Argentina recently introduced a package of tax reform measures that contains one measure that will impact multinational exporters doing business with the country, KPMG said in a Dec. 27 post. The change will increase “withholding rates applicable to” agricultural exports. Companies may need to take “immediate action” to respond to the new measures, which took effect Dec. 23, 2019, KPMG said.
The Dominican Republic issued a guidance for upcoming regulations that aim to streamline the country’s exporting process, according to a Dec. 27 KPMG post. The regulations, which take effect Jan. 8, establish a single customs declaration for all exports shipped from a customs territory, except for merchandise exported by air and valued less than $200, KPMG said. A single declaration cannot contain merchandise “destined for different customs regimes,” KPMG said, and provides the exporter 20 days to follow through with the export. The guidance also established a “tolerance limit,” which “allows” the customs authority not to reject a shipment for undeclared goods or for an inaccurate valuation. This only applies if the “difference found does not exceed” 10 percent of the “declared merchandise value,” KPMG said, although penalties may be imposed on the exporter.
Singapore Customs arrested three men and seized more than 7,390 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes after they illegally transferred the cartons from a Malaysia-registered truck to a Singapore-registered truck, the agency said in a Dec. 27 press release. The men evaded more than $670,000 (in Singapore dollars) worth of duties and Goods and Services Tax; they face a fine of up to 40 times the amount of taxes evaded and a maximum six-year prison term.
The Japanese Cabinet recently approved its 2019 supplementary budget, which will provide the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with $2.97 billion toward “trade agreement countermeasures,” according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Dec. 30. The $2.97 billion is about a 2 percent increase from the previous year, the USDA said, and will be allocated toward countermeasures that include “export promotion” and support to increase the number of cattle raised in Japan. The funding will also support Japan’s “livestock sector,” small and medium-sized family farms and “smart agriculture.”
The Commerce Department is seeking new members for its seven technical advisory committees to advise the agency on export controls and exporting issues within U.S. industries, Commerce said in a Dec. 31 notice. This includes Commerce’s upcoming Emerging Technology TAC, which is expected to hold its first meeting in early 2020 (see 1911200045). For each of its TACs, Commerce is looking for industry representatives from firms producing items that are currently controlled or proposed for control for national security, non-proliferation, foreign policy or short supply reasons. The agency said it is looking for members from both small and large companies, but no member may represent a company that is majority owned by a “foreign government entity.” Members must also obtain “secret-level clearances” before being appointed and serve terms “of not more than four consecutive years.” Applicants should send a resume to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov. The notice of recruitment will be open until Dec. 31, 2020.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ interim final rule (see 1912230052) to define activities that are not exports, re-exports or retransfers will significantly reduce regulatory and compliance burdens surrounding encrypted data, a law firm and export consulting firm said. In a long-awaited move, the rule will better facilitate international data storage subject to both the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations.
In the Dec. 27 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade updated its guidance on import controls, according to a Dec. 27 notice. The guidance includes changes to an open general import license that pertains to certain chemical weapons, firearms, mines and other dual-use goods.
Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows:
Ukraine recently signed a protocol for veterinary and phytosanitary requirements for exports of rapeseed meal to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Dec. 26. The protocol, to be in effect for five years, will “further stimulate rapeseed processing” in Ukraine and extend “upcoming [value-added tax] cancellation for rapeseed exports” from Jan. 1, 2020, until Dec. 31, 2021, the report said.