Brazil added 269 items and removed 20 items from its list of foreign capital goods and information technology and telecommunications goods subject to duty-free treatment under the country’s Ex-Tarifario regime, according to a Jan. 13 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report. “Many” of the goods can be imported from the Chinese mainland or Hong Kong, the report said. Among the additions, 250 items are capital goods and 19 are IT and telecommunications goods, the report said. The goods will benefit from duty-free treatment though Dec. 31, 2021. Brazil also established a series of tariff-rate quotas on certain imports, the report said, including generator circuit breaker systems, certain yarn, “plug and switch systems,” certain fabrics, certain aluminum foil and more.

Mexico recently renewed import restrictions on certain used motor vehicles until Dec. 31, 2020, according to a Jan. 8 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Among several restrictions, certain used vehicles may not be imported if their circulation is prohibited in their country of origin, if they have been reported as stolen or if the vehicle does not comply with “physico-mechanical properties and environmental protection requirements,” the HKTDC said.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 13 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Canada plans to release final regulations for its food labeling modernization initiative early this year, according to a U.S. Department Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Jan. 9. The regulations follow a public comment period that began after Canada released proposed draft regulations for the labeling initiative in June, USDA said. Canada is also expected to publish front-of-package labeling regulations this year, along with several regulatory requirements this month, including “preventive controls and traceability requirements for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector.”

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 8 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

The Canada Border Services Agency updated the list of harmonized schedule codes subject to Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements after “a thorough review,” the CBSA said in a Jan. 8 email. “Of particular note, HS codes for many goods that have ‘conditions of import’ specified in [the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS)] have been added to the list and some HS codes for which there are ‘no CFIA requirements’ have been removed,” it said. The changes took effect Jan. 1.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 6 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Brazil is poised to overtake the U.S. as the world’s leading soybean producer during the 2019-2020 season, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Jan. 2. Although USDA predicts Brazil’s soybean exports will remain about the same compared with the previous year, an “emerging trade truce” between the U.S. and China as a result of the two sides’ phase one deal (see 1912310010) is “almost certain” to dent Brazilian soybean exports and lower the country’s soybean prices. “Brazil will lose some portion of its China export share to the United States” due to the deal, the report said. The Brazilian reaction to the initial U.S.-China trade deal has been “muted” even though it will likely cut into Brazil's agricultural exports, the USDA said. Because the details of the deal are not yet clear and due to other factors affecting U.S. soybean crop yields, most Brazilian soybean exporters have “adopted a wait-and-see approach,” the report said.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Dec. 31 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru recently agreed to unified labeling requirements for certain apparel, textiles, footwear, leather and travel goods to ease compliance with labeling regulations for exporters in Hong Kong, China and elsewhere, according to a Dec. 31 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The new labeling requirements will take effect for footwear, leather and travel goods in November and for apparel in May 2021, the report said. The apparel labeling regulations require “product composition, care instructions and country of origin” to be placed on a “permanent label.” The labels for footwear, leather and travel goods must also contain certain materials disclosures, the report said.