The Commerce and State Department should improve export control guidance for universities, which sometimes struggle to comply with U.S. export regulations because of unclear guidance that is usually tailored toward industry, the Government Accountability Office said May 12. The GAO also said Defense Department officials should better familiarize themselves with export control regulations in order to not hamper university research efforts.
Saudi Arabia will triple its value-added tax rate in an attempt to “shore up finances” as global demand drops for its oil exports, according to a May 11 Reuters report. The country’s VAT will increase from 5% to 15%, Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said, citing the “unprecedented coronavirus crisis.” Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has been significantly impacted by an oversupply of oil coupled with low oil prices, the report said.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 11 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Canada will waive customs duties for a variety of medical goods related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Finance Canada said May 6 in a news release. The waivers apply to “certain medical goods, including [personal protective equipment (PPE)] such as masks and gloves,” and “will reduce the cost of imported PPE for Canadian businesses, which face tariffs of up to 18 per cent in some instances, help protect workers, and ensure our supply chains can keep functioning well,” it said. The Canada Border Services Agency provided more details in a May 6 customs notice. The waiver applies to “eligible goods which were imported on or after May 5, 2020” and “can be claimed at the time of importation or within two years of the date of importation,” it said.
China and the European Union are making progress during their investment negotiations and hope to wrap up a comprehensive investment agreement “as early as possible within the year,” according to an unofficial translation of a May 11 notice from China’s Commerce Ministry. Previous reports indicated the talks might last through 2021, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, particularly because of EU concerns that China’s investment market is “considerably less open than the EU’s” and investment in a “number of sectors is restricted or prohibited.” China said it is “willing to accelerate investment agreement negotiations” to “jointly boost confidence” between the two countries and increase cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. planned to lobby the EU to increase scrutiny of foreign investment involving sensitive technologies, including investment from China (see 2002260042).
The State Department approved a potential $230 million military sale to Hungary for 60 AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAMER missiles and other equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said May 8. The prime contractor is Raytheon.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will hold a virtual meeting May 21 to discuss with industry the terms of a potential agreement to produce personal protective equipment, FEMA said in a notice. The agreement would “maximize the effectiveness of the distribution of critical health and medical resources nationwide” to respond to pandemics, FEMA said, including establishing terms for coordination between the federal government and PPE manufacturers. “The agreement would establish the terms, conditions, and procedures under which participants agree voluntarily to contribute and facilitate health and medical resource production and distribution capacity as requested by FEMA,” the agency said. FEMA is currently overseeing export control decisions on U.S. shipments of PPE (see 2004210022).
China is considering imposing tariffs on imports of Australian barley as a result of an ongoing antidumping investigation, Australian grain groups said. The tariff may include a dumping margin of up to 73.6% and subsidy margin of up to 6.9% for Australian barley, according to a May 9 statement from the Grains Industry Market Access Forum, the Australian Grain Exporters Council, GrainGrowers, Grain Producers Australia and Grain Trade Australia. The groups said China “may provide their final determination” by May 19. During a May 11 press conference, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the move a “normal trade remedy investigation” and said it complies with World Trade Organization rules.
Chinese direct investment in the U.S. last year fell to its lowest levels in a decade and will likely continue to drop this year, according to a May 11 report from the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Rhodium Group. Investment dropped to $5 billion in 2019 from a decade-high of $45 billion in 2016 due to more investment reviews by the U.S., restrictions on outbound investment by Beijing, the COVID-19 pandemic and rising tensions between the two countries, the report said. The decreased investment may be part of a broader trend caused by the pandemic as industry grows concerned about the consequences of over-dependence on foreign supply chains, the report said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is disinclined to offer an informed compliance period for most importers, “because most of the rules of origin have remained essentially the same” as what was in NAFTA, so CBP can honor the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement claims with the same information that backed NAFTA claims, according to Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade.