The U.S. should introduce support measures for U.S. technology industries that are “too critical to fail,” especially those competing for market share with China, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in an April 13 report. As the Commerce Department seeks to restrict sales of emerging technologies to counter Chinese technology theft (see 2004010007), Congress should task the administration with expanding funding for research in those key fields -- including robotics, artificial intelligence and semiconductors -- and target it to “maximize commercialization” of the technologies in the United States. Congress should also support an “industrial investment bank” to increase advanced production in the U.S. and “encourage” the relocation of critical technology production from China to the U.S., the ITIF said.
The United Arab Emirates introduced several measures to ease the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on trade and investment, according to an April 7 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The measures include a refund of 1% of the customary 5% customs duty charged to imported goods for sale in the UAE; this applies to imports between March 15 and June 30, 2020. The UAE also introduced an exemption from the regular (starting March 24) the requirement to pay a $13,600 cash deposit on customs brokering activities, the report said, and fees imposed for submitting customs documents will be reduced by 90%. A hold has been put on customs audits, and social distancing measures have been introduced in free-trade zone application processing.
United Kingdom exporters will likely experience delayed response times when seeking export license information from the Department for International Trade, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DIT said in an April 9 notice. Response times for requests for information will be doubled from 20 to 40 business days, the agency said. The virus has affected the agency’s ability to “manage export license applications and supporting documentation,” DIT said.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued an April 9 guidance on remote compliance checks during the COVID-19 pandemic, detailing what steps companies should take to complete the checks, access their export records and more.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of April 10 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The organic import requirements for honey and maple products will be incorporated into the Automated Import Reference System this month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said by email. “Also, starting April 2020 the Canada Organic Regime team will be including the admissibility requirement for the import of organic products” in AIRS, CFIA said. “Importers of organic products will be required to submit copy of organic certificate (electronic copy) when declaring import of organic products in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID) database. Honey and maple products will be the first commodities for which the admissibility requirement will be implemented. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and comply with the import requirements.” The agency is phasing in the requirements (see 1905290046).
China will increase supervision and inspections of exports of certain medical equipment, China’s General Administration of Customs said April 10, according to an unofficial translation of an announcement. The increased inspections will apply to 11 items, China said: medical masks, medical protective clothing, ventilators, infrared thermometer, medical surgical caps, medical goggles, medical gloves, medical shoe covers, patient monitor, medical disinfectant towels and medical disinfectants. The restrictions could slow shipments of medical supplies from China to countries in need of medical goods, according to an April 10 report in The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. trade representative and Brazil's Foreign Affairs minister discussed ways to deepen discussions under the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said April 10. Another call is to take place next week, to both flesh out areas of agreement and tackle irritants. USTR will consult with Congress, as well, on “how best to expand trade and develop our economic relationship.”
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended its Iran sanctions entries to reflect the European Union’s renewal of the sanctions until April 13, 2021, OFSI said in an April 9 notice. The renewal affects 82 entries under the U.K.’s human rights program for Iran (see 2004090024).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated a Venezuela-related general license and amended a Venezuela-related frequently asked question, OFAC said in an April 10 notice. General License No. 5C authorizes certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela involving an 8.5% bond on or after July 22, 2020. The FAQ clarifies which transactions are authorized by the license.