Companies should be mindful of complying with U.S. export controls when exhibiting products at air or trade shows, which could lead to export violations due to increased inspections from U.S. Customs officials, according to a Jan. 8 post from Wilmarth & Associates. Companies should ensure that military and defense-related products or parts are not taken with company employees to the shows without first receiving a license from the State or Commerce department, the post said. Companies must also review technical data or technology that may be provided to foreign people or companies during the trade shows to ensure it does not require a license. U.S. Customs inspectors and agents “have an increased awareness” of trade shows held for the aerospace and defense industry, the post said, and “there is an increased scrutiny of export documents and interviewing of returning travelers.”
The Trump administration should sanction Chinese officials and companies responsible for human rights violations against the country's Uighur population, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China said in a Jan. 8 report. The U.S. should also place export controls on a wide range of emerging technologies, add more Chinese agencies to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and make these issues key components of trade negotiations with China, the report said.
The contracting parties to the Harmonized System Convention approved the 2022 edition of the Harmonized System, the World Customs Organization said in a news release. “The HS serves as the basis for Customs tariffs and for the compilation of international trade statistics in 211 economies (of which 158 are Contracting Parties to the HS Convention),” it said. The new HS2022, which comes into force Jan. 1, 2022, “makes some major changes to the Harmonized System with a total of 351 sets of amendments covering a wide range of goods moving across borders,” the WCO said.
Michael Cerny, previously a lawyer with Sandler Travis, joined Charter Brokerage as chief legal officer, Charter said in a news release. Both Charter and Cerny specialize in drawback issues.
China has no plans to adjust its import quotas for wheat, corn and rice despite an agreement with the U.S. to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural products (see 1912130035), according to an unofficial translation of a Jan. 7 report from Caixin, a Chinese financial news site. Han Jun, China’s vice minister of agricultural and rural affairs, called the import quotas a “global” quota, and said China “will not adjust for one country,” according to the report. The comments come as China’s Commerce Ministry remains vague about its plans to purchase U.S. agricultural goods despite reports that China plans to issue tariff exemptions to importers of U.S. agricultural goods more frequently (see 1912170030). The U.S. and China plan to sign phase one of the agreement Jan. 15 (see 1912310010)
Australian exporters will see significant benefits from the recent round of tariff cuts as part of the country’s free trade deals with South Korea and China and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Australia’s trade minister said Jan. 1. Several rounds of tariff cuts took effect at the start of 2020 for Australian exporters, the minister said, including reduced tariff rates for exports of milk powders, goat meat, oranges, shelled almonds and skin care products into China. Tariffs will also be reduced on lamb exports to South Korea and beef exports to Mexico, Australia said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade plans to launch a new online sanctions platform to improve the process for making sanctions inquiries and applying for licenses. The platform, called Pax, is scheduled for launch in “early 2020,” Australia said, and replaces the Online Sanctions Administration System (OSAS), Australia’s previous online sanctions system. Australia said it will issue “user guides” to “ease this transition and all existing applications will remain in OSAS until finalised.”
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on an information collection related to voluntary self-disclosures of Export Administration Regulations violations, Commerce said in a Jan. 8 notice. Comments are due March 8.
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on an information collection related to voluntary self-disclosures of antiboycott violations, Commerce said in a Jan. 8 notice. Comments are due March 8.
CBP plans to begin registration for the 2020 Trade Symposium on Jan. 9, it said in a tweet. The symposium is scheduled for March 10-11 in Anaheim, California. “The agenda, venue details, and registration link are coming soon,” it said.