The Canada Border Services Agency will continue its evaluation of a policy that allows cargo trucks to return to the U.S. in order to meet Advance Commercial Information requirements, it said in a customs notice. The policy “exists for drivers in the highway mode who arrive at a Canadian border” without ACI and allows the drivers to go back to the U.S. “to properly report cargo information in order to meet ACI regulatory requirements and avoid penalties.” The agency is “extending the evaluation period for the turnaround policy until midnight June 30, 2020,” it said.

The effects of African swine fever on feed demand in the Philippines may not be “as severe as initially forecast,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Dec. 19. Estimates predict a decline of 100,000 metric tons in feed wheat consumption, down from a decline of 300,000 metric tons forecast earlier, USDA said, potentially reducing the need for feed imports. USDA also said the Philippines is facing low rice production due to a recent typhoon, which will likely lead to an increase in 200,000 metric tons of rice imports.

Singapore Customs issued a Dec. 19 circular about its upgraded free trade agreement with China (see 1910210033) and the deal’s rules of origin provisions, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2020. The circular outlines “key changes” to the rules for Singapore’s exports to China, including an expansion to the list of “Product Specific Rules,” updated criteria for determining the origin of products, information on submissions of manufacturing cost statements to qualify certain products for the Product Specific Rules and more.

President Donald Trump signed the bills funding the federal government through Sept. 30, along with a tax extenders package, before leaving Washington for Florida the evening of Dec. 20. The tax extenders included a provision that will continue the alcohol excise tax break in the Craft Beverage Modernization Act through the end of 2020 (see 1912170067). The Beer Institute hailed the extension with a press release that quoted Dan Kopman, CEO of Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, Maryland. “Excise tax relief has given brewers and beer importers of all sizes across the nation the ability to expand and grow, and I urge members of Congress to work together in the new year to make the excise tax rates in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act permanent.”

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a frequently asked question to address Congress’ inclusion of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (see 1912190075), according to a Dec. 20 notice. In FAQ 815, OFAC clarified the wind-down provisions in the NDAA, which specify that all parties involved in selling, leasing or providing vessels for Nord Stream 2 or Turkstream must “immediately cease construction-related activity.” But OFAC said it may extend “good-faith wind-down exceptions” to certain parties for the safety of the pipeline, the crews and to avoid environmental damage.

China will implement lowered temporary import tariffs on more than 850 products in 2020, including frozen pork, avocado, orange juice and certain types of semiconductors, China’s Ministry of Finance said in a Dec. 23 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The tariffs, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, are lower than the most-favored-nation rates and will be used to import “consumer goods” that are “relatively scarce,” in China, the ministry said in a statement.

The State Department published an interim final rule that will revise the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to provide definitions for activities that are not exports, re-exports, retransfers or temporary imports, the agency said in a notice in the Federal Register. The activities include launching items into space, providing technical data to U.S. people within the U.S. or “within a single country abroad,” and moving defense items within the U.S.

Patrick Caulfield and Angela Santos were promoted to partners at Grunfeld Desiderio, the law firm said in a news release. The firm also named Mika McLafferty of counsel, it said.

In the Dec. 19-20 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Britain is seeing an increase in demand for its goods outside the European Union, with exports outside the EU growing five times faster than exports to EU member states, the Department for International Trade said Dec. 20. The sample size, taken over a one-year period ended in September, shows how “big the opportunities are” for British exporters around the world, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. Truss also said the numbers signify the importance of Britain's trade relationship with the U.S. and Japan, adding that her “priority is to strike new trade deals with key partners” to expand exports as Britain leaves the EU. “This government will continue to back our business communities to ensure they have the tools to seize this opportunity and take full advantage of all its benefits,” Truss said.