Mexico's Economy Minister Luz de la Mora said that the uniform regulations that pertain to issues outside the auto industry will be ready by July 1 -- but strongly suggested that the uniform regulations will not be ready by the date of entry into force of the U.S.‐Mexico‐Canada Agreement. “There has been great progress on non-auto URs, and they will be ready by July 1, as for the auto rules of origin, we expect to advance substantially in coming weeks,” she said during a Cato Institute interview May 27. She said that Mexico wants “to make sure the transition to the new regime is effective, efficient.”
The Trump administration is ending sanctions waivers for certain activities with nuclear projects in Iran, the State Department said May 27. The move will end waivers covering “all remaining” Iranian nuclear projects that originated under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which allowed Chinese, Russian and European companies to work on Iranian nuclear sites.
7The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 20 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
India is restoring physical submissions of certificates of origin for certain exports to Thailand and Vietnam, according to a May 22 notice. India previously allowed certain agencies to issue electronic certificates of origin but had received complaints from exporters about problems “obtaining preferential access” in Thailand and Vietnam due to the digital certificates. India said applications for certificates of origin should now be submitted manually. Electronic certificates are still available for exports to other nations under India’s trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” in a statement May 27 to Congress that Hong Kong no longer warrants the same treatment under U.S. laws as it did before the handover to China in 1997.
Cambodia recently lifted export restrictions for “all types” of masks, according to a May 19 KPMG alert. Exporters no longer are required to obtain permission from Cambodia’s health ministry before exporting masks, a restriction imposed as the country tried to maintain domestic supply. Cambodia also announced an update to its online system for a certificate of origin used for trade in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations market, effective June 1, the alert said.
The government is considering how quickly it can get through a legislative fix to U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementation provisions that allow for duty refunds on post-importation preference claims, but not a refund of merchandise processing fees, said Maya Kumar, director of textiles and trade agreements at CBP. She said on May 22 that CBP officials “do not think that was the intent of the law.” Kumar, who was speaking at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones virtual conference, said that if it's at all possible, CBP would like to see that fixed by Congress before USMCA's entry into force July 1. “We’re trying to work with [the office of the U.S. Trade Representative] as well as Congress and see how quickly they can do that,” she said.
China is considering additional import restrictions on Australian goods that would target Australia’s wine and dairy sector, according to a May 20 Bloomberg report. China recently placed restrictions on imports of Australian barley (see 2005180016) and beef (see 2005130013), but officials have composed a list of additional Australian goods they may target, which may also include seafood, oatmeal and fruit. Those products could become subject to stricter quality checks, antidumping investigations, tariffs or customs delays, the report said.
The 16 member countries of the Southern African Development Community announced they will soon introduce an electronic certificate of origin system, according to a May 19 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The system will first feature a test rollout this month in six member states: Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia. After the test, the system will be in use across all member nations, which includes nearly all African countries south of the equator, the HKTDC said. The system is expected to save exporters time and money by no longer requiring hard copy submissions.
The Department of Justice charged the leaders of a sanctions-evading financial services company in Iran with wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and sanctions violations, the agency said in a May 18 press release. PAYMENT24 CEO Seyed Sajjad Shahidian and COO Vahid Vali used the company to help Iranian citizens avoid U.S. financial sanctions against Iran, which included purchases of U.S. computer software, software licenses and computer servers. The company offered a package to help clients purchase goods and services from U.S. businesses, including a PayPal account, a fake “ID card,” a remote IP address from the United Arab Emirates and a Visa gift card. The company charged a fee to evade U.S. sanctions, the press release said.