if the complaints were about “a real or specific situation,” according to an unofficial translation of his comments, but some U.S. exporters allege the moves are another step in China’s 2018 threat to take retaliatory measures against the U.S. that extend beyond tariff hikes (see 1905290041).
The African Continental Free Trade Area came into force May 30, though negotiations continue on exactly how the FTA will operate, according to press reports. The agreement legally took effect at midnight, but the countries that have signed it have up until July to work out the details of how it will work, according to the Kenya-based East African. That’s when leaders from the AfCFTA countries will hold a summit where the launch of the “operational phase” of the agreement will be announced, said a report on the Nigerian Vanguard website. Until then, negotiations continue on issues like rules of origin, tariff concessions and non-tariff barriers, Rwanda-based The New Times said in a report. Then, after the July 7 summit, member countries will enter phase two of negotiations on investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights, The New Times report said.
The Trump administration, furious that Central American migrant asylum seekers continue to stream to the U.S., says that unless Mexico can "dramatically reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens" coming to the U.S., it will levy tariffs on all Mexican imports, starting June 10. The tariff will begin at 5 percent, go to 10 percent on July 1, and then increase by 5 percent each month until it reaches 25 percent on Oct. 1.
Although the Speaker of the House said the administration's decision to send over its Statement of Administrative Action and legal text of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement was "not a positive step," some NAFTA watchers said this should not be seen as a sign that the administration is trying to force the speaker's hand and demand a vote before the August congressional recess.