The Commerce Department’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on foundational technologies will ask for public comments on the relationship between foundational and emerging technologies, a concept that is challenging Commerce, according to Commerce’s deputy assistant secretary for export administration Matt Borman. The proposal, which is expected to be released this fall, is proving more challenging than the proposed ANPRM on emerging technologies the agency released last year, Borman said. The foundational notice will ask industries whether emerging and foundational technologies are really “two distinct things,” Borman said, or whether one depends on the other, such as whether foundational technologies are used to create emerging technologies.
China and New Zealand agreed to upgrade their free trade deal to improve customs facilitation, remove trade barriers and revise rules of origin procedures, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Nov. 4. China said both countries will “benefit from improved rules,” adding that the deal also includes measures on e-commerce, competition policy and increased market access for certain goods. “These results reflect the desire of both countries to ensure that the China-New Zealand FTA remains ambitious, modern and high quality … and demonstrates the commitment of both countries to free and open trade and a rules-based multilateral trading system,” China said.
As the U.S. and China look to soon sign phase one of their trade agreement, the two sides are planning another trade call for Nov. 1, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Oct. 31, according to an unofficial translation. The scheduled call comes days after Chile announced it was canceling APEC, the trade summit where President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to sign the deal’s first phase (see 1910300037).
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 30 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Commerce Department plans to release proposed export controls on emerging technologies within the “next few weeks” and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on foundational technologies before the end of the year, a top Commerce official said. Matt Borman, the Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration, suggested Commerce has been eager to release both controls to ease concerns from U.S. trade groups and companies, which have warned the agency against overly broad, unilateral controls.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “ahead of schedule” in signing the first phase of a U.S.-China trade deal.
China recently combined its foreign trade operator and place of origin certificates, shifting customs responsibilities among government agencies, according to an Oct. 25 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The country’s commerce regulators will now be responsible for “record-maintenance, data collection and all relevant notifications,” while customs officers “will receive and input any required records” relating to the certificates, the report said.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the changes to the auto rules of origin in the new NAFTA -- which include a wage floor for a proportion of the parts workers or assembly workers -- don't impress the United Auto Workers union.
Indonesia and Australia expect to ratify their signed trade agreement by the end of the year, Indonesia’s trade ministry said Oct. 22, according to an unofficial translation. The agreement will increase export opportunities for Indonesian businesses and covers several non-tariff issues, including rules of origin, customs procedures, technical trade barriers, phytosanitary measures and more, Indonesia said. The deal “is expected to help businesses penetrate the Australian market and develop economic powerhouses so that Indonesian businesses can compete in other third country markets," Indonesia’s director general of national export development said in a statement.
The U.S. will take ownership of a North Korean cargo ship after it violated U.S. sanctions and United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 21 press release. The U.S. originally seized the ship, the “Wise Honest,” after it transported coal and “heavy machinery” to and from North Korea and used U.S. banks for various transactions (see 1905090030). “This order of forfeiture sinks the Wise Honest’s career as one of North Korea’s largest sanctions-busting vessels,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement, adding that the agency “will continue to pursue other property used to violate U.S. and international sanctions.”