The U.S. is continuing its national emergency and sanctions against Iran, the White House said Nov. 12. The extension, which will continue the sanctions for one year beyond the anniversary date of Nov. 14, renews an executive order that blocked Iranian government property. The original executive order was declared in 1979. The U.S. renewed the national emergency because its relations “have not yet normalized,” the White House said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its Entity List by adding 22 entities, updating one entry and removing three entries, BIS said. The added entities include freight forwarding and logistics companies and a medical instrument supplier.
In the Nov. 7-8 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
A free trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore will enter into effect on Nov. 21, the EU Council said in a press release. On that date, all of Singapore’s tariffs on EU goods will be eliminated. The EU will open its market to over 80% of all imports from Singapore duty-free and remove all other tariffs within a few years, the release said. Technical and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods will be removed in sectors including electronics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, renewable energy, and raw and processed products of animal and plant origin, it said. That includes Singapore’s recognition of the EU's safety tests for cars and many electronic appliances, and acceptance of labels that EU companies use for textiles, according to another release from the European Commission.
NEW YORK -- Moises Kalach, leader of the Mexican Coalition for USMCA and vice president of a textile conglomerate in Mexico, said his organization has met with 172 House offices and 30 Senate offices, and has particularly targeted 94 House Democrats -- from border states, moderates, Hispanics, pro-free trade, or on the Ways and Means Committee (many members fit more than one category).
Cambodia recently extended its online certificate-of-origin system to three additional border provinces on a pilot basis, according to a Nov. 7 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report. The system was extended to Koh Kong, which borders Thailand, and Takeo and Kampot, which border Vietnam, the report said. The system allows businesses to apply and print a certificate of origin online through their local commerce department, HKTDC said, and is already in place for at least 10 other provinces.
The U.S. will soon start discussions with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations about a possible connection between ASEAN's customs filing platform with the U.S. platform, the State Department said in a Nov. 3 fact sheet about "Expanding the Enduring Partnership" with ASEAN. "The United States and the ASEAN Secretariat announced the opening of negotiations to link the ASEAN 'Single Window' with the U.S. Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) System, which governs all trade in goods entering the United States," State said. "Making this link will further facilitate $272 billion in two-way trade in goods between the United States and ASEAN."
The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade released a Nov. 4 policy paper on the country’s approach to continuing trade with Georgia after Brexit. The paper provides an overview of the agreement and explains “significant differences” between the deal and the current agreement between the European Union and Georgia. The paper also includes information on tariff rates, customs procedures, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade and more.
Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province is considering a proposal to suspend “temporary imports for re-exports” of certain foreign cigarettes and liquor, VietnamCustoms said in a Nov. 4 report from Customs News, the agency’s mouthpiece. The measure would impact imports of “non-Vietnamese origin” cigarettes and foreign whiskey, the report said, and was introduced to combat smuggling schemes and attempts to “illegally access the domestic market.” The proposal would also “suspend the operation of bonded warehouses” for foreign cigarettes and whiskey, Vietnam said. The proposal was recently approved by the country’s defense and finance ministries and is being considered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the report said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended and issued Venezuela-related general licenses and revoked two Turkey general licenses, according to a Nov. 5 notice. OFAC also published new and amended frequently asked questions to explain the Venezuela-related licenses.