The U.S. and China appear poised to reach some sort of "mini-deal" before the end of the year, said Bank of America global economists Ethan Harris and Aditya Bhave in an Oct. 18 report. "In our view, both sides see the other as being in a weakened negotiating position," the analysts said. "The US can point to the bigger economic slowdown in China than in the US. China can point to President [Donald] Trump’s impeachment investigation and his desire to maintain a healthy economy going into the election. This argues for a relatively balanced 'win-win' deal."
Duane Morris hired Geoffrey Goodale, previously a partner at FisherBroyles, as a partner in the corporate practice group, Duane Morris said in a news release. Goodale advises companies on import and export legal compliance, the firm said.
World Trade Organization Deputy Director General Alan Wolff said that while there are tricky issues in the e-commerce talks in Geneva -- privacy and the free flow of data among them -- "the process is moving forward rapidly and in a very good spirit."
China is going to ask the World Trade Organization to authorize retaliatory tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of goods at the WTO's dispute settlement body meeting Oct. 28. If the U.S. disagrees with either the argument that it's not complying with the ruling on countervailing duties, or the amount of retaliation permitted, an arbitrator will decide how much China may retaliate.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
In the Oct. 17-21 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom and Georgia signed a continuity agreement to continue trading under current terms after Britain leaves the European Union, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said in an Oct. 21 press release. The deal copies the “comprehensive market access for trade” under the two sides’ EU agreement, the U.K. said. “Trading under the terms outlined in the agreement, rather than on World Trade Organization terms, will ensure British businesses and consumers benefit from continued preferential access to Georgia after the UK leaves the European Union,” the press release said.
Britain's Department for International Trade updated its guidance on the United Kingdom’s trade agreements with non-European Union countries in a no-deal Brexit. The guidance includes a list of trade agreements that have been signed and agreements that are still in discussion.
The United Kingdom on Oct. 21 issued a guidance on advance checks for registered firearms dealers exporting to European Union member states. The guidance provides information to exporters on applying in advance to sell to “regular consignees” if the U.K. leaves the EU without a deal.
The European Union’s 2018 move to change the definition of an exporter in its customs legislation is leading to different transition procedures on a country-by-country basis, creating complications for businesses, according to an Oct. 18 post from KPMG.