Singapore announced excise duty revisions for various tobacco and cigarette products, Singapore Customs announced. The tariff changes took effect Feb. 14. In most cases, there is an increase in the duties.
The muted response of the agriculture secretary to Mexico's concessions on genetically modified corn was not enough, according to Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Smith sent a letter Feb. 15 to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai arguing that it is time to initiate a formal dispute over the non-tariff-barriers.
The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee said renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill didn't happen last year because Democrats pushed "social policy and environmental policy in MTB and GSP."
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World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard spoke about a range of trade issues this week, including the fisheries deal struck at the 12th Ministerial Conference and ongoing reform efforts surrounding the dispute settlement panel.
The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council has done some excellent work in technology, according to EU and U.S. trade officials, but it needs to tackle the "trade" part of its mission more directly. A discussion on Making a More Meaningful TTC also included executives from two technology industry associations, who were somewhat less laudatory about its results so far.
In West Virginia, where the first House Ways and Means Committee hearing of the new Congress was held since the Republicans won the majority, the members asked questions of business owners, and were hosted by a mid-sized business that sells hardwood lumber to furniture makers, cabinetmakers and flooring manufacturers.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its Russian price cap guidance last week to include information on the recently imposed cap on Russian petroleum products. The measure -- which took effect 12:01 a.m. EST on Feb. 5 -- sets a $45 per barrel cap for petroleum products that trade at a discount to crude, such as naphtha and waste oils, and a $100 per barrel cap on products that trade at a premium to crude, such as motor fuel.
India will lower its tariffs on imported pecans from 100% to 30%, according to its proposed 2023 budget, a longtime priority of U.S. pecan growers.
The Philippines recently extended a 5% tariff on certain imported chicken and turkey, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reported this week. The tariff, now in place through Dec. 31, 2024, imposes the tariff on imports of “mechanically deboned or separated poultry,” USDA said.