The lead sponsor in the House on a Russia sanctions and secondary sanctions bill said that negotiations are still ongoing between the two chambers on the final language of the bill.
The Council of the EU, which is made up of government ministers from each EU country, voted last week to eliminate customs duties on industrial products and to grant tariff rate quotas for some seafood and agricultural products. It also voted to extend duty-free treatment for U.S. lobster exports. That tariff treatment had expired in July.
Boston-based e-commerce company Wayfair has urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to address several non-tariff trade barriers that it says hinder its ability to export goods into Canada.
Law firms are advising clients of changes to Mexican customs laws that begin Jan. 1, including that customs brokers will be liable if their clients provide false or inaccurate information.
The U.K. on Nov. 26 opened a public comment period for its planned elimination of duty exemptions for low-value imports. The country for several months had been reviewing whether to remove the tariff exemption for imports costing under 135 pounds, and the finance ministry said it expects to eliminate the exemption by March 2029 "at the latest."
EU ministers and Parliament members this week urged the bloc to respond forcefully to China’s rare earth export restrictions if Beijing doesn’t repeal them or swiftly grant export licenses to European companies. Some also said they’re skeptical Beijing’s one-year suspension for some of its export controls will last.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said Nov. 21 that he plans to file a discharge petition to force a House vote on a bill to impose additional sanctions on Russia and new tariffs on countries that buy its oil and gas.
As a Russia sanctions bill appears to have more momentum (see 2511170041), Democratic senators declined to say what tariff levels would be effective or appropriate if it becomes law.
The European Commission on Nov. 17 imposed definitive safeguard measures on ferroalloys, including country-specific tariff rate quotas that limit the volume of those imports entering the EU duty-free. Certain manganese, silicon, nickel and a range of metal alloys entering at quantities above the quota volumes can enter duty-free "if their price exceeds the established threshold," but other alloys priced below the "established threshold" will pay a duty "equivalent to the difference between the net free-at-Union-frontier price and the established price threshold for each product type," the commission said. The measures will apply "indiscriminately to all third countries," including Norway and Iceland, which are part of the European Economic Area, though the commission will carry out "trimonthly consultations with Norway and Iceland" to review the impact of the measure.
Congress will move toward a vote on a bill that gives the president the authority to hike tariffs on goods from countries that buy Russian energy, and directs him to prohibit banking transactions and foreign exchange transactions for Russian companies doing business with companies or banks in other countries.