The European Union renewed sanctions against Tunisia for one year, until Jan. 31, 2021, according to a Jan. 28 notice. The sanctions target 48 people involved in “misappropriation” of public funds, the notice said.
The Council of the European Union sanctioned seven people for participating in the organization of Russian local elections in Ukraine, according to a Jan. 28 press release. The people were sanctioned for undermining the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine and are now subject to asset freezes, the notice said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 21-24 in case you missed them.
The U.S. effort to box out Huawei shows how complex and intertwined the issues are, the Asia Society Policy Institute president and a former deputy secretary of state said Jan. 28. Former Australia prime minister Kevin Rudd, now president of ASPI, said he's spoken with many people in the U.S. semiconductor industry, and they tell him that their ability to reinvest at the scale they need to remain dominant in the latest advances “hangs in part on their ability to export to China.” He asked, if the government bans those exports, will it “then step in to supplement on the order of tens of billions each year?”
United Kingdom businesses and U.S. agricultural exporters want the two countries to sign a comprehensive trade deal rather than continue the Trump administration's recent string of limited phase one deals, industry representatives said. Some stakeholders feel the two countries should capitalize on negotiating a full agreement before the upcoming U.S. presidential election, which could lead to an anti-Brexit Democratic president and stymie negotiations, the representatives said.
Japan, Australia and Singapore and 80 other World Trade Organization members agreed to develop a “consolidated negotiating text” for WTO e-commerce negotiations by the next WTO conference in June, according to a joint press release. The plan was agreed to during a Jan. 24 informal meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where they said “good progress” has been made during the first year of negotiations. Members said the negotiations will address e-commerce trade challenges faced by developing countries and small to medium-sized businesses.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 27 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Brazil recently imposed tariff rate quotas on a range of imports to increase domestic market supply, according to a Jan. 24 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The changes will allow aluminum imports to continue to benefit from duty-free treatment through June 30, while certain paper imports will benefit from a reduced 2 percent duty through June 30. Other goods include chromium sulphate, p-Xilene, rutile pigments, polyamide-6, sardines, sodium hydroxide and disodium sulphate.
India plans to increase import duties on about $56 billion worth of goods, including a range of electronics, electrical goods, chemicals and handicrafts, according to a Jan. 24 report from Reuters. The announcement could be made by India’s finance minister during the presentation of the annual budget on Feb. 1, the report said. Higher duties are likely to target 50 items, including mobile phone chargers, industrial chemicals, lamps, wooden furniture, candles and jewelry, Reuters said. Import tariffs could increase by 5 percent to 10 percent, and could directly impact smartphone manufacturers and other retailers, the report said.