The U.S. and the United Kingdom recently completed their most “intensive” round of free trade agreement trade talks and said almost all negotiations are in advanced stages, the U.K. said Nov. 2. The most recent round -- held Oct. 19 to Oct. 30 -- included discussions on market access, product-specific rules of origin and customs. The two sides said they agreed to a “programme for continued talks at official level for the weeks following the U.S. election.” The Office of the U.S Trade Representative did not comment.
Country of origin cases
The Hong Kong ambassador to the World Trade Organization told the U.S. ambassador there that Hong Kong is initiating a dispute, and wants formal bilateral consultations on the U.S. decision to require goods made in Hong Kong to be marked 'Made in China.'
The Democrat who would lead the Finance Committee if the Senate majority changes parties after the election blasted President Donald Trump over labor, auto rules of origin, dairy and biotech export regulations, in a letter that said the benefits promised in renegotiating NAFTA have not been delivered. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote in the Oct. 30 letter that “the Administration has yet to bring any enforcement action under either the state-to-state dispute settlement or the new Rapid Response Mechanism despite the persistence of labor violations in Mexico.”
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) could potentially transform trade on the continent and bring it into global supply and value chains, but key parts of the deal remain unfinished, and infrastructure investment will be necessary to tap the agreement’s potential, panelists said on an Oct. 28 webinar hosted by law firm Squire Patton.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended and reissued its Yemen Sanctions regulations to include more guidance, general licenses and statements of licensing policy, OFAC said in a final rule released Oct. 28. The rule, which takes effect Oct. 29, provides a more “comprehensive” set of regulations aimed to “provide further guidance to the public.” The rule mainly adds clarifications, new definitions and specifies when certain transactions are authorized by general licenses. New general licenses now included in the regulations authorize certain transactions relating to “investment and reinvestment of certain funds, payments for legal services from funds originating outside the United States, and official activities of international organizations,” OFAC said.
Turkey recently amended its customs regulations to address situations wherein certificates of origins are not attached to a declaration, KPMG said in an Oct. 20 post. In those situations, the country’s government will allow traders to submit the certificate to the customs authority within six months, KPMG said. The change took effect Oct. 20.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 26 (some may also be given separate headlines):
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the trade facilitation agreement that the U.S. and Brazil signed Oct. 19 is very similar to the USMCA trade facilitation chapter, and that traders should expect more incremental progress in coming months. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Lighthizer said during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce program Oct. 20. “We have ongoing negotiations on ethanol. Brazilians like to talk about sugar. There’s a variety of things in the agriculture area.”
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 19 (some may also be given separate headlines):
The Bureau of Industry and Security is allowing exporters to request a six-month extension for their export licenses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BIS said in an Oct. 17 notice. Licenses are eligible for the extension if they expire on or before Dec. 31, BIS said, adding that extensions will be granted in “most cases.” Exporters can apply for the extension by emailing LicenseExtensionRequest@bis.doc.gov and can expect to hear back from BIS within two to three business days.