A leading European chemicals industry association said European Union member states should increase enforcement of chemicals regulations, especially for imported goods, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 18. The association, the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), recently released a report that showed a “steep increase” from 2019 to 2020 in cases related to noncompliance with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) legislation, in which an imported product’s country of origin was unknown. The report also showed rises in other import compliance issues, including an increase in instances of mercury in “skin‑lightening products” imported from the Ivory Coast and Pakistan, and an increase in cases of noncompliance involving air conditioning systems and hand sanitizers. CEFIC said the data points to “an urgent need for EU Member States to step up enforcement of REACH particularly for imported goods, including from online marketplaces.”
The Mexican government has asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for formal consultations under USMCA's dispute resolution process over a disagreement on how the auto rules of origin should work. Mexico says that when it agreed to a 75% regional value content standard at the end of the phase-in period, its negotiators were assuming that once a part is considered originating, its value should count as North American as you move to assemblies, and ultimately, to the vehicle as a whole. So, Mexico says that in the text on the rules of origin, if a core part is originating, its full value is counted in a super-core part, such as an engine, and if that engine is originating, its value counts in the RVC for the vehicle as a whole.
Trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area has been “very slow” since it began in January, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of agreements over a range of nontariff barriers, said Petina Gappah, principal legal adviser to the AfCFTA. Gappah said many challenges remain before trade within the region operates smoothly, but she said she is hopeful progress will be made.
The State Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control recently announced a series of sanctions against Russia, including import restrictions on firearms and the designation of entities and individuals connected the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. Coming on the one-year anniversary of Navalny’s poisoning with Novichok nerve agent, the new sanctions are being carried out “in concert” with the United Kingdom, State said.
Brexit-related customs and tax issues in Ireland may continue for some businesses, based on KPMG’s experience during the first six months of the United Kingdom’s official departure from the European Union, the firm said Aug. 17. Companies trading between Ireland and Great Britain are facing increased costs from supply chain delays and customs clearance issues, KPMG said, and also need to be aware of a range of declarations and paperwork needed to benefit from certain trade preferences.
The Philippines temporarily extended its sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for imported meat and poultry from 60 to 90 days, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Aug. 18. The clearances, renewed Aug. 10, were originally issued to mitigate the impacts of “logistical difficulties” and other shipping issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA said the Philippines extended the clearances “for meat and poultry issued from August 10 to December 31, 2021.”
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recent settlement with Keysight Technologies shows the agency is growing more aggressive with certain compliance requirements and violations involving software and technical data, Miller & Chevalier said Aug. 18. At the same time, DDTC continues to reward cooperation and other mitigating factors with significant penalty reductions as it tries to incentivize companies to voluntarily disclose violations and work with the agency during its investigation.
The Australian Border Force and the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore successfully ran a blockchain trial to test the interoperability of two digital verification systems, the agencies said Aug. 18. The trial tested the ABF's Intergovernmental Ledger and IMDA's TradeTrust reference implementation and proved that trade documents can be issued and verified digitally across the two platforms, they said. The Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement provided the mandate for the trial, which sought to make cross-border trade simpler between the two countries. The trial demonstrated the Australian system capability in issuing "high integrity digital trade documents" that can be instantly authenticated, provenance traced, and digitally processed, the agencies said. “QR-codes embedded with unique proofs are inserted into digital Certificates of Origin (COO), enabling immediate verification for authenticity and integrity of the document when scanned or machine-read,” they said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security released a final rule to make technical corrections and clarifications (see 2108110010) to a 2020 rule that transferred export control jurisdiction over certain firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department. The rule, released Aug. 18 and effective Sept. 20, introduced changes to make the requirements “easier to understand” and “interpreted consistently,” BIS said.
Mexico recently suspended certain trade relief measures originally introduced to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, KPMG said Aug. 16. They included measures to support the manufacturing industry, export services and rules for refunds of import taxes to exporters. During the suspension period, KPMG said “any days remaining will be considered to be ‘non-business days,’ so that any unexpired limitations period will be tolled and will not be triggered or to begin to run again until the first business day following the day the suspension ends, and at that time, the deadlines of any processes that have been paused will resume.” The suspension is in effect for 30 business days after Aug. 12.