The Senate passed the U.S-Canada-Mexico Agreement, the replacement for NAFTA, with an 89-10 vote. Now the implementing bill heads to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed. The Canadian parliament must also still ratify the agreement.

China agreed to purchase a range of U.S. goods as part of the phase one deal signed Jan. 15, totaling about $200 billion worth of U.S. goods and services over the next two years. The deal covers a long list of agricultural products -- including pork, beef, processed meats, dairy and seafood -- along with increased Chinese imports of U.S. rice, energy products and $120 billion in purchases of U.S. manufactured goods this year.

Ethiopia recently launched an online customs service intended to improve the speed of customs clearance for imports and exports “dramatically,” according to a Jan. 14 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The service, Ethiopia Electronic Single Window, was launched Jan. 4 and will reduce processing times for imports and exports from 44 days to 15 days. The country expects the processing time to eventually reach three days, the report said.

The United Kingdom's Export Control Joint Unit on Jan. 14 updated a series of open general export licenses, including exports for dual-use goods, military goods, chemicals, low-value shipments, information and security items, and more. The updates clarify who is eligible to use the licenses.

In the Jan. 14 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom, France and Germany plan to trigger the dispute settlement mechanism of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, potentially leading to European snapback sanctions against Iran. In a Jan. 14 statement, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the three countries still want to preserve the agreement, but “we could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered,” Maas said, according to an unofficial translation. “We will tackle this together with all partners in the agreement. We call on Iran to participate constructively in the negotiation process that is now beginning.”

Brazil added 269 items and removed 20 items from its list of foreign capital goods and information technology and telecommunications goods subject to duty-free treatment under the country’s Ex-Tarifario regime, according to a Jan. 13 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report. “Many” of the goods can be imported from the Chinese mainland or Hong Kong, the report said. Among the additions, 250 items are capital goods and 19 are IT and telecommunications goods, the report said. The goods will benefit from duty-free treatment though Dec. 31, 2021. Brazil also established a series of tariff-rate quotas on certain imports, the report said, including generator circuit breaker systems, certain yarn, “plug and switch systems,” certain fabrics, certain aluminum foil and more.

New rules for the transfer of export controls over firearms and ammunition from the State Department to the Commerce Department are expected this week, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. In a newsletter emailed Jan. 13, the NSSF said the rules, which will transfer controls over firearms, guns, ammunition and other defense items from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List, will take effect 45 days after they are published this week.

The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee sent the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement out of committee on a 16-4 vote, and the Budget Committee moved the implementing bill with a voice vote, though several senators voted no there, as well.

China will buy nearly $80 billion worth of additional manufactured goods from the U.S. over the next two years as part of the U.S.-China phase one trade deal (see 1912310010), according to a Jan. 14 report from Reuters. As part of the deal, China will also buy more than $50 billion worth of U.S. energy supplies and increase purchases of U.S. services by $35 billion over the same period, the report said. The agreement will also require China to increase its purchases of U.S. agricultural goods by $2 billion over two years at about $16 billion per year. The numbers, which represent a “staggering increase” over recent Chinese imports of U.S. manufactured goods, are expected to be announced Jan. 15 during a White House signing ceremony between President Donald Trump and China's Vice Premier Liu He, Reuters said. A China Foreign Ministry spokesman referred questions to the country's Commerce Ministry. “Please remain patient for a little while,” the spokesman said during a Jan. 14 press conference. “More information will come out in a couple of days.”