The European Union and Vietnam plan to ratify the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement by the end of 2019, according to a report from Vietnam's CustomsNews website, citing HSBC. The EU has scheduled trade discussions for May 28, the notice said. The agreement will increase trade and eliminate “virtually all tariffs on goods,” according to an announcement when several of the pact's agreements were adopted by European Commission in 2018. Vietnam will remove 65 percent of import duties on EU exports “with the remainder of duties being gradually eliminated over a 10-year period,” the EU said.
India is considering a “sharp” cut in import duties on gold and a decrease in the Goods and Services Tax on other “precious metals,” according to a May 3 report from the India Brand Equity Foundation. The cuts would reduce import duties on gold from 10 percent to 4 percent, the report said, but it is unclear how much a proposed tax change would cut duties on other metals. India’s current GST for precious metals is 3percent, the report said.
The Senate voted to close the debate on nominees for the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ board of directors on May 3, clearing the way for their confirmation, according to a press release from the Aerospace Industries Association. The nominees would give the bank enough directors for a quorum to approve transactions of more than $10 million, according to the release: “Should the nominees be confirmed, the Bank will be fully functional for the first time in four years.”
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to amend its U.S. Standards for Grades of Apples to remove smooth net-like russeting as a grade-determining factor in the U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy and U.S. No. 1 grades for Fuji apples, it said. The proposal also would remove obsolete references to the location where color standards may be examined and purchased, AMS said. The changes also would affect the grade requirements under the Export Apple Act.
The United Nations Security Council added Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi, a Pakistan native, to its ISIL and Al-Qaida sanctions list, the U.N. said in a May 1 press release. U.N. said Alvi is the founder of terrorist group Jaish-i-Mohammed and the former leader of Harakat ul-Mujahidin. The sanctions include an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, the U.N. said.
The U.S. is renewing five of seven Iran-related sanctions waivers that allow Russia and European countries to “conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran,” according to a May 3 report from the Associated Press. The waivers were extended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for 90 days to allow work at “several Iranian nuclear sites to continue without U.S. penalties,” the AP reported.
A former consultant for the Arms Trade Treaty said President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the pact may "haunt" the U.S. for years and could place U.S. exporters’ supply chains at risk. Rachel Stohl -- in a May 3 commentary on WarOnTheRocks.com, a national security website -- wrote that while U.S. exporters still will be subject to “strict U.S. export control laws,” exporters “could see their supply chains or access to customers put at risk if a trading partner puts limits" on countries not party to the treaty.
China will still send a delegation to meet with U.S. negotiators on a possible deal to resolve trade issues between the two countries, despite an announcement by President Donald Trump on May 5 to increase Section 301 tariffs against the country, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman. Trump tweeted that the U.S. will increase the current 10 percent tariff on $200 billion in goods to 25 percent on May 10, and may impose additional Section 301 tariffs on over $300 billion in Chinese exports.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recent publication of a sanctions compliance guide is the latest example of OFAC’s long-term effort to show companies what makes an effective compliance program, trade lawyers said. But the effort may also ultimately benefit the Treasury, according to one lawyer, by making it easier for the department to successfully prosecute compliance cases.
Private equity investor Platinum Equity completed its previously announced purchase of Livingston International (see 1902210017), Platinum said in a May 2 news release. Livingston "is the largest pure-play customs brokerage in North America and boasts the widest presence along America's northern border," Platinum said. "It is also the third-largest customs entry filer in the United States. The company serves as a trusted adviser to more than 30,000 businesses globally, facilitating the completion and transmission of customs documentation and ensuring goods are cleared through international borders seamlessly and expediently." Terms of the deal weren't released.