The deadline for customs payments due to the Canada Border Services Agency will be extended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency said in bulletin. "The timeframe for all payments due to the Agency (duties and taxes on regular imports, re-assessments, penalties, etc) is extended to June 30, 2020," it said. "This also includes charges on the statement of account of March due on April 1. The CBSA will change the due date automatically, there is no need for companies to apply for the extension."
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Canada's House of Commons approved the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement -- called CUSMA in Canada -- by unanimous consent March 13, before adjourning until April 20th due to coronavirus. The Canadian Senate passed it less than an hour later. The last step of royal assent is a formality. Now, all three countries must continue to work on uniform regulations so that they can certify the treaty is ready to enter into force. Once that certification is issued, NAFTA will be replaced on the first day of the third month after the announcement.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 24 entities to its Entity List and revised five existing entries, the agency said in a notice. The new entries include companies in China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, the notice said, and revised entries for entities in France, Iran, Lebanon, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The new entries include China-based Wuhan IRCEN Technology, as well as several other companies in Iran and Pakistan that BIS said threaten U.S. national security. The changes take effect March 16, but all shipments now requiring a license as a result of this rule that were on dock for loading or aboard a carrier to a port as of that date may proceed to their destinations under the previous eligibility, BIS said.
The Commerce Department renewed the temporary general license for Huawei and 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates until April 1, Commerce said in a notice. The 45-day extension is the third extension granted to Commerce since it was placed on the Entity List in May. The previous extension was set to expire on Feb. 16. License applications will continue to be reviewed under a presumption of denial. The notice is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on Feb. 18.
China’s Ministry of Finance said it will halve retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. imports beginning Feb. 14, according to an unofficial translation of a news release. Tariffs on some U.S. goods will fall from 10 percent to 5 percent, China said, while others will drop from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. The tariffs stem from China’s Sept. 1 tranche of retaliatory tariffs. China released additional details about the cuts in guidance from the State Council Tariff Commission.
Airbus agreed to pay more than $3.9 billion in combined penalties for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Justice Department said. The bribery charges, levied by U.S., French and United Kingdom authorities, stem from Airbus’ scheme to bribe non-governmental airline executives and government officials, including officials in China, to retain aircraft contracts.
The Senate passed the U.S-Canada-Mexico Agreement, the replacement for NAFTA, with an 89-10 vote. Now the implementing bill heads to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed. The Canadian parliament must also still ratify the agreement.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Jan. 14 that the Senate will hold a ratification vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement this week.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 385-41. The implementing legislation will be taken up by the Senate in the new year. If the impeachment trial begins in early January, it is expected to wait until that trial is over.