The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on how China and Russia are complying with their World Trade Organization commitments, including in its import regulation, export regulation, subsidies, non-tariff barriers, intellectual property rights enforcement, rule of law issues, and trade facilitation, or other issues.
The EU formally opened a dispute at the World Trade Organization on July 30, asking for consultations with Taiwan regarding its measures related to off-shore wind installations. Those measures include domestic content requirements, which the EU claims are incompatible with commitments under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures and the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The EU last week said it planned to open the dispute because of how they would affect the transition to green energy (see 2407260011). The request for consultations gives the parties 60 days to find a solution to the dispute. If no solution is found, the bloc can request for "adjudication by a panel."
A bipartisan pair of senators fleshed out a trade facilitation framework released in early June (see 2406100015) with legislative text that authorizes spending for several trade-related initiatives, including ones that would create a true single window, modernize ACE and try to reduce penalties for minor export filing errors.
Canadian traders should prepare for increased scrutiny from the country’s customs agents for a range of imports in the coming months, and should consider conducting an “internal compliance review” to make sure they’re complying with all duties and trade laws, Baker McKenzie said in a July 25 client alert.
The Biden administration should seek to remove trade barriers that are making it difficult for American producers of liquor and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to export their products to India, a member of Congress said July 23.
The Federal Maritime Commission this week released its final rule on unreasonable carrier conduct, the last step in the FMC’s nearly two-year campaign of crafting regulations to address ocean carriers that unfairly refuse vessel or cargo space to shippers.
The Canadian press noted that Canada is working to convince officials that might serve in a future Trump administration to spare Canadian goods from a global 10% tariff, but former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, who recently traveled to Canada, has said Canada won't necessarily be exempted.
The Census Bureau emailed tips last week on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System.
European officials last week called for more EU-U.S. cooperation on China policy, particularly around trade restrictions, to respond to Beijing’s unfair market practices and deter its military.
When Bloomberg asked former President Donald Trump if he has thought about easing or eliminating sanctions on Russia as part of a peace settlement in Ukraine if he is reelected, the Republican nominee replied, "Yeah. So what we’re doing with sanctions is we’re forcing everyone away from us. So I don’t love sanctions. I found them very useful with Iran, but I didn’t even need sanctions with Iran so much. I told China that and Russia is in a similar position."