China launched a countervailing duty investigation into imports of certain monoalkyl ethers of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol originating in the U.S., the Ministry of Commerce said Sept. 14, according to an unofficial translation. China said it expects to complete the investigation by Sept. 14, 2021.
Country of origin cases
The United Kingdom and Japan agreed Sept. 11 to a free trade accord that will reduce Japanese tariffs on a range of U.K. agricultural products and benefit exporters of Japanese cars and auto parts. The U.K. said the deal, the first major trade agreement for it as a nation independent of the European Union, will eliminate tariffs on 99% of exports to Japan.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should impose targeted export controls on specific facial recognition software but take care not to restrict the entire technology category, some of which can be used for benign purposes, IBM said. While some technologies are “clear use-cases that must be off limits” for export, such as artificial intelligence-powered software used for mass surveillance and human rights abuses, other technologies are safe for everyday uses, the company said.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Sept. 9 (some may also be given separate headlines):
While the changes to de minimis for Canada and Mexico have been heavily discussed, Doug Band, the Canada Border Services Agency's director general of trade and anti-dumping, directed traders to the revisions' finer points during a CBP Virtual Trade Week seminar on the USMCA, known as CUSMA in Canada.
China plans to launch a system to electronically exchange origin and other trade information with Indonesia, China’s customs authority said in a Sept. 2 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The system, which will be launched Oct. 15, will allow for preferential treatment for exchanging certain certificate of origin documents and is designed to lead to more efficient declarations.
The State Department will implement a temporary waiver “of the policy of denial on the export, reexport, retransfer, and temporary import of non-lethal defense articles and defense services destined for or originating in the Republic of Cyprus,” the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in a Sept. 2 notice. The DDTC will temporarily amend the International Traffic in Arms regulations on Oct. 1 to allow for the waiver, which is a result of a State Department determination under the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, it said. The U.S. policy won't change for “lethal defense articles and defense services destined for or originating” in Cyprus, it said.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Sept. 1st (some may also be given separate headlines):
Illegal trade in plastic trash has sharply risen over the past two years, mostly driven by criminal organizations that use legitimate pollution management businesses as covers for their operations, Interpol said in an Aug. 27 report. Criminal groups are shipping waste primarily through “multiple transit countries” in Southeast Asia to hide the shipments' origin, Interpol said. The report details “emerging trafficking routes” for illegal trash trade and recommends that governments increase enforcement.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Aug. 31 (some may also be given separate headlines):