UPS President of Global Customs Brokerage Jeff McCorstin joined the board of directors for Good360, an organization that partners "with socially responsible companies to source highly needed goods and distribute them through our network of diverse nonprofits that support people in need," Good360 said in a news release. Bob Schwartz, chairman of the board at Good360, said McCorstin's "extensive experience in international air and ocean freight, cross-border trade, and customs brokerage operations will elevate our capabilities in moving donated goods within and beyond United States borders, extending the collective impact of Good360 and our partners."

Maggie Henkin, who previously worked on Asia trade policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was hired by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) as manager, public advocacy, CompTIA said in a news release. Henkin will "focus primarily on international trade and federal issues," the association said. CompTIA also hired Juhi Tariq, previously with Raytheon, Senior Manager, International Trade Regulation and Compliance.

Robert Monjay, previously the acting co-division chief of the Technology and Jurisdictional Analysis Division in the State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, joined Akin Gump as senior counsel in the international trade practice, the law firm said in a news release. "Monjay is a former State Department policy official responsible for the application, amendment and interpretation of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)," the firm said. "He held similar responsibilities while previously serving as a policy official in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security."

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

A recent announcement of new funding for customs information technology and training grants for importers, exporters, brokers and forwarders in the United Kingdom may be too little and too late, said the British International Freight Association. Announced Sept. 3 (see 1909030069), the new round of £16 million may not lead to “thousands of more customs experts on hand to help businesses on and after Brexit day,” BIFA said. It could take up to a year to train new staff, even if there are enough trainers and courses for the new staff to attend, BIFA said. Less than 1,000 U.K. businesses applied for the first round of grants, out of more than 240,000 that currently trade with the EU, the trade group said. And worryingly, the funding may not be available until after Brexit day on Oct. 31, unless a company can get a training quote and submit an application within the next week, BIFA said. “That just adds to the enormous uncertainty and pressure that BIFA members, which are responsible for managing the movement of a large proportion of the UK’s visible international trade, have faced since the result of the Brexit referendum in June 2016,” BIFA said.

Singapore Customs arrested four men for failing to pay import duties on more than 1,300 cartons of cigarettes, Singapore said in a Sept. 2 press release. Officers searched a truck and a warehouse operated by the men and found more than 700 cartons of cigarettes hidden in the floorboards of the truck and more than 600 cartons of cigarettes in the warehouse, Singapore said. Singapore said the men evaded about $125,000 (in Singapore dollars) in taxes. Violators can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duties they evaded and jailed for up to six years, Singapore said.

The U.S.-China trade war has damaged some Japanese manufacturing companies, Japan’s trade minister said during a Sept. 3 press conference, adding that the companies have lost revenue compared to previous years. Minister Hiroshige Seko said Japan’s manufacturing industry in April and June “fell below the previous year for the first time in two years,” according to an unofficial translation of the transcript of the press conference.

Japan submitted "opinions and questions" to South Korea regarding South Korea’s plans to remove Japan from its list of trusted trading partners, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a Sept. 3 press release. Japan said if South Korea does not provide clarification on its measures or does not answer Japan’s questions, Japan will view South Korea’s actions as “arbitrary and illegitimate countermeasures,” the press release said.

The State Department is seeking feedback to inform its development of a draft guidance for exports of hardware, software and technology with “surveillance capabilities,” the agency said in a Sept. 4 press release. The guidance will give exporters insight “on considerations to weigh prior to exporting these items” and will give “businesses greater understanding of the human rights concerns the U.S. government may have with the export,” the press release said. Comments are due Oct. 4.

Rep. Ron Kind, co-chairman of the New Democrats' trade task force, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has done a good job on outreach, and sounding sympathetic to Democrats' complaints about enforceability, labor and other issues they want changed in the NAFTA rewrite. But Kind, who was speaking to reporters on a conference call from the Midwest on Sept. 4, said that "for some reason there's been a reluctance on sharing paper, putting words down" that would change the trade deal to satisfy these requests.