India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade published the conditions under which Malawi exporters can ship tur (pigeon peas) to India, per a memorandum of understanding. The memorandum says India will allow 50,000 metric tons of the peas to be imported from Malawi over the next five fiscal years, 2021-22 through 2025-26. The peas will only be allowed to enter through five ports: Mumbai, Tuticorin, Chennai, Kolkata and Hazira. The pea shipments will be subject to "Certificate of Origin" certification by the "authorized signatories of Customs and Excise Division of Malawi Revenue Authority with stamps provided by the Government of Malawi." A scanned copy of the Origin Certificate will be sent by the authorizor to policy2-dgft@gov.in, and the Indian importer will send an email to DGFT with a scanned copy of the certificate along with the Importer-Exporter Code information, the release said.
Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was asked at his Sept. 2 press conference if it would be better to reach an agreement among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on the question of the interpretation of auto rules of origin. López Obrador said.that it would be better to reach agreement without having to convene a dispute settlement panel, and added, "I don't think it will go that far; an agreement is to be reached soon." The countries could also try mediation or conciliation instead of a panel if consultations are unsuccessful.
The U.S. is now facing formal complaints from both Mexico and Canada over how it's calculating regional value content in the auto rules of origin under USMCA. Canada formally joined Mexico's call for consultations, it announced Aug. 26. Canada says that, like Mexico, it does not agree "with the interpretation of the United States of the relationship between the core parts and vehicle regional value content calculations."
Sri Lanka recently updated its wheat import regulations to require additional declarations for U.S.-origin wheat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Aug. 26. USDA said the new requirements “effectively disallow” imports of U.S. wheat due to “highly restricted entry conditions.” The move comes after Sri Lanka in December revoked blanket approvals for wheat imports for human consumption and instead introduced one-year import permits.
After talks with the Commerce Department broke down over when Hong Kong-based apparel company Changji Esquel Textile (CJE) could be dropped from the agency's entity list, CJE resumed its litigation against the designation in federal court. The company, part of the Esquel group, on Aug. 27 filed a motion to re-set a hearing on a preliminary injunction against its placement on the list.
South Korea recently updated its requirements for imported U.S. dairy products, including those that contain eggs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said Aug. 25. The change, which took effect in July, requires all U.S.-origin dairy products to include a dairy export certificate issued by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. South Korea had previously accepted manufacturer statements in addition to USDA certificates. USDA said it launched a new dairy certificate on its Agriculture Trade Licensing & Attestation Solution system to help exporters comply with the new requirement.
Several Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration this week for reportedly (see 2108250018) granting export licenses for companies to ship hundreds of millions of dollars worth of auto chips to Huawei. The licenses reportedly were approved within the past several months and authorized only exports of auto chips, which are viewed as less sensitive than other types of semiconductor-related items.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control extended a general license that authorizes U.S. academic institutions to exports certain “online educational services” and software to Iran, the agency said Aug. 24. General License M-1, which replaces General License M (see 2010290043), was extended through 12:01 a.m. EDT Sept. 1, 2022. The original license was scheduled to expire Sept. 1, 2021.
Japan recently expanded the types of plums that can be imported from the U.S., the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in an Aug. 22 report. Under the change, announced Aug. 19, imports of U.S.-origin Japanese plums, also known as Prunus salicina, are now allowed, the report said. The imported plums must meet certain conditions, including a mandatory methyl bromide fumigation. They also must include a phytosanitary certificate issued by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Instead of imposing more sanctions against the Taliban, the U.S. will likely try to repurpose existing regimes to better target the group, sanctions and security experts said. The task, which the experts expect to be “very” challenging, will aim to update a U.S. sanctions program that was originally intended to target terrorists but will need to now target the Taliban-controlled Afghan government. The efforts should be coordinated with allies, the experts added, but could be slowed by the delayed nominations of two senior Treasury Department sanctions officials, who have not yet cleared the Senate.