As the European Union continues its “extensive preparations” for a no-deal withdrawal of the United Kingdom on Nov. 1, stakeholders should take advantage of the extra time granted by recent Brexit delays to ensure they have “taken all necessary measures” to prepare, the European Commission said in a June 12 press release.

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

Adding in the unaffiliated African countries to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement remains an important step for the deal, said Giovanie Biha, the deputy executive secretary of the United Nation's Economic Commission for Africa in an ECA news release. “AfCFTA legally entered into force but for it to deliver its transformative economic potential, the signatory countries -- and the few countries that have not yet signed -- must rapidly join and ratify the Agreement to ensure that the continent moves forward together as one entity,” Biha said during a meeting of the African Ministers of Trade. Biha said "difficult decisions," including tariff offer scheduling and finalized rules of origin, still need to be made and "compromises sought, as we transform the AfCFTA legal text into an operable instrument." Albert Muchanga, commissioner for trade and industry of the African Union Commission, said "the AfCFTA is a continuation of a long journey that started with the establishment of Regional Economic Communities as building blocks of the African Economic Community. From here, Africa has to move to the next stages of customs union, common market, monetary union and eventually African Economic Community.” The African Ministers of Trade will next meet in July at the Niamey African Union Summit.

Instex, the European payment system designed to allow countries to trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions, will be ready soon, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Iran, according to multiple reports and a June 10 German Foreign Office press release. Maas recently met with Iran officials, the foreign office said, and underscored Europe’s support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Meeting with reporters in Tehran, Maas said that “all the formal requirements are in place now,” to use Instex, according to reports, “and so I’m assuming we’ll be ready to use it in the foreseeable future.” The announcement comes about a week after the Trump administration sent a warning to Europe that sanctions will be imposed on anyone associated with Instex (see 1905300035). The German Foreign Office was critical of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran deal and its decision “not to extend exemptions for oil exports and non proliferation projects,” the press release said. “Germany and the other parties support the preservation of the JCPoA as a safeguard for greater stability and security in the region,” it said.

The chairman of a committee on trade negotiations made up of major Mexican business groups said June 10 that he knows of no deal to guarantee U.S. exports of agricultural products to Mexico, according to a report in the Mexican newspaper Milenio. Moises Kalach, chair of the Strategic Consultative Council on International Negotiations of Mexico’s Business Coordination Council, told the newspaper that “the information that we have is that there is no business agreement, nor export limits, nor purchases of American products; the deal is solely on topics related to immigration.” Kalach said there’s no way to make such a deal because private companies buy American goods, and there’s no way to obligate them to buy them.

The future for international trade with Canada is closely aligned with what will happen in the U.S. on several fronts, Canada-based law firm Bennett Jones said in its spring 2019 economic outlook report. The likelihood of passing an updated NAFTA recently got a boost through the end to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico and the retaliatory tariffs from those two countries, the law firm said. Still, the U.S. said it expects monitoring and surge prevention related to steel and aluminum, though it remains unclear exactly how this will occur. "It is not unlikely that difficult bilateral discussions still lie ahead, although it is to be hoped that the Americans would not readily reimpose these tariffs," the firm said.

China is preparing to allow Belarus “greater access” to its markets, according to a June 11 report from Belarus News, which cited comments made by Cui Qiming, China’s ambassador to Belarus. Cui said China is expanding market access for a range of states and will “keep promoting diversification of trade,” the report said. The ambassador also briefly touched on the U.S.-China trade negotiations, saying the dispute has caused “great concern in the international community” and that the U.S. is trying to intimidate multiple countries with tariff threats, including China, the European Union, Japan and Mexico.

New Jersey resident Joyce Eliabachus pleaded guilty to charges related to her role in illegally smuggling millions of dollars worth of aircraft parts to the U.S., the U.S. Attorney’s Office for District of New Jersey said in a June 11 news release. "Eliabachus and others allegedly ran an international smuggling ring that shipped $2 million in aircraft parts to multiple Iranian airlines, including a company that has provided financial, material, and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. “This arrest, which was made possible by a close collaboration between our office and our partners at Homeland Security Investigations and the Office of Export Enforcement, has snuffed out another source of funds and goods to overseas entities that may endanger our national and economic security.” Eliabachus was the principal officer of Edsun Equipments LLC, an aviation parts trading company run out of her Morristown, New Jersey, residence, the Justice Department said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it is “deeply concerning” that the White House is seeking a two-year delay on implementing government contracting and procurement-related restrictions on Huawei Technologies, saying the delay would “extend a window of opportunity for what is already a dire threat to our national security.” Speaking on the Senate floor on June 11, Schumer criticized what he said is the Trump administration's contradictory approach to China.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's State Trade Expansion Program has been mostly effective, business owners and trade industry leaders said during a House Small Business subcommittee panel on June 11, helping them export to international markets and expand their businesses. But the panelists also advocated for changes, such as a reduction in the “administrative burden” caused by the program. The discussion came as Congress prepares to reauthorize the program, which was created by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 and which provides grants to states to increase exporting opportunities for small businesses.