The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned about two dozen entities and vessels with ties to Iran's oil trade, including front companies that it said are hiding the origin of Iranian oil, China-based buyers, and ships moving Iranian oil. The designations target companies and ships in Hong Kong, Singapore and Iran, and vessels carrying the flags of Cameroon and Panama and their owners based in Hong Kong and the Seychelles.
President Donald Trump announced May 13 that he plans to order the “cessation of sanctions against Syria” to give the war-torn country a “chance at greatness.”
The 10% tariff on the first 100,000 autos exported annually from the U.K. will be "all-in," according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. CBP couldn't clarify whether that would be done by removing most favored nation duties on U.K. autos and then applying a 10% tariff rate, or whether the additional tariff rate for in-quota autos would be 7.5%.
David Sacks, the president's AI policy adviser, said the Biden-era AI diffusion export control rule was an “overreach” of U.S. export control authority and alienated American allies. The Bureau of Industry and Security’s plan to rescind the rule (see 2505070039 and 2505080026) was an “excellent decision,” he said last week.
Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry will be the only entity capable of issuing non-preferential certificates of origin for Malaysian shipments destined to the U.S., the agency said this week, adding that the change will help address traders that use its ports to illegally transship foreign goods to the U.S. and evade certain American import duties.
Canada this week published new guidance and other resources to help Canadian companies facing increased costs from “unjustified tariffs” imposed by the U.S., including a new webpage for understanding how businesses can secure tariff-free treatment for certain goods under USMCA. Canada said it’s “providing new and comprehensive information on rules of origin and customs procedures under” the trade deal, including a new webpage on understanding USMCA compliance, “self-serve resources for problem solving related to tariffs,” and a list of federal and provincial Canadian support programs available to businesses. The country also said small and medium-size companies can call the government’s new hotline on weekdays for information on USMCA.
The State Department this week sanctioned multiple entities and ships moving Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products, including four sellers and one buyer of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian energy.
Amid swirling reports that China is considering exemptions from tariffs on some critical U.S. goods, an industry expert said that these moves should not be read as a broader shift in the trade war between the two countries.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's recent rules that expanded foreign direct product rule restrictions over chip equipment (see 2412020016) and set new foundry due diligence rules (see 2501150040) are already hurting U.S. companies, the U.S.-China Business Council said, including by incentivizing foreign firms to design U.S.-origin goods out of their chip supply chains.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is planning a phased-in approach to assessing fees on foreign-built vessels calling at U.S. ports, according to an April 17 announcement unveiling the results of its year-long Section 301 investigation.