Chile has increased tariff discounts applicable to imports of wheat, flour and meslin, according to a notice issued by the Chilean Ministry of Finance. Discounts for imports of wheat under subheadings 1001.91.00 and 1001.99.11-1001.99.99 are now set at $117.45 per ton, and discounts for imports of flour under subheading 1101.00.00 are now $183.22 per ton. They had previously been set at $91.69 and $143.04 per ton, respectively, according to Global Trade Alert. The increase took effect Feb. 16, and will remain in effect for two months.
Brazil has notified the World Trade Organization that it intends to put in place $180 million in tariffs on certain goods from the European Union in retaliation for the EU’s steel safeguards. The tariff would apply to certain goods of heading 0402 at 15%, of 0703 at 19%, of 2402 at 11%, of 4202 at 19% or 11%, of 4203 at 11%, of 6403 at 19%, of 8113 at 10%, of 8703 at 19%, of 9004 at 11%, of 9403 at 10%, of 9503 at 19%, of 9504 at 11%, of 9506 at 11%, and of 9614 at 10%. Affected goods include milk, cigars and cigarettes, jewelry, certain motor vehicles, playing cards, sports equipment, garlic, purses, apparel, footwear, sunglasses, wooden furniture and toys. Not all goods within those subheadings would be affected. The amount of the tariffs is equal to the harm Brazil says will result from an EU tariff rate quota on Brazilian steel with an out-of-quota rate of 25%. Brazil may impose the tariffs beginning 30 days after notification, which was dated Feb. 18.
Mexico’s Tax Administration Service’s legal support office recently clarified that, for advance clearance ocean shipments, the identifiers “DA” and “FR” should be declared to SAT, the Latin American Confederation of Customs Brokers (CLAA) said in a March 1 circular to its members. That last identifier is for operations for which the exchange rate date is prior to arrival, which is the case for advance clearance shipments because SAT requires advance duty payment, CLAA said.
Mexico’s Tax Administration Service is set to postpone the effective dates of recently issued regulations on simplified clearance for merchandise imported and exported by parcel and express couriers. Issued Nov. 30, the regulations set conditions and entry documentation requirements for simplified clearance, including tariff numbers and other information required for filing, as well as types of merchandise that are ineligible for the procedures. The regulations had been set to take effect March 1, with the exception of certain registration and information submission requirements that were to take effect July 1. A pre-publication version of a notice on the SAT website would delay these effective dates to Oct. 1, respectively. The notice has yet to be published in the Diario Oficial.
A deal is shaping up with China that would lift most of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The article cautioned it could still fall apart over enforcement, or over political pressures on either side that the deal is too favorable to the other country. President Donald Trump tweeted that "I have asked China to immediately remove all Tariffs on our agricultural products (including beef, pork, etc.) based on the fact that we are moving along nicely with Trade discussions.... and I did not increase their second traunch [sic] of Tariffs to 25% on March 1st. This is very important for our great farmers - and me!"
Welcome to the inaugural issue of International Trade Today’s Export Compliance Daily. The International Trade Today editorial staff is pleased to deliver this complimentary launch preview to our community of trade readers for a limited time. This service was developed in response to strong market feedback indicating a dearth of reliable single-source export compliance information.