The European Union-Vietnam trade agreement will take effect this year, according to a Feb. 12 press release from the European Commission. The agreement was approved by the European Parliament Feb. 12 and now awaits ratification by Vietnam, the commission said. The deal, which the commission called the “most comprehensive” trade agreement between the EU and a developing country, will eliminate “virtually all” tariffs on goods between the two countries. The commission expects the deal to take effect in “early summer.” The two sides expected to ratify the deal last year (see 1905030012).
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, testifying on the president's budget at a hearing Feb. 12, was asked repeatedly about what the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development might do on taxing digital companies, precluding France's digital services tax.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed more than 30 terrorism-related entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Feb. 12 notice. The entries include entities relating to Al-Barakat, which was sanctioned by OFAC in 2001. Treasury did not immediately release more information.
President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination for Jessie Liu to serve as the Treasury Department’s next undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, according to a Feb. 11 Axios report. Liu, whose nomination was announced by the White House in December (see 1912110078), would have filled a key sanctions role within the agency after the resignation of former undersecretary Sigal Mandelker in October (see 1910020061). Liu’s Senate confirmation hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 13. The White House and the Treasury did not comment.
The coronavirus outbreak could impact China’s purchase commitments involving U.S. agricultural products under the phase one trade deal, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said. The virus could have its biggest impact on the first year of the deal, O’Brien said, which was expected to include $40 billion in U.S. agricultural exports to China (see 2001150073). The virus may also impact what the U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary said would be a “record year” for U.S. agricultural exports (see 2001210031).
The Commerce Department renewed the temporary general license for Huawei and 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates until April 1, Commerce said in a notice. The 45-day extension is the third extension granted to Commerce since it was placed on the Entity List in May. The previous extension was set to expire on Feb. 16. License applications will continue to be reviewed under a presumption of denial. The notice is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on Feb. 18.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a new “Food Security Doctrine” that aims to prevent imports of genetically engineered seeds for planting, according to a Feb. 7 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service. The doctrine also expands the list of Russia’s “self-sufficiency indicators” -- part of the country's effort to become more reliant on domestically produced goods -- to include vegetables, melons and gourds, fruits and berries, and seeds, the report said.
The European Commission released a Feb. 10 report on the European Union's Generalized Scheme of Preferences during 2018-2019, detailing how developing countries took advantage of trade benefits under the scheme, which countries the scheme helped the most and how the scheme impacted trade. Developing countries’ exports to the EU under the special tariff treatments provided by the scheme reached a new high of about $73 billion in 2018, the commission said in a news release.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a February report on India’s increased tariffs on food and agricultural products (see 2001270016), including changes in customs duties for each product. The tariffs, which drew criticism from the U.S.-India Business Council (see 2002030041), will impact dairy products, certain nuts, vegetable oils, infant foods, soy products and more, according to the report, which also includes a table with the omitted “preferential duty rate for imports of products under the tariff rate quota.”
Burma is updating many of its laws concerning import procedures for food, animal feed, veterinary drugs, labeling requirements and more, according to a Feb. 7 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service. Burma’s new food law, which will likely be approved this year, is being expanded to cover more products, the USDA said, and its food labeling update will require all consumer products sold in the country to be labeled with “certain minimal information” in the Burmese language, the report said. The “date of compliance” for the food labeling change is April 26, 2020. The report also covers changes to packaging and container regulations, food additives regulations, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.