The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Aug. 21 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Canada updated its regulations under the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CIFTA) for rules of origin for casual goods, the country said in an Aug. 21 Canada Gazette notice. The updated regulations "implement, in Canada, the rules of origin negotiated by Canada and Israel in the modernized CIFTA that will be used to determine when goods have undergone sufficient production to qualify for preferential tariff treatment," said Canada in another notice. "The rules of origin in the modernized CIFTA were simplified, liberalized, and brought up to date with Canada’s approach in more recent free trade agreements." The CIFTA tariff preference regulations were also updated.

Canada will allow remission of customs duties paid on tires that qualify under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership treatment, it said in a notice in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Remission will be allowed for goods classified in subheading 4011.90.90, which covers certain types of tires. "The remission is granted on the condition that the importer makes a claim for remission to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness within two years after the date of importation," it said.

Singapore Customs arrested two women for illegally importing counterfeit perfume and cosmetic products, Singapore said in an Aug. 20 press release. After finding a shipment with more than 200 counterfeit cosmetics products, Singapore officials carried out raids that uncovered more than 16,000 cosmetics products with fake trademarks worth more than $800,000 (in Singapore dollars), the press release said. Officials said the women planned to sell the products online. The women each face a maximum fine of $100,000 and a maximum prison sentence of five years.

China’s Haikou Customs is planning to speed up its customs clearance process through appointment clearances and dedicated channels for “fresh products to ensure fast cargo,” according to an unofficial translation of an Aug. 21 press release from China’s General Administration of Customs. Haikou Customs also plans to promote advance declarations “to achieve customs declarations that do not require inspection and quarantine … and can be released directly after the customs confirms the delivery of the transportation report.” The changes also aim to “reduce unnecessary paper circulation.”

Singapore Customs issued a notice Aug. 21 saying that certain “bullion coins” are exempt from the country’s Goods and Services Tax because they meet requirements as an Investment Grade Precious Metal. The coins -- in silver, gold or platinum, from Australia and the United Kingdom -- will be GST-exempt starting Sept. 1.

The State Department approved the potential sale of $8 billion worth of defense-related goods to Taiwan, the Defense Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in an Aug. 20 press release. The sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office includes 66 F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft, engines, radars, computers, “multipurpose launchers” and other military products. The sale serves U.S. national interests by supporting Taiwan’s military to help it “maintain a credible defensive capability,” the press release said.

An Iranian resident was arrested after he tried to illegally ship “computer numerical control machines” from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 20 press release. Mehdi Hashemi is charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by trying to ship the machines, which are “used to process raw materials, such as metals, to precise standards,” the press release said. The machines are controlled for “nuclear non-proliferation and anti-terrorism reasons.” Hashemi pleaded not guilty.

A naturalized U.S. citizen was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to several export violations, including illegally transferring missile systems and unlicensed arms brokering, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 20 press release. Rami Najm Asad-Ghanem, who was living in Egypt at the time of the offenses, transferred “a wide array of surface-to-air missile systems” around the world, the Justice Department said, including to clients in Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Hezbollah.

Economic cooperation between China and the U.S. is “win-win in nature,” a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Aug. 21. “Our interests have become deeply intertwined.” He was responding to President Donald Trump's lengthy remarks at the White House accusing China of “ripping this country off for 25 years.” American companies do $700 billion in annual sales and make $50 billion in annual profit in China, the spokesperson said. “If one party has been ripping off the other, it would not have been possible to have the highly complementary, deeply integrated and mutually beneficial relationship that we have today.” China and the U.S. “stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,” he said. “There is nothing to fear in having differences on trade.”