The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species has stated that a growing number of countries are requesting the inclusion of commercially-important native trees in CITES Appendix III so that importing and other exporting states can help ensure that only legal timber and other tree products find their way into the international market. Russia, Bolivia and the Seychelles made such requests in 2010, and Brazil, Panama, and Madagascar in 2011. Around 350 tree species are now included in the three CITES Appendices, and trade in their products is therefore subject to regulation to avoid utilization that is incompatible with their survival.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
Trade.gov has issued a blog entry on the Special American Business Internship Training (SABIT), a 20-year old program in the International Trade Administration’s Market Access and Compliance unit. The SABIT office annually hosts 12 to 15 delegations of professionals from emerging market countries in industries such as airport development, cargo transportation and logistics, niche tourism, intellectual property rights, construction, and energy efficiency. During Fall 2011, SABIT launched the U.S.-Russia Presidential Management Training Exchange Program (PMT) by hosting two delegations of Russian professionals in the information technology and energy efficiency sectors for three weeks. U.S. companies interested in hosting SABIT’s international delegations may contact the SABIT office at 202-482-0073 or sabit@trade.gov.
In the December 20-21, 2011 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
The International Trade Administration has announced that on December 16, 2011, Trade Ministers approved the terms of Russia’s accession and issued a formal invitation for Russia to join the World Trade Organization as its 155th Member. In order to highlight the tariff and non-tariff commitments Russia is undertaking in key U.S. export sectors, the ITA has made available 18 "Sector Opportunity Reports." In addition, the State Opportunity Reports outline the opportunities and benefits for Russia’s WTO accession for each state, their companies, workers, farmers, and ranchers.
Sources at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative confirm that unless the Jackson-Vanik amendment1 is revoked for Russia and the U.S. extends permanent normal trading relations (PNTR) to the country, U.S. companies will not benefit from Russia’s World Trade Organization commitments when Russia becomes an official WTO member.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service has recently revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries:
The President has issued a Memorandum for the U.S. Trade Representative regarding state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Russia’s expected accession to the World Trade Organization. The Memorandum involves required determinations and provisions under 19 USC 2905 whenever a state-trade regime accedes to the World Trade Organization.
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the December 21, 2011 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced the conclusion of its second Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets1, launched on September 22, 2011, which identifies more than 30 markets that typify the problem of marketplaces that deal in goods and services that infringe on intellectual property rights (IPR) and help to sustain global piracy and counterfeiting. This year’s list also highlights positive developments since the issuance of the previous Notorious Markets List in February 2011.
As expected, the eighth Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization which took place December 15-17, 2011 in Geneva produced no breakthroughs on the Doha Round negotiations. However, the 42 parties to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) did agree to update and expand the GPA. In addition, all parties agreed to extend WTO membership offers to Russia, Samoa, and Montenegro. They also reached agreement on seven issues described below related to least developed economies, intellectual property rights, electronic transmissions, and small economies.