U.S. companies are encountering issues when trying to return faulty products to parties on the Entity List, members said during a Dec. 10 Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting. The problem occurs after companies legally import goods -- which later turn out to be defective -- from an Entity List party, the members said. The goods are not able to be easily exported for return, they said.

World Trade Organization members have again agreed to extend a moratorium on imposing customs duties on data transfers, the WTO said in a Dec. 10 press release. The moratorium, which has been renewed at every opportunity since 1998, will now remain in effect at least until the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2020. WTO members, who were meeting as the WTO general council, also agreed Dec. 10 “to continue work under the existing 1998 work programme on e-commerce in the beginning part of 2020,” the release said. “The work in the run-up to MC12 will include structured discussions on issues that would help ministers take an informed decision by MC12.”

The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​​

Ethiopia’s Customs Commission is reportedly beginning enforcement of much stricter timelines for removal of cargo from ports, according to an article in Addis Fortune. Beginning Dec. 10, importers must remove their goods from warehouse and pay any duties, taxes or fees within two weeks from the day they are entered, or otherwise face a penalty. Previously importers had two months. The change had been set to take effect Sept. 30 but was delayed to give time for importers to implement the change. According to the report, importers are concerned that they won’t have enough time to complete the entry process in time to remove their goods by the new two-week deadline.

In the Dec. 10 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Union is working on a sanctions regime to target human rights violations, Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said Dec. 9. Borrell said the EU is launching “preparatory work” for the regime at the request of “several” EU member states, adding that the regime will be the “EU equivalent” of U.S. Global Magnitsky Act sanctions. “This will be a tangible step reaffirming the European Union’s global lead on human rights,” he said.

Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows:

Hong Kong Customs recently seized about $6.4 million worth of smuggled frozen meat en route to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Dec. 6. Customs authorities seized the shipments, which weighed 540 metric tons, in Hong Kong waters after they were smuggled onto four fishing boats off of a Hong Kong pier, the report said. The fishing boats did not have refrigeration facilities, USDA said, and the meat was composed of “high-value beef products” from “various countries,” including the U.S. and Europe. The agency called it the “largest detection of smuggled meats both in terms of value and volume in the past decade.” The meats included cuts of beef such as “shanks, ribs” and “round,” but no pork.

Vietnam is planning to introduce tax measures to support its domestic auto industry, including reducing import tariffs for certain auto parts and accessories, according to a Dec. 9 report from Customs News, the customs agency’s mouthpiece. The country plans to introduce the changes in December to create “more favourable conditions and incentives for enterprises and industries supporting automotive manufacturing and assembly.” The proposed changes would eliminate import tax rates on certain auto parts, the report said.

Even though the Democrats won some changes to the new NAFTA that are seen as contrary to business interests -- primarily, removing extended patent protection for pharmaceuticals in Canada and Mexico -- business groups celebrated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to hold a vote on the trade pact. A vote in the House is expected next week, but a Senate vote won't come until next year.