The State Department is upholding a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for Shining Path, a narcotics-trafficking group based in Peru, State said in a notice scheduled to be published June 12 in the Federal Register. Circumstances surrounding the group’s designation have not changed and there is no reason to revoke the designation, the notice said. Shining Path was sanctioned in 2015 for operating as a terrorist group committed to the overthrow of Peru’s government, OFAC said in a press release at the time.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 3-7 in case they were missed.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign assets Control sanctioned 16 people and entities, including Syrian oligarch Samer Foz, to cut off “critical supplies and financiers” for Syria's “luxury reconstruction and investment efforts," Treasury said in a June 11 press release. Treasury said Foz has “been profiting heavily front reconstruction efforts” in Syria by building luxury developments on land seized by Syria.

The U.S. should impose harsher sanctions on the Nicaraguan government, the Daniel Ortega regime and the country’s business leaders or risk the country devolving into a similar situation the U.S. faces with Venezuela, panelists told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security and Trade on June 11.

The recent growth in the illegal transport of garbage may soon require more attention from the international community, said Col. John Simon, who works for the Philippines Bureau of Customs, in the latest issue of the World Customs Organization magazine. "Given the scale of the illicit trade emanating from South Korea, a Philippines-Korean Anti Waste Commission could, for example, be established to ensure that enforcement services at Philippine ports are properly trained and equipped to detect illicit importations of waste, enabling such waste to be swiftly repatriated to the country of export," he said. "Such commissions should be composed of dedicated representatives from both the public and private sectors and, besides enforcement, should also carry out public education programmes and, more importantly, work on how to improve global waste management on both sides of the equation." Many Southeast Asian countries have been grappling with the issue since China banned most imports of plastic scrap, Simon said.

The United Kingdom will sign a trade continuity agreement with South Korea, the U.K. Department for International Trade said in a June 10 press release. The U.K. and South Korea have completed negotiations and signed a joint statement on the agreement, which takes effect in the event the U.K. leaves the European Union with no transition deal in place. "This marks the end of formal trade discussions and the UK-Korea Free Trade Agreement will be subject to final checks before it is formally signed," the press release said. The deal would allow for trade between the U.K. and South Korea to continue under the terms of the European Union-South Korea free trade agreement.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of June 10 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Singapore’s Customs’ TradeNet, the customs window for trade declaration, will not be available June 16 from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. and July 14 from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m., Singapore said in a June 6 notice. The system will be “performing system maintenance,” the notice said. Singapore is advising users to submit applications and declarations in advance.

The Philippines Bureau of Customs (BOC) will soon deploy new computer systems in all ports nationwide in an effort “geared towards streamlining customs processes and operations.” The agency will deploy Goods Declaration Verification System (GDVS), National Value Verification System (NVVS), BOC Portal (Ticketing System), Document Tracking System (DTS), and the BOC Dashboard “this month,” the BOC said in a June 9 press release. “These systems are designed to improve transparency and reduce opportunities for corruption, and provide seamless trade services with lesser human intervention,” it said.

President Donald Trump may institute tariffs on goods from Mexico after withdrawing them if the Mexican legislature doesn't approve a part of the deal between the two countries, he said in June 10 tweets. "We have fully signed and documented another very important part of the Immigration and Security deal with Mexico, one that the U.S. has been asking about getting for many years. It will be revealed in the not too distant future and will need a vote by Mexico’s Legislative body!" he said. "We do not anticipate a problem with the vote but, if for any reason the approval is not forthcoming, Tariffs will be reinstated!" The two sides reached a deal on June 7 to avoid the tariffs (see 1906070081) with Mexico agreeing to play a bigger role in handling of migrants from Central America who seek asylum in the U.S., the two countries said in a June 7 joint statement.