The Bureau of Industry and Security added 34 entities under 43 entries to Entity List, BIS said in a final rule. Fourteen of those entities are based in China and “have enabled Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions of China (XUAR), where the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity,” the Commerce Department said in a news release. Another five of the entities were “directly supporting PRC’s military modernization programs related to lasers and C4ISR programs, Commerce said.
Country of origin cases
Saudi Arabia recently issued rules for determining the origin of imported goods, KPMG said July 6. The rules, which took effect July 2, “reiterate” the Gulf Cooperation Council origin conditions and also require a minimum 25% nationalization threshold “with respect” to the entity that manufactures the GCC-origin goods, KPMG said. Saudi Arabia also will treat goods manufactured by free-zone businesses as foreign goods even if those goods include raw materials of GCC origin. KPMG said the rules “appear to exclude any duty-exemption benefit to free zone businesses.” The rules also include more information about the definition for “direct consignment.”
Former U.S. trade officials are optimistic the Biden administration can revitalize a mini trade deal with India that was originally proposed under the Trump administration (see 2009010049). But they also said U.S. officials will likely look to add more provisions to any deal, including ones that address labor and climate issues.
The United Kingdom lifted antidumping duties on welded tubes and pipes of iron or non-alloy steel from Belarus or Russia, a July 1 notice said. Certain antidumping duties originating from an AD quota on certain welded tubes and pipes of iron or non-alloy steel from Belarus, China and Russia along with a tariff rate quota on steel goods will be suspended under the notice. The announcement includes a list of affected companies from Russia that will see their antidumping rate drop to zero. All affected tube and pipe exporters from Belarus will have their antidumping rate drop from 38.1% to 13.1%.
The European Commission amended its common rules for imports from certain third countries relating to volumes of tariff rate quotas in a July 5 implementing regulation. Country-specific and residual TRQs were incorrectly published in the original regulation, prompting the fix from the commission, the notice said. The notice lists TRQ volumes of metallic-coated sheets from Korea, India, the United Kingdom, China, India and other countries.
The United Kingdom suspended antidumping duties on cold-rolled flat steel goods from Russia, a July 1 notice said. The suspended duties originate from a general antidumping duty order on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from China and Russia and a tariff rate quota on steel goods. The notice includes a list of affected exporters and their now-lowered rates. All other exporters of the subject merchandise from Russia will see their antidumping duty rates fall from 36.1% to 11.1%.
The maximum number of items an importer or exporter can claim under the certificate of origin provision in the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement increased from 20 to 50, the Chinese customs agency announced in a June 29 news release, according to an unofficial translation. The change is effective Sept. 1.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will officially remove the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, OFAC said in a notice. The sanctions were originally imposed under the Trump administration but sparked opposition from human rights advocates. President Joe Biden revoked them in April (see 2104020046). The removal takes effect July 6.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, was cool to fellow Texas delegation member Sen. John Cornyn's proposal to study the possibility of allowing goods made in foreign-trade zones to be considered originating under USMCA.
The Census Bureau is considering a proposed rule that would require export filers to declare the country of origin for foreign products included in certain transactions. The agency considered the change about five years ago but has recently returned to the idea and expects to issue a proposal “soon,” said Omari Wooden, a senior Census official. “It’s something that's on the horizon,” Wooden said, speaking during the American Association of Exporters and Importers annual conference June 30. “You'll probably be seeing more information about that soon.”