President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “ahead of schedule” in signing the first phase of a U.S.-China trade deal.
The United Kingdom will not leave the European Union on Oct. 31, after the EU and the U.K. agreed to postpone Brexit day to Jan. 31, 2020. European Council President Donald Tusk on Oct. 28 announced the Brexit “flextension,” which allows the U.K. to leave earlier if its Parliament approves a recently renegotiated transition deal. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the extension later that same day, as required by a law passed by Parliament in September (see 1909090056), a BBC report said.
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.
The Treasury Department announced a mechanism to help companies ensure their humanitarian exports to Iran will not be diverted to the government and other sanctioned Iranian entities, Treasury said in an Oct. 25 press release. The mechanism will require participating foreign governments and financial institutions to “conduct enhanced due diligence” -- including the reporting of “a substantial and unprecedented amount of information” -- on a monthly basis. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued a guidance outlining the requirements.
South Korea and Japan are still far apart in consultations over their trade dispute and don’t expect the U.S. to meditate negotiations, South Korea said.
A continued, prolonged power struggle between Nicolas Maduro and the Juan Guaido-led opposition party in Venezuela may leave the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions in doubt, said Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former senior sanctions adviser at the Treasury Department.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license to allow certain transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. -- a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Corporation -- until Dec. 20, OFAC said in an Oct. 24 notice. General License K allows transactions that are necessary to the “maintenance or wind down” of transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) and any entity it owns by more than 50 percent. The license does not authorize transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman and Ship Management Co.
The Trump administration removed sanctions against Turkey it had imposed just one week earlier, drawing criticism and warnings from some Congress members of future sanctions if Turkey does not end military operations in Syria.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 15-18 in case they were missed.
Venezuela’s oil production will continue to drastically decline in 2020 if Nicolas Maduro stays in power, potentially crippling future Venezuelan oil trade, said Alejandro Grisanti, director of the ad hoc board for Petroleos de Venezuela set up by opposition party leader Juan Guaido. Speaking during an Oct. 22 Atlantic Council panel, Grisanti said Venezuela’s oil production will fall to 450,000 barrels per day in 2020 if Maduro stays in power. The country’s oil production has fallen from 1.5 million to about 750,000 barrels per day this year due to U.S. sanctions, Grisanti said.