United Kingdom companies are facing challenges navigating sanctions conflicts between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, which is leading to confusion over which items they can legally export, according to Roger Arthey, chair of the Institute of Export & International Trade’s Export Control Profession and the former head of export control compliance for Rolls-Royce. Those challenges were complicated by the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018 and the introduction of the European Union Blocking Regulation, which blocks EU businesses from complying with certain U.S. sanctions (see 1906240014).
In the Feb. 13-18 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom is extending the deadline for companies to apply for funding for customs training (see 2001220051) as the U.K. leaves the European Union, the U.K.’s revenue and customs agency said in a Feb. 10 notice. The grant funding deadline, which was originally set to expire Jan. 31, 2020, was extended one year to Jan. 31, 2021, the notice said. The U.K. said it has awarded the equivalent of about $21 million in grants, with about $10 million still remaining in the program.
The Pentagon will “likely” support new U.S. restrictions on foreign sales to Huawei, a reversal of its objection to a proposed rule considered by the Commerce Department earlier this year (see 2001240012), according to a Feb. 12 Reuters report. Reuters said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently called Defense Secretary Mark Esper to discuss the rule and the two planned a meeting for next week. The rule would have lowered the U.S.-origin threshold on exports to Huawei to 10 percent, but required the State, Commerce, Defense and Energy departments to approve with input from the Treasury. Trump administration officials plan to meet this month in an attempt to resolve differences over the rule and technology exports to Huawei, and may discuss expanding Commerce’s export control jurisdiction beyond Huawei (see 2002050047).
The Agriculture Transportation Coalition is urging U.S. exporters, before loading their containers, to confirm with ocean carriers that the cargo will reach their Chinese customers and will have proper refrigeration in case of delays at Chinese ports due to the coronavirus outbreak. The AgTC also said it is continuing to urge ocean carriers to refrain from imposing detention penalties on containers that are stuck at ports due to the virus containment measures in place (see 2002030034). “Within China, the supply chain has been compromised, starting at the China maritime terminals extending all the way to the ultimate inland destination points,” the AgTC said in a Feb. 11 emailed press release.
In the Feb. 7-12 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The U.S.-Japan mini-trade deal covers just 5 percent of trade between the partners, according to Bruce Hirsh, a principal at Tailwind, but he said the likelihood of further progress is small. Hirsh spoke while at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones legislative summit on Feb. 11. “Japan wasn’t interested in doing a bilateral deal at all, but they recognized there was only so long they could keep the U.S. at bay,” he said. He said that what Japan gave to the U.S. “fell a little bit short of TPP,” or the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said beef and pork got TPP parity, but rice got nothing and “dairy got a lot, but not everything.”
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Feb. 7 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Treasury released its 2020 National Illicit Finance Strategy on Feb. 6, detailing a “roadmap to modernize” its regimes for anti-money laundering regimes countering terrorism financing, the agency said. In the report, Treasury said money launderers and terrorist financers often try to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls on dual-use items, frequently trying to procure controlled U.S.-origin goods and technology.
The United Kingdom's Secretary of State of International Trade, Elizabeth Truss, told Parliament that the price the National Health Service pays for prescription drugs is not up for negotiation in free trade deals, and “we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.” She also added, according to her written statement, that “The UK will maintain its own autonomous sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regime to protect public, animal and plant life and health and the environment, reflecting its existing high standards.”