Brazil will no longer require traders to include certain transportation-related charges for the purposes of customs value calculations, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 28. The country will no longer require the customs value of imported merchandise to include the cost of “loading, unloading and handling charges associated with the transport of the imported goods to the port of destination,” HKTDC said. The move is meant to exclude “foremanship charges” from the transaction value, which include charges for “receiving, checking, transporting internally, opening packages for customs inspections” and other storing and loading of goods. Brazil expects the change will reduce “overall import costs,” HKTDC said.

Canada recently announced final regulations that will place new restrictions on imports of some single-use plastic manufactured items, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a June 22 report. The regulations -- which will affect grocery bags, cutlery, foodservice ware and more -- will take effect over a period of between six months and 3.5 years after the June 20 enactment of the regulations, depending on the item. For example, USDA said, imports of single-use plastic ring carriers will be banned after June 20, 2023, but the sale of those items won’t be blocked until June 20, 2024.

The U.S. has brought another rapid response request, this time over an alleged violation of worker rights at the Teksid Hierro de Mexico plant in Frontera, Mexico. According to the parent company's website, the plant makes iron castings used in heavy trucks made by Volvo, Cummins, Mack Trucks and others. The owner of the company is Stellantis, the conglomerate that owns the Chrysler brand.

Mexico announced that it will examine whether the Panasonic Automotive Systems plant in Reynosa violated the rights of its workers (see 2205180061) under the provisions of the USMCA.

Mexico recently suspended import duties on 66 tariff lines to help combat inflation and food scarcity, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 23 report. The temporary duty exemptions apply to staple food items and basic commodities for food processing, the agency said, including corn, oil, rice, meats, poultry, wheat flour, sorghum and eggs. The exemptions will remain in effect for one year from May 17.

Container freight shipments entering Costa Rica have “slowed to a trickle” due to a recent cyberattack against the country’s customs and taxation systems, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 23 report. The delays have increased costs and are “compounding challenges” faced by Costa Rican importers, who are already dealing with COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and other trade issues caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the report said. USDA said Costa Rica’s primary container cargo port -- Limon on the Atlantic coast -- is prioritizing export shipments, and containers awaiting customs clearance at the port are accumulating fees of $350 to $400 per day.

Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina recently announced antidumping duty and countervailing duty actions and decisions on certain products from mainland China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported May 26.

Colombia will amend its technical regulations for certain nutrition and front-of-pack labeling requirements later this year, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 19 report. The changes, which take effect Dec. 16, will revise requirements for certain packaged food imports intended for “human consumption,” the agency said. The revisions will revise “existing labeling requirements,” USDA said, “including warning elements such as symbols, as well as nutritional facts panel information and format.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said May 12 that potatoes from Idaho were allowed to be sold in Mexico just beyond the border zone -- market access the U.S. had been seeking for about 15 years, though potatoes were briefly allowed to all of Mexico in 2014 (see 14052305).

Former Mexican ambassadors to the U.S. and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico expressed anxiety that Mexico is not able to capitalize on the move to nearshore or friendshore for a variety of reasons.