The Canada Border Services Agency will relax a requirement that Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program members must first be part of the Customs Self Assessment, the agency said in a Dec. 9 customs notice. “Under the expansion of the FAST Membership criteria, the CBSA will extend FAST lane eligibility to highway carriers and importers who are sole members of the Partners in Protection (PIP) program,” it said. The agency will also use “two new notices that are generated pre-arrival to advise a carrier that a shipment is eligible or ineligible to use the FAST lane at the reporting port of entry,” it said. The change is effective on Dec. 9.

Vietnam’s Noi Bai Customs is preparing to strengthen customs inspection and enforcement of imports and exports during the Lunar New Year toward the end of January, according to a Dec. 9 report from Customs News, the agency’s mouthpiece. Customs traffic through Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport border gate has “increased sharply” in preparation for the new year, the report said, and officials plan to tighten inspections.

The U.S. and Vietnam signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement meant to “further strengthen bilateral cooperation on security and the facilitation of lawful trade,” CBP said in an emailed Dec. 9 news release. “This agreement is a critical step forward in our economic and security partnership with Vietnam,” CBP Deputy Assistant Commissioner for International Affairs Erik Moncayo said. “The CMAA will enable the U.S. and Vietnam to more effectively combat terrorism and transnational crime while facilitating increasing volumes of lawful commerce.” The U.S. now has CMAAs with 82 countries, it said. In recent months, Vietnam has been trying to crack down on country of origin fraud and transshipment schemes that have become especially more frequent since the ramping up of U.S.-China trade tensions (see 1908280043).

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he doesn't expect the Dec. 15 round of tariffs on consumer goods from China to go into effect then, according to Bloomberg News.“I do not believe those will be implemented and I think we may see some backing away,” Purdue said at a conference in Indianapolis on Dec. 9.

Automated Export System and Electronic Export Information filings are not yet considered proof of exportation for drawback purposes, according to a Dec. 9 alert from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. NCBFAA said it received the “advice” from CBP after “many inquiries and some confusion” about proof of export rules.

A U.S. insurance company was fined about $170,000 for violating the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Dec. 9 enforcement notice. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company (AGR US), a subsidiary of Germany-based Allianz SE, committed more than 6,000 violations of the CACR, OFAC said.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation renewed sanctions against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act of 2010, according to a Dec. 5 notice. The sanctions block transactions with Mohammed and freeze any of his financial accounts associated with the United Kingdom.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two new Venezuela-related frequently asked questions concerning filing a lawsuit against sanctioned Venezuelan people or entities and conducting an auction for shares of a sanctioned Venezuelan entity, according to a Dec. 9 notice.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than 40 people and entities involved in corruption networks in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and issued a general license to allow for wind-down activities, according to a Dec. 9 notice.

Chubb Limited, a Swiss holding company, was fined about $65,000 for more than 20,000 violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in an enforcement notice. The violations were the responsibility of ACE Limited -- an insurance and reinsurance service provider with locations in Switzerland, U.S. and Britain -- which merged with Chubb Corp. in 2016 to form Chubb Limited.