Singapore recently eliminated restrictions on time frames for importing frozen and processed meat products, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released May 12. Previously, meat imports were required to follow “strict timeframe requirements” and conditions, the USDA said, such as mandatory detention and laboratory testing for all frozen pork imported into Singapore three to six months after slaughter. U.S. frozen and processed meat exporters will no longer be subject to these restrictions, the report said, but time frame requirements for “chilled meat products” are still in effect.
China’s Nansha District, located in the Guangdong province, recently announced a three-year plan to improve its business environment, which features a “free trade zone requiring no certificates,” according to a May 13 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Currently, companies operating in the zone must submit “numerous certificates,” but the changes will allow companies to skip submissions of certificates, “data enquiries” and other administrative “verification” performed by the government. The government will instead use “data-sharing platforms” to “complete administrative procedures without requiring applicants to submit different certificates,” the report said.
China will allow imports of U.S. blueberries and barley, the country’s General Administration of Customs said in May 13 notices, according to an unofficial translation. China also issued quarantine and phytosanitary requirements for imports of U.S. alfalfa hay, “almond shell granules” and timothy hay. The measures, which took effect May 13, provide requirements that imports must meet for entry into China. The measures were announced as China tries to fulfill its agricultural purchase commitments under the phase one trade deal, which some say may not be possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2005130042 and 2005080010).
China recently added 46 cities and areas to its list of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, according to a May 14 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The move is part of China’s plan to “stabilise foreign trade and investment,” the report said. The zones will promote “international trade liberalization” and include certain tax exemptions (see 1912270019).
Two members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs introduced legislation that urges the Trump administration to sanction Russian government officials responsible for human rights abuses. Reps. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Michael McCaul, R-Tex., said the bill aims to penalize the Russian government for imprisoning journalists, political opposition leaders and religious freedom activists, according to a May 11 press release. The bill asks the administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights accountability Act or “other applicable” authorities.
Incentives are strong for China and the U.S. to retain the phase one trade deal, an economist at S&P Global wrote May 14, in a report called “U.S. and China Kick Trade Deal Can Down The Road.” While the report's author said it's possible the Trump administration would hike tariffs on China to punish that country for COVID-19, “we have long thought that, from an economic perspective, technology not trade is the core issue in the U.S.-China relationship. Technology has been and will continue to be the key driver of growth in China. It is at the heart of intellectual property, market access, and level playing field debates.” Chief Economist Shaun Roche said the two countries are on a path toward technological decoupling, no matter how the purchases shake out that are promised in the phase one deal.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the Southern Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the fisher (Pekania pennanti), a mammal species in the weasel family, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The listing only applies to fishers from the Southern Sierra Nevada DPS in Central California, and not the population in Northern California and southern Oregon. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect June 15.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list para-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a drug similar to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) that is also sold as “ecstasy,” as a schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle PMMA,” DEA said. Comments are due June 15.
The State Department added Cuba to a list of countries that do not cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts and the Arms Export Control Act, adding that it will block sales or licenses involving exports of defense goods to Cuba, the agency said May 13. This year marked the first time the U.S. recognized Cuba as not cooperating with the AECA since 2015, the agency said. Others on the list include Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is allowing more time for comments on an information collection relating to technology letters of explanation, according to a notice. The letters provide assurance to BIS and requires the “consignee” to certify that an export involving controlled technical data will not be released to blocked countries. BIS first requested comments for the collection in February (see 2002050019).