Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 21-25 in case they were missed.
Exports to China
A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson suggested that the U.S. and the United Nations should remove sanctions from North Korea because they are not solving the problem.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “ahead of schedule” in signing the first phase of a U.S.-China trade deal.
The House is scheduled to mark up a bill on Oct. 29 that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank until 2029, increase the bank’s lending authority and introduces a “temporary board” in a situation where the bank lacks a quorum in the future. The bill, introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., would also rename the bank the Export Finance Agency. Among the most notable portions of the bill is a provision that would increase the bank’s lending power gradually over several years, from $145 billion in 2020 to $175 billion in 2026.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 28 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
China’s free trade agreement with Mauritius will give Mauritius duty-free access to 96 percent of Chinese tariff lines as the two sides pledged to continue reducing tariffs on other items, according to an Oct. 28 post from Dezan Shira & Associates. The agreement, announced Oct. 17 (see 1910170027), gives Mauritius duty-free access to about 8,000 Chinese products and covers more than 40 service sectors, the post said. The two countries plan to eliminate tariffs both ways on more than 90 percent of traded goods, the post said.
The World Trade Organization will convene a dispute settlement panel to judge whether India had the right to impose tariffs on apples, almonds, motorcycles and other products (see 1906170053). The panel was approved for formation in Geneva Oct. 29. Under the additional tariffs, American apples are taxed at 70 percent, compared with 50 percent for other countries' apple exports; the tariff on almonds and walnuts increased by 20 percentage points; and chickpeas and lentils have an additional 10 percentage points of duties. Most of these products are imported at low volumes, but India projected that it would collect more than $100 million in tariffs on almonds in the shell, and more than $20 million on apples. India says it is justified because the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum are really safeguards to protect American mills and foundries, not national security measures. India is one of many countries involved in litigation at the WTO over the steel and aluminum tariffs -- others include Norway, Russia, the 28 countries of the European Union and China.
China recently combined its foreign trade operator and place of origin certificates, shifting customs responsibilities among government agencies, according to an Oct. 25 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The country’s commerce regulators will now be responsible for “record-maintenance, data collection and all relevant notifications,” while customs officers “will receive and input any required records” relating to the certificates, the report said.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 25 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
A former top U.S. trade official and a New Zealand ambassador were optimistic the World Trade Organization can work through issues over its dispute settlement body but warned about damaging consequences for world trade if it doesn’t.