The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued preliminary guidance on the implementation of the price cap for Russian-origin petroleum products, outlining how it will apply restrictions to articles defined by Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. heading 2710. The price cap will work in a similar manner to the crude oil cap, where participating countries will ban "a broad range" of maritime transport services if they support shipping Russian petroleum products over a predetermined cap.
The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (see 2212010004) took effect Dec. 29, allowing Australian exporters to benefit this week from an initial round of tariff cuts eliminating duties on more than 85% of exports to India, Australia’s trade ministry said. A second round of tariff cuts will take effect Jan. 1, while tariffs on certain agricultural goods and other items will be phased down to zero within six years. The trade ministry said a “serious window of opportunity has opened for our exporters to move into” India’s market “ahead many of our key competitors.”
The Census Bureau emailed tips Dec. 27 on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System. Response code 147 is a fatal error for when the routed export indicator is missing. Census said filers must report the routed export indicator as "Yes" or "No." Filers should verify whether it's a routed export transaction, correct the shipment and resubmit.
The Philippines will soon cut tariffs on certain imported electric vehicles and components, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Dec. 20. The change, starting early next year, will remove tariffs on vehicles -- including cars, buses, trucks and bicycles -- for five years. The tariff elimination won’t apply to “hybrid type electric vehicles,” the report said. Tariffs will be lowered to 1% from the existing 5% rate over the same five‑year period for parts and components. The Philippines will evaluate the tariff change after one year to “evaluate its impact on the local industry,” the report said.
Shippers mostly supported the Federal Maritime Commission’s proposal for demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2210070079 and 2203250028), saying in comments this month the new invoice requirements will bring more transparency to the industry. But at least two carriers continued to lobby for revisions to the proposed requirements, saying they could lead to burdensome new rules and wouldn’t result in more efficient container pickups and returns.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the U.S. is requesting new dispute settlement consultations with Canada over its tariff-rate quota allocations, because as it has talked with Canada over the last seven months, "U.S. concerns have only increased."
Two readouts from the administration say that Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White and Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves told a top Canadian official that they are concerned about proposed legislation that would affect digital streaming services, tax digital services and, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, discriminate against U.S. businesses.
China officially requested dispute consultations with the U.S. at the World Trade Organization Dec. 15 over American export controls on certain semiconductors, the WTO announced. China, which announced the move earlier in the week (see 2212120061), said the restrictions violate Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, Article 8 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures and Article 64.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
Ambassador Maria Pagan, who leads the U.S. delegation at the World Trade Organization, defended the U.S. during the two-day session in Geneva that began Dec. 14. All countries in the WTO must answer questions about their policies every few years.
The U.K. adopted new financial and trade sanctions against Russia Dec. 15, barring the provision of trust services to, or for the benefit of, a designated individual or entity, and the provision of new trust services to or for the benefit of, a person connected with Russia. The restrictions further amend existing sanctions on securities or money market instruments and loans and credit arrangements to a person linked to Russia, as well as suspend the Bank of England's duty to "make a decision in respect of a notification of third-country resolution action in respect of designated persons or persons owned or controlled by designated persons."