The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
In the March 13 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for March 13 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
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 14 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations coming into force on April 30, 2019," it said in the notice. Import requirements will apply to the following regulated energy-using products: battery chargers; commercial pre-rinse spray valves; metal halide lamp ballasts; microwave-ovens; small electric motors; walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers; whole-home dehumidifiers. The list of codes includes "effective dates and expiry dates for each of the affected HS codes."
If the United Kingdom crashes out of the European Union in 17 days, it has a plan on what its tariff schedule will be, but John Dickerman, head of the Washington office of the Confederation of British Industries, said that there's no answer on who will be ready to take the manifest information from exporters the day after Brexit. "That's a huge challenge," he said.
The United Kingdom would temporarily set tariffs at zero for nearly 90 percent of imported goods should it leave the European Union with no transition deal in place, the U.K. Department for International Trade said in a March 13 press release announcing a draft tariff and customs scheme in the run-up to a vote in Parliament on whether to leave with no deal.
In the March 12 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union issued a notice in the March 11 Official Journal announcing adjustments to certain tariff-rate quotas for agricultural products that will take effect once the United Kingdom leaves the EU or a negotiated transition period ends. The new regulation also sets provisions on treatment of TRQ import licenses issued by U.K. customs authorities after Brexit, as well as how TRQs that have already opened and been partially used will be apportioned on the day the U.K. leaves.
The new Canadian excise duty rates for spirits, wine, tobacco products and cannabis products take effect April 1, the Canada Revenue Agency recently said in a notice. The rates are adjusted annually.
A transition deal on the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union failed for a second time in the U.K. Parliament on March 12, setting up a series of votes on whether to leave the EU with no deal and whether to delay Brexit, according to a statement following the vote from U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.