South Africa will begin issuing import permits to allow genetically engineered white and yellow corn from the U.S., USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report this week. The agency said there had been issues with those imports that “caused asynchrony with the United States,” but it was informed Nov. 19 those “had been resolved and that import permits will be issued.” USDA added that U.S. corn exporters could see high demand from South Africa, which just experienced a drought that caused a 22% drop in corn production and domestic prices to surge.

Guinea-Bissau has endorsed the Proliferation Security Initiative, a global effort to prevent shipments of weapons of mass destruction, weapons delivery systems and related military items, the State Department announced Aug. 26. The country endorsed the initiative after attending the PSI African Political Meeting in Morocco earler this year, which convened member states to discuss the “threats posed by trafficking in Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related items within the African region,” the agency said. “The United States welcomes Guinea-Bissau’s endorsement and participation in the Initiative and looks forward to working with the Government of Guinea-Bissau to advance the counterproliferation goals of the PSI and its Statement of Interdiction Principles.” Guinea-Bissau is the 114th state to endorse the PSI.

South Africa recently imposed a $9.70 per metric ton import duty on wheat, ending more than three years of duty-free wheat imports in South Africa, the USDA Foreign Agicultural Service said in a report this week. The duties were triggered by falling global wheat prices and a 7% drop in “wheat planted area for marketing year 2024/25,” the agency said, which “represents the smallest wheat area the past seven years in South Africa.” USDA is expecting the country’s wheat imports in marketing year 2024-25 to remain steady at about 2 million metric tons.

Goods marketed in the EU can now be imported into Israel without certain inspections or approvals from an Israeli standards agency after the country recently moved to adopt European import standards, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 7. The change “eliminates product inspections upon entry and approval from” the Standards Institution of Israel and the Ministry of Health, HKTDC said. “In effect, imported products with European quality standards or certification will be automatically standardised without any additional local regulatory approval.” The import policy will apply to a “wide range of goods,” including cleaning ingredients, diapers, household and kitchen appliances, toys, computers, televisions, mobile phones, glassware, light bulbs and more.

Saudi Arabia’s customs agency has begun recognizing ATA carnets, tariff exemptions used by more than 80 countries around the world for certain temporarily imported goods, according to an unofficial translation of a notice this month. The announcement will help the country improve its “flexibility of customs procedures for goods by reducing the requirements for using an international customs document” for temporary imports.

Turkey has suspended trade with Israel because of the country’s ongoing military action in Gaza, Turkey’s trade ministry announced last week, according to an unofficial translation. It said it has “decided to move to a new phase in economic relations with Israel,” including restrictions on exports and imports, until Israel reaches a “permanent ceasefire” with Hamas and allows “uninterrupted access of aid” to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court earlier this month overturned a lower court decision that ordered Mizrahi Tefahot Bank to transfer a donation Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich sought to make to Israeli humanitarian group ZAKA Search and Rescue, according to Israeli newspaper Globes. The bank refused to process the transaction, which totaled over $213,000, due to the risk of EU and U.K. sanctions being levied against the bank for circumvention of sanctions on Abramovich.

Madagascar opened a safeguard investigation Dec. 27 on polypropylene woven sheaths and bags, the island nation told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards, the WTO announced. Madagascar said interested parties should tell the investigating authority within 30 days from the date of the initiation of the investigation, which was Dec. 27, if they wish to submit comments on the proceeding.

International shipping companies are being forced to "reroute their vessels" around the Cape of Good Hope amid a rise in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on ships transiting the Red Sea, "adding significant cost and weeks of delay to the delivery of goods," the U.S. and 12 other countries said in a joint statement Jan. 3 (see 2312200045). They said the Houthi attacks on ships are "jeopardizing the movement of critical food, fuel, and humanitarian assistance throughout the world."

South Africa recently lifted a ban on poultry imports from 27 U.S. states, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report this month. South Africa originally imposed the ban on U.S. poultry after highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in February 2022, USDA said. The agency said it worked with industry for “a year and half” to urge South Africa to remove the ban, which is allowed after the U.S. veterinary health authority has cleared the poultry. USDA estimated U.S. export sales for poultry could grow by $50 million as a result of lifting the ban. However, South African import restrictions on poultry and "other products derived from poultry" remain for 10 states: Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Utah.