In the Aug. 1-6 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Singapore Customs issued a circular outlining changes and new requirements for rules of origin and certification procedures under revised regulations of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, Singapore said in an Aug. 6 notice. The circular describes the requirements that have to be met for goods to be qualified as originating goods, and details the expansion to the list of “Product Specific Rules” and the inclusion of a de minimis provision. Singapore said the new requirements will take effect Aug. 15.
President Donald Trump held a press conference Aug. 2 at the White House with European officials and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to announce an increase in tariff-free access to U.S. hormone-free beef in the European Union. The changes to the EU's tariff rate quotas will go into effect after the European Parliament approves hem, which is expected in the fall. It was originally announced by the EU in June (see 1906140026).
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Aug. 1 to give the State and Treasury departments the ability to impose more sanctions on countries using chemical or biological weapons. The new sanctions include restrictions on financial loans by international banks, blocking measures and trade controls.
In the July 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
A new provision in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rules of origin for automobiles should prevent automobile manufacturers from having to segregate parts on the production line and also make origin calculations less burdensome, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee in one of a series of written answers to questions the committee posed to him at a June 18 hearing. Under the renegotiated NAFTA, called USMCA, certain “core parts” listed in Column 1 of Table A.2 must be originating for a vehicle to be originating, but Article 3.9 permits producers to bundle the parts under Column 1 together as a “super core” part when calculating the value of non-originating material (VNM) for origin purposes. “Many vehicle producers do not segregate core parts when producing vehicles, but use or bundle them within different modules along the production line,” USTR said. “The ‘super core’ calculation allows such producers to meet the core parts requirement without having to segregate each of the parts and do separate, burdensome calculations. The super core calculation incentivizes U.S. producers to use more originating content and maintains their competitiveness without accruing any possible efficiency losses from having to segregate core parts,” the agency said.
In the July 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Canada Border Services Agency updated its memorandum on national customs rulings on who can apply. Specifically, the memo was "revised to update the sections as to who may apply for a valuation, origin or marking NCR, and who can sign the consent statement." While the previous memo only mentioned importers, the updated memo says that NCRs "are provided as an administrative service for the convenience and guidance of importers, foreign exporters, and foreign producers." The updated memo also now says that "An importer, foreign exporter or foreign producer of a good, or agents thereof, may request a valuation, origin or marking NCR."
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 22-26 in case they were missed.
In the July 29 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: