A U.S. foundation representing organizations in the semiconductor technology sector will move to Switzerland due to concerns over U.S. trade restrictions, according to a Nov. 25 Reuters report. RISC-V Foundation, a non-profit, said it has not yet faced restrictions but is “concerned about possible geopolitical disruption,” according to Reuters. The move comes as the Commerce Department restricts sales to certain Chinese technology companies (see 1911180036 and 1910070076) and prepares to release proposed restrictions on emerging and foundational technologies (see 1911200045).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Democrats “are within range” of agreeing on a new NAFTA, adding that “we need to see our progress in writing from the Trade Representative for final review.” Pelosi released the statement in the evening of Nov. 25. She said that the original draft of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that USTR reached with Canada and Mexico “still left American workers exposed to losing their jobs to Mexico, included unacceptable provisions to lock in high prescription drug prices, and fell short of key environmental standards,” but most of all, it had no concrete enforcement mechanisms. If Pelosi reaches agreement with USTR, the next step will be a draft implementing bill from USTR, and mock markups in the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee to shape the final bill.
Japan, China and South Korea will hold the 16th round of trade negotiations this week in Seoul, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Nov. 26. The negotiations will feature a “broad discussion” on market access and rules, specifically surrounding e-commerce and intellectual property, Japan said.
The U.S. is continuing sanctions on Nicaragua, the White House said Nov. 25. Nicaraguan officials' use of violence, “dismantling” of democratic institutions and corruption continue to “pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy, the White House said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Corporacion Panamericana, a Cuban company controlled by U.S.-sanctioned Cubametales, Treasury said Nov. 26. Since it was sanctioned, Cubametales has offered Corporacion Panamericana as an intermediary to companies who decline to do business with Cubametales.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 18-22 in case you missed them.
Indian companies are growing increasingly frustrated with restrictive Chinese market access, leading to a more competitive relationship between India and China and a closer Indian alignment with U.S. policies toward China, a trade expert said. However, although India shares U.S. concerns over China, it disagrees with the U.S.’s approach, preferring to engage with countries such as China and Russia diplomatically rather than impose sanctions on them, the expert said.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
Turkey’s Ministry of Trade recently announced new customs guidelines about the agency’s procedures for “individual transactions” and “commercial transactions,” according to a Nov. 22 post on the Baker McKenzie International Trade Compliance Blog. The section on individual transactions provides “basic information” on procedures and exemptions, including those for vehicles imported without returns, temporarily imported vehicles, goods delivered through mail, special vehicles for “disabled persons,” household goods, cash and jewelry, the post said. The commercial transactions detail procedures and information on customs rules, operations, taxation and temporary storage of goods. The guidance is an attempt to “increase the efficiency and ease of customs operations,” Baker McKenzie said, and contains “simple and comprehensive instructions.”
In the Nov. 25 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: