Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 1-5 in case they were missed.
The European Union and the U.S. have not formally begun the trade talks first agreed to last July, as the 28-member bloc still does not have a mandate to negotiate. Given that, many observers are doubtful negotiations could make substantial progress this year.
President Donald Trump bemoaned what he said are unfair trade practices levied against the U.S. by “many countries,” singling out and criticizing India while referring to its trade practices as “stupid trade.” Trump, speaking at a Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership meeting on April 6 in Las Vegas, accused India of imposing 100 percent tariffs on imports from the U.S. “Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi is charging us over 100 percent for many things,” Trump said. “We’re charging them nothing for similar or the same products, and I have senators who say you can’t do that. It’s not free trade ... it's stupid trade.” India has repeatedly delayed retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the U.S. -- with the most recent delay coming April 1 (see 1904010010) -- in response to U.S.’s Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. During the rally, Trump also advocated for additional unspecified tariffs while accusing several unnamed countries of “charging us 200 and 250 and 300 percent” tariffs. “And we charge them nothing,” he said. “It’s OK to charge them something.”
The U.S. designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, marking the first time the U.S. has labeled a government an FTO, according to an April 8 White House notice. The designation is designed to increase financial pressure on Iran and isolate it from military resources, which the notice said are used for “terrorist activities.” The designation will take effect April 15, according to a statement made at a State Department briefing April 8 by Assistant Secretary of State for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales: "With the announcement today, which will take effect a week from now, the legal status of the IRGC will change from an organization to a designated foreign terrorist organization."
The Trump administration is expected to complete a review of the current scope of U.S. export controls on countries subject to arms embargoes, including China, and may make potential regulatory changes by May 10, according to an April 5 blog post from Steptoe & Johnson. The administration’s review stems from a section of the 2018 Export Control Reform Act, which requires a “review relating to countries subject to comprehensive United States arms embargo.” The act specifically requires the Commerce, State and Defense departments, among others, to review export controls on trades with “military end uses and military end users,” according to the post.
The Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is requesting a nearly $25 million budget increase from the previous year, partly to help with staffing concerns, according to Treasury’s annual budget report. OTFI lists its “increasing role” in the Trump administration as justification for the increased budget. The agency is requesting about $165 million.
Japan and Turkey are hoping to agree on a trade deal by June as the two sides enter their latest round of negotiations, according to a notice from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and a report by Nikkei Asian Review. The latest round of negotiations -- announced on April 1 by Japan -- are being held April 2-5 in Ankara.
The House passed a bill that would prohibit the trade of defense-related products and services to the security forces of Venezuela, potentially further restricting the Nicolas Maduro regime's access to weapons. The bill, called the Venezuela Arms Restriction Act, was passed in the House on March 25. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on March 26 but has not yet seen a vote.
The U.S. has "an immediate need" to secure lower agriculture tariffs for its producers because European, Canadian and Australian farmers are selling into Japan at lower tariffs than U.S. farmers can, said Wendy Cutler, the former lead negotiator for the U.S. in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Canada and Australia are advantaged now because they stayed in the TPP. Japan also recently put into force an EU-Japan free trade agreement. Cutler, now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, spoke at a Washington International Trade Association program April 3 on the future of U.S.-Japan Trade.
The United Kingdom on April 2 signed a trade continuity agreement with Norway and Iceland, the U.K. Department for International Trade said in a press release. The agreement, which takes effect in the event the U.K. leaves the European Union with no transition deal in place -- currently scheduled for April 12 -- “maintains the same level of tariffs on goods traded between the UK, Iceland and Norway,” the release said. “Trading on these preferential terms in a no deal scenario, rather than on World Trade Organization terms, will deliver significant savings and help to safeguard British jobs.”