The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Feb. 8 (some may also be given separate headlines):
Country of origin cases
Nigeria recently issued guidance for exporters shipping to countries within the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Jan. 28. It details various export requirements, including those regarding permits, licenses, certificates and other documents necessary within the AfCFTA, whose members began trading Jan. 1. Exporters and agents need to apply to the Nigeria Customs Service for an AfCFTA certificate of origin once the required fees are paid. Along with a bill of entry and a certificate of origin for shipments, exporters also are required to include a bill of lading, a certificate of analysis, a packing list and a commercial invoice, the HKTDC said.
The importance and size of the Mexico-U.S. trading relationship does not receive enough recognition in the U.S., Mexico's outgoing ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, said Feb. 5 during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mexico is the U.S.'s no. 1 trading partner, she said, and the economies are inexorably linked, with the automobile supply chain as just one example of it. One piece of a car will cross the border an average of seven times before final assembly, she said.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Feb. 5 (some may also be given separate headlines):
Argentina and Canada recently made antidumping and countervailing duty determinations on products from China, according to a Jan. 27 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Argentina ended its antidumping investigation on lawn mowers and weeders from China after finding a “lack of sufficient domestic industry support,” the HKTDC said. Canada determined that it will impose antidumping and countervailing duties on certain mainland Chinese decorative and other non‑structural plywood. Canada also began “re-investigations of the normal values and export prices” of certain carbon steel fasteners originating in or exported from China by Qifeng Precision Industry SCI‑TECH Corp. and Jiaxing-based Robertson Inc., the HKTDC said.
The U.S. moved to seize all oil aboard a Liberia-flagged vessel, the M/T Achilleas, via a forfeiture complaint filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the oil is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the IRGC-Qods Force, both U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations. The complaint alleges the IRGC and IRGC-Qods Force schemed to deliver the oil to a customer abroad and that the origins of the oil were disguised using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means to trick the owners of the Achilleas into transporting the oil, the Department of Justice announced in a Feb. 3 news release.
The U.S. has not publicly released all the companies that have applied for an extended period to get their North American-made vehicles into compliance with the tighter rules of origin, but both Canada and Mexico have published the list of 12 companies that have been approved. Since all three countries must approve alternative staging regimes, it follows that these companies' transition plans are cleared by the U.S., as well. The press office of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is in transition with a change in administrations.
The United Kingdom formally applied to start negotiations on its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) -- an 11-member trade partnership that represents more than 9 trillion euros in economic activity. The inclusion of the U.K. would mark the bloc's first foray beyond the Pacific and expand CPTPP's proportion of global GDP to 16%.
The European Union recently issued guidance and Canada updated its frequently asked questions on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The EU guidance covers rules of origin under the deal, including the process for declaring origin and details for a range of product-specific rules. Canada on Jan. 26 updated its FAQs, detailing how Brexit will affect market access for Canadian goods, and offering information on labeling requirements, tariff rates and more.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 29 (some may also be given separate headlines):