Costa Rica published forms and instructions online for registering certain people and entities for value-added tax purposes, KPMG said in an Aug. 21 post. The form applies to exporters, exporter suppliers, and marketers, distributors and producers of food, among others, KPMG said.

Vietnam proposed a move to exempt import duties on car parts intended for the “assembly/manufacture of green/alternative fuel vehicles,” according to an Aug. 27 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The exemption would apply to parts imported before 2024, the report said.

The National Pork Producers Council applauded the U.S. and Japan trade agreement, saying it would place U.S. pork exporters “back on a level playing field” with competitors in one of the U.S.’s “most important export markets.” “We look forward to rapid implementation of the agreement as international competitors are currently taking U.S. pork market share through more favorable access,” NPPC President David Herring said in an Aug. 25 statement. The council, citing a study, said U.S. exports to Japan will grow from $1.6 billion in 2018 to more than $2.2 billion “over the next 15 years” as a result of the trade deal. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the agreement at the G-7 summit in France (see 1908260033).

A China Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson denied knowledge for a second straight day of China's top trade negotiators phoning their U.S. counterparts over the weekend urging the resumption of talks toward a comprehensive trade deal, as President Donald Trump claimed they had on the sidelines of the G-7 summit.

A final rule ending blanket restrictions on importation and exportation of species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act takes effect Sept. 26 (see 1908120020), according to a notice published Aug. 27 in the Federal Register. For species FWS lists as threatened on or after that date, import and export restrictions will not automatically apply, and FWS will have to issue a species-specific “Section 4(d)” rule to implement any restrictions on import, export and taking, FWS said in the final rule. Species already listed as threatened as of Sept. 26 still will be subject to the same restrictions as on importation and exportation of endangered species.

U.S. and foreign companies have “struggled” to interpret the scope of the U.S.’s most recent executive order and subsequent general licenses for Venezuela, leading some to submit requests for more guidance, according to an Aug. 22 post on the Winston & Strawn website.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 19-23 in case they were missed.

Japan said it will allow “legitimate” exports to South Korea as it prepares today to remove the country from its list of trusted trading partners. During an Aug. 27 press conference, Hiroshige Seko, Japan’s minister of trade, economy and industry, repeated assertions that the move is not a “countermeasure” to any South Korean actions and is not an export embargo.

Violations of the Arms Export Control Act require knowledge that the unlicensed exports were unlawful, and not just that the exporter knew their general conduct was illegal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in an Aug. 20 decision. Vacating the conviction of a forwarder for Arms Export Control Act violations, the appeals court held that the lower court’s jury instructions were not specific enough and could have been misinterpreted to include knowledge of import violations in another country.

Adrienne Braumiller and George Alfonso will offer trade-related lobbying through a new lobbying firm founded by the pair, Braumiller said in an Aug. 26 email. Braumiller, who started the Braumiller Law Group, and Alfonso, who also founded The Law Offices of S. George Alfonso, said the two will partner to create a new lobbying firm called Reigncore. The pair "have combined their unique talents and experiences in international trade and artful persuasion to form the cornerstone of Reigncore, in order to provide the consulting and lobbying services best suited for each client’s specific objectives and goals," Braumiller said in the email. Alfonso will be president and Braumiller will be CEO, though neither will "provide legal counsel or representation," Reigncore said on its website. Lobbying areas include the new NAFTA, Section 301 tariff exclusions, and export control reform efforts, it said.