The Canada Border Services Agency updated the departmental consolidation of the customs tariff, it said in a Jan. 15 notice. “Effective January 10, 2020, Section Note XI of the Customs Tariff has been updated to give effect to Article 317 of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Short Supply Notes,” it said.

Laos no longer requires permits to import auto parts used in domestic manufacturing and assembly, according to a Jan. 16 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Previously, companies were required to undergo a series of administrative procedures to secure a permit, the HKTDC said. Although a permit is no longer required, companies will need to submit reports each year by Dec. 10 containing details of the auto parts they plan to import the following year. The change is part of an effort by Laos’ prime minister to “streamline” import, export and temporary import for export procedures, the report said. The effort also includes a proposal to create an electronic system to pay import and export fees.

China’s Ministry of Commerce released a Chinese version of the phase one U.S.-China trade deal on Jan. 16. The deal was signed Jan. 15 and includes a series of commitments by China to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural, manufacturing and energy-related goods (see 2001150073).

China’s General Administration of Customs recently announced that certain equipment, technology, components and spare parts are exempt from import tariffs, according to a Jan. 16 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The changes, which took effect Jan. 1, apply to goods that are imported for “self-use under contracts for domestic investment projects,” the report said. The items must also fall under the “encouraged” categories in China’s 2019 “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalogue.” Although they are exempt from import tariffs, the goods remain subject to import-related value-added taxes, the report said.

A Venezuelan lawyer and businessman was added to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s most-wanted list for conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering-related charges, ICE said in a Jan. 15 press release. Raul Antonio De La Santisima Trinidad Gorrin Belisario paid millions in bribes to two “high-level” Venezuelan officials to conduct foreign currency exchange transactions at “favorable” rates for the Venezuelan government, ICE said. In addition to the bribes, Belisario also paid the officials’ expenses for private jets, yachts, homes, “champion horses,” watches and a “fashion line,” the press release said. Belisario made the payments through shell companies to hide the transactions. He also partnered with others to acquire Banco Peravia, a Dominican Republic-based bank, to launder bribes paid to the officials. Belisario is a Miami resident and a Venezuela citizen. He remains at large.

The Commerce Department issued a Jan. 15 order temporarily denying export privileges for five people and five companies for involvement in an international procurement scheme to illegally export U.S. items to Pakistan. The scheme, announced in an indictment recently released by the Justice Department (see 2001150040), involved Muhammad Kamran Wali of Pakistan, Muhammad Ahsan Wali and Haji Wali Muhammad Sheikh of Canada, Ashraf Khan Muhammad of Hong Kong and Ahmed Waheed of the United Kingdom. It also involved Business World of Pakistan, Buziness World of Canada, Business World of Hong Kong, Hong Kong-based Industria Hong Kong Ltd. and Pakistan-based Product Engineering. The scheme involved attempts to export items to Pakistan’s Advanced Engineering Research Organization (AERO) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), both of which are on the Entity List. The order denies their export privileges for 180 days from Jan. 15.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control clarified that people and companies involved in recently sanctioned Iranian sectors have a 90-day wind-down period, according to a frequently asked question issued Jan. 16. The wind-down period pertains to the sanctions and executive order recently announced by the Trump administration that authorizes new measures against the country’s construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles sectors (see 2001100050). Entering into new business that would be considered sanctionable under the executive order after Jan. 10 will not be considered wind-down activity, the FAQ says. That activity may be subject to sanctions “even during the wind-down period.” The wind-down period expires April 9.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the new NAFTA, though it wasn't by quite as wide a margin as in the House, where more than 95 percent of votes were for the trade pact. The vote, which happened just before the reading of the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump on Jan. 16, was 89-10, with only one Republican voting no. Most of the Democrats who voted no did so because the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement doesn't address climate change.

The Commerce Department is close to publishing a rule that will expand its authority to block shipments of foreign made goods to Huawei, according to a Jan. 14 Reuters report. The rule would lower the U.S.-origin threshold on exports to Huawei to 10 percent, Reuters said, and expand the purview to include “non-technical goods like consumer electronics” and “non-sensitive chips.” Commerce sent the rule to the Office of Management and Budget after an interagency meeting last week, the report said. A top Commerce official recently confirmed the agency was considering a range of expanded restrictions of foreign exports to Huawei, including changes to the Direct Product Rule and a broadened de minimis level (see 1912100033).

Akin Gump hired Hagir Elawad, previously legislative affairs director for the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the U.S., as a senior policy advisor in the firm's international trade practice, it said in a news release. While at the embassy, she worked on “a wide array of issues, including sanctions, export controls, aviation and aerospace, Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States matters,” the firm said.