Belarus has announced retaliatory measures against countries that have recently sanctioned it, imposing a ban on the import of certain goods originating in the United Kingdom, the European Union, the U.S. and Canada, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Dec. 6. The measures also include restrictions on U.K. and EU air carriers, travel bans for certain officials in each of the sanctioned states and "other non-public steps," the foreign ministry said. Another countermeasure will be to "strengthen economic integration with the Russian Federation, as well as build strong trade and economic ties with" Eurasian Economic Union states and others.
The European Union started a review of its antidumping and countervailing duty orders on biodiesel from Canada following a Canadian exporting producer's request for an exemption, the European Commission said in a Dec. 7 notice. The review will cover the AD/CVD orders on biodiesel consigned from Canada, "whether declared as originating in Canada or not, for the purposes of determining the possibility of granting an exemption from those measures to one Canadian exporting producer, repealing the anti-dumping duty with regard to imports from that exporting producer and making imports from that exporting producer subject to registration." The exporter, Verbio Diesel Canada Corporation, claims it didn't export the product under review to the EU during the investigation period.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill that could require more foreign investment reporting and oversight of foreign companies in the U.S. space sector. The Space Protection of American Command and Enterprise Act, introduced Dec. 2, would require companies to submit Schedule 13D/13G reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission for foreign investments in U.S. companies involved in critical technologies used for space exploration, Rubio said. It would also require the Defense, Commerce and Treasury departments to submit an annual report to Congress on foreign direct investment in U.S. space exploration and manufacturing, including the countries of origin for the FDIs. Rubio said the bill would help limit China’s efforts to “overtake” the U.S. in space industrialization. “The United States should not sit idly while the [Chinese Communist Party] infiltrates American companies, steals our intellectual property, and exploits our domestically produced technology,” he said. “Protecting our technological investments from the CCP’s corporate espionage is critical to our economic and national security.”
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers, the two ports announced Dec. 6. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15 (see 2111030027) but have postponed it several times (see 2111290039). The latest extension delays the effective date to Dec. 13. The fee, if implemented, will impose additional charges for containers moving by truck and dwelling for nine days or more, and for containers moving by rail and dwelling for six days or more (see 2110280031).
The newly formed Coalition for Economic Partnerships in the Americas does not explicitly say that the textile rules of origin in CAFTA-DR need reform, though it calls on the administration "to do what previous administrations ignored: to structure trade to support investment in the United States and our allies in Central America. In order for our economy to thrive, we must eliminate the bureaucratic red tape that hinders production and investment in the region."
A European Union proposal to restrict imports of goods that contribute to deforestation could place broad and “onerous” due diligence requirements on EU importers and their foreign suppliers, law firms said. Although the rules aren’t yet final and may be loosened, they will inevitably increase enforcement risks for companies that trade a range of products, the firms said, including soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee.
PSA International agreed to acquire BDP International from private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group, the companies said Nov. 30. PSA is based in Singapore and describes itself as "a leading global port group and trusted partner to cargo stakeholders." Tan Chong Meng, CEO of PSA, said "BDP will be PSA’s first major acquisition of this nature -- a global integrated supply chain and transportation solutions provider with end-to-end logistics capabilities." BDP's services include "air and ground transportation; origin management, export freight forwarding; import customs clearance and regulatory compliance; trade compliance, analytics and optimization solutions." The deal's financial terms weren't released.
European Union officials are seeing a steady uptick in notified transactions under its new foreign direct investment screening regime and expect the trend to continue into next year, said Denis Redonnet, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement official. As more member states continue to screen FDI, Redonnet said the EC plans to issue a set of common guidelines for reviewing investments and will work closer with the U.S., Japan and others to share best practices.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers, the two ports announced Nov. 29. The ports originally said they would begin imposing the fee Nov. 15 (see 2111030027) but have postponed it several times (see 2111150054). The fee will now "not be considered prior" to Dec. 6, the ports said.
The Southern African Development Community recently extended its Trade Facilitation Program, which aims to improve intraregional trade flows between the SADC member states, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Nov. 23. The program, which was extended through 2030, helps ease some trade challenges between some African states, including supply‑side constraints, restrictive practices, the high cost of trading between member states because of poor infrastructure, delays in import and export clearances, inefficient transit traffic, “complicated” rules of origin, and the rise in non-tariff trade barriers, HKTDC said.