Mexico recently suspended certain trade relief measures originally introduced to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, KPMG said Aug. 16. They included measures to support the manufacturing industry, export services and rules for refunds of import taxes to exporters. During the suspension period, KPMG said “any days remaining will be considered to be ‘non-business days,’ so that any unexpired limitations period will be tolled and will not be triggered or to begin to run again until the first business day following the day the suspension ends, and at that time, the deadlines of any processes that have been paused will resume.” The suspension is in effect for 30 business days after Aug. 12.

Canada is considering several new legislative and regulatory amendments to its trade remedy system, KPMG said Aug. 10. The changes, announced by the country’s Department of Finance, aim to clarify standards to initiate anti-circumvention investigations, streamline the expiry review process, improve access for small and medium-sized businesses to the trade remedy system, and change the treatment of “massive importations,” including trade remedy complaint notification time frames. Canada is hoping the amendments increase the remedy system’s inclusiveness and transparency, boosts its ability to address trade injuries caused by dumped and subsidized imports, and reduce administrative burdens for traders and government investigators, KPMG said. The department is seeking public feedback on the changes by Sept. 26.

Representatives from manufacturing interests operating in Mexico said the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity to argue for locating more production in North America, for both reliability and speed, but there are still obstacles to making the argument for nearshoring as an answer to vulnerable supply chains. The president of the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry and the director of global trade compliance for Illinois-headquartered manufacturer Regal Beloit spoke at the Wilson Center's "Building a Competitive U.S.-Mexico Border" conference, which was held Aug. 10 and 11.

Brazil recently announced improvements to its “revamped” import process introduced in 2018, which will allow certain traders to take advantage of the country’s “new import functionalities,” the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 12. The improvements will allow traders that are not part of Brazil’s authorized economic operator program to participate, expanding the scope of the new import process to cover about 30% of Brazilian imports, the report said. Under the program, traders with a “large number” of imports can “register, correct and consult single import declarations” and can benefit from improvements to bonded area procedures and “various administrative work processes.” The HKTDC also said excess tax payments will be refunded automatically and cargo delivered to importers, without the need for a paper receipt, if they stem from the “rectification or cancellation of import declarations.”

Canada and Argentina recently announced antidumping and countervailing duty decisions on certain products from mainland China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 10. Canada issued final affirmative AD/CVD decisions on upholstered domestic seating. Argentina renewed its AD duty order on mainland Chinese electrical connection terminals for cable diameters of up to 35 mm2. Canada also is seeking comments from interested parties by Aug. 31 on whether it should initiate an expiry review of the AD and CV duty orders on mainland Chinese flat welded large diameter carbon and alloy steel line pipe with an outside diameter greater than 24 inches (609.6 mm) and less than or equal to 60 inches (1,524 mm).

International coordination on how to account for embedded emissions in traded products is essential, Canada asserted in a recently published white paper about its exploration of a carbon border adjustment tax. "Work on international border carbon adjustments is in progress. An important part of advancing this work is ensuring a common understanding. To this effect, the government will continue its important conversations with Canadians and international partners, including the United States and European Union, in the coming months," the government wrote.

Ecuador recently lowered tariffs on 667 products, including 43 agricultural goods, a move expected to principally benefit U.S. exporters of soybean meal and wheat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in an Aug. 3 report. The rates go into effect Oct. 1. Other U.S. exports that could benefit are liver and offal of bovine animals, kidney beans, peanut oil, sugars with added flavoring and coloring, and certain tea extracts. USDA also said the U.S. “previously faced tariff disadvantages for several products which are now at zero percent ad valorem for all countries,” which should create “opportunities” for U.S. exporters of other goods, including hazelnuts, malts, starches and animal feed preparations.

Brazil, Colombia and Canada recently made antidumping and countervailing duty decisions on certain products from mainland China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 2. The duty decisions affect a range of imported Chinese goods, and not all apply to each country mentioned, including vehicular natural gas cylinders, flat‑rolled galvanized steel sheet, unframed mirrors, carbon and alloy steel line pipe, tires and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film.

Mexico recently updated its organic products law (LPO) notification to the World Trade Organization, which will eventually require most organic raw imports and bulk goods to be certified under the country’s organic standards (see 2106280051), the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported July 23. Traders who export to Mexico can comment on the notification within 60 days of June 28, USDA said.

Canada recently released proposed changes to its livestock feed laws, which would represent the first major update to the country’s feed regulations in more than 30 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a July 15 report. The new regulations are expected to modernize Canadian laws to bring them up to date with “current industry practices” and “improve alignment with international standards,” USDA said. Importers, exporters, feed manufacturers, retailers, livestock producers and other stakeholders can comment on the proposed regulations until the consultation period closes Sept. 10.