The Treasury Department, the State Department and the Coast Guard issued a May 14 guidance on illegal shipping and sanctions evasion practices by Iran, North Korea and Syria. The guidance aims to help traders in the maritime industry -- including the energy and metal sectors -- avoid doing business with customers trying to avoid U.S. sanctions. The 35-page guidance updates previous shipping advisories, including a guidance on illegal North Korean ship-to-ship transfers (see 1903210052).
Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department issued a May 12 notice to traders about the U.S. Commerce Department’s upcoming elimination of license exceptions for civil end-users (see 2004270026), which will affect exports, reexports and transfers of U.S.-origin goods from Hong Kong. Hong Kong informed industry that exports usually allowed under the license exception will now require a U.S. authorization, adding that it will specifically impact shipments of electronics, computers and telecommunications products. Although the U.S. exemption will be eliminated, Hong Kong will make “no change” to its “import and export licensing control on strategic commodities,” the country said. Traders exporting or importing U.S. goods no longer covered by the exemption “are advised to liaise and check with their U.S. exporters/manufacturers, particularly to obtain the necessary and applicable US export authorisation,” the notice said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is disinclined to offer an informed compliance period for most importers, “because most of the rules of origin have remained essentially the same” as what was in NAFTA, so CBP can honor the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement claims with the same information that backed NAFTA claims, according to Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade.
India will temporarily accept scanned copies of pre-shipment inspection certificates for customs clearances instead of physical copies, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a May 6 notice from the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The measure, which will last through June 30, was introduced because “importers have been finding it difficult to submit the original copy” due to the “lock down,” the directorate said. Although importers can submit a scanned version of the document, they must submit a physical copy within 60 days of the goods clearing customs and submit a declaration certifying that the document contains correct information.
The Congressional Research Service, in a May 1 report, noted that Congress may want to turn its attention to the U.S.-Kenya negotiations not only because of the free trade agreement's potential economic effects, but also because of mandates in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) -- Kenya is the second-largest beneficiary of AGOA when oil is excluded.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is reducing registration fees for certain DDTC registrants to help industry mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said in a May 1 notice. DDTC will temporarily reduce registration fees for “DDTC registrants in Tier I and Tier II” to $500 “for registrations whose original expiration date is between May 31, 2020 and April 30, 2021,” the agency said. DDTC will also reduce registration fees to $500 for new applicants who submit their registration application between May 1 and April 30, 2021. DDTC said this reduction in fees “will save regulated industry over $20 million over the course of the coming year.” The temporary fee reduction will apply only though April 30, 2021. The agency added that the fee structure for “Tier III entities remains unchanged at this time.”
Sri Lanka recently announced a “special commodity levy” on imported fruits, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released April 30. The levy, which began April 17, will remain in place for two months. It is intended to help the country rebound from a lockdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. About a quarter of Sri Lanka’s annual $71 million worth of fruit imports originates in China, with 8% coming from the U.S. The country sources about 20% of its apples from the U.S., the USDA said.
Certain Vietnamese companies exporting to the European Union, Switzerland or Norway under the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program have until June 30 to obtain authorization from Vietnam’s commerce and industry authority, according to an April 29 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Vietnamese companies exporting goods valued at more than $6,500 must obtain an EU Registered Exporter number, the report said, but lesser-value exporters will be allowed to “self-issue” their certificates of origin without a registered exporter number.
The African Continental Free Trade Area will not be implemented as scheduled on July 1, AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said, according to a report in the Nigerian newspaper This Day. Rather than focus on meeting the original July 1 deadline, “all governments should be allowed to concentrate their efforts on fighting the [COVID-19] pandemic and saving lives at home,” Mene said. The report cites “strong speculations that the new commencement date might be January 2021.”
Turkey recently announced several changes to its certificate of origin submissions to customs, according to an April 27 post from KPMG. The country introduced a “cash guarantee application” in its certificate of origin rules, which can be submitted to the country’s customs authority after importation, the post said. The country also announced a process for refunds if the certificate of origin is submitted to the customs authority within six months “from the date of registration of the declaration,” the post said. Turkey may also request a trader’s certificate of origin if the goods are “subject to more than one trade policy measure, additional customs duties ... or when different rates are determined.” If the certificate cannot be submitted, the goods will incur a higher customs duty.