In the June 7 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security renewed the temporary denial order of export privileges issued to Mahan Airways and several affiliated people and entities in 2018, according to an order signed by the Office of Export Enforcement on June 5. The order was renewed to “prevent an imminent violation” of more regulations, Commerce said.
In the June 5 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade amended three general licenses related to “maritime anti-piracy,” military goods and Iraq, the department said in a June 4 press release. The first change amends Schedule 1 of the maritime and anti-piracy license “to reflect the change of control entry for non-military shotguns.” The second change amends the general export license for military goods “to allow goods to be moved directly from one exhibition to another” instead of requiring “goods to be returned directly to their origin after a single exhibition event.” The third change amends the general export license for Iraq “to correct a reference to the category of goods to which it applies.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 28-31 in case they were missed.
Singapore Customs outlined rules of origin requirements and certification procedures under the new ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement that is slated to take effect June 11, in a recent circular. Beginning on that date, preferential treatment for Singapore-originating goods can be claimed under the agreement in Hong Kong, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. AHKFTA treatment is not available in other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states because they have not yet ratified the agreement, the circular said. The agency also outlined procedures for claiming preferential treatment in a separate circular.
China opened an investigation into FedEx after it said the shipping company “failed to deliver” packages to certain addresses in China, state-media reported June 1. China suspects FedEx of “undermining the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese clients,” the report said, damaging the rights and interests of FedEx’s clients and violating industry laws.
The African Continental Free Trade Area came into force May 30, though negotiations continue on exactly how the FTA will operate, according to press reports. The agreement legally took effect at midnight, but the countries that have signed it have up until July to work out the details of how it will work, according to the Kenya-based East African. That’s when leaders from the AfCFTA countries will hold a summit where the launch of the “operational phase” of the agreement will be announced, said a report on the Nigerian Vanguard website. Until then, negotiations continue on issues like rules of origin, tariff concessions and non-tariff barriers, Rwanda-based The New Times said in a report. Then, after the July 7 summit, member countries will enter phase two of negotiations on investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights, The New Times report said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of May 29 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The International Chamber of Commerce World Chambers Federation updated its certificate of origin guidelines, the ICC WCF said in a May 27 news release. "The latest edition of the CO Guidelines elaborates on the differences between both preferential and non-preferential certificates of origin," it said. "It focus on non-preferential rules of origin which are required for payment mechanisms, such as letters of credit for traded goods, and measures related to trade policies, like applications for Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status. Meanwhile, preferential rules of origin determine whether goods or services are eligible for preferential treatment under Free Trade Agreements (FTA)." The group also encouraged the use of electronic certificates.