The U.S. is continuing the national emergency declaration in Lebanon, first issued in 2007, for one year because of the “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy,” the White House said July 30. The emergency designation was scheduled to expire on Aug. 1.
The State Department on July 31 issued a correction related to the designation of al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization. The correct version of the designation is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Aug. 1.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister and spokesman, Treasury announced July 31. The move comes about a month after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters in June that President Donald Trump was planning to sanction Javad Zarif (see 1906240046). “Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is the regime’s primary spokesperson around the world,” Mnuchin said in a statement. “At the same time the Iranian regime denies Iranian citizens’ access to social media, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif spreads the regime’s propaganda and disinformation around the world through these mediums.”
A top Treasury official acknowledged criticism that the agency is abusing its sanctions powers but stood by the approach, saying the sanctions are necessary and that the Treasury is mitigating impacts on U.S. companies by issuing more compliance guidance.
Anthony Dearth, who was previously chief of staff in the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, recently joined Alpha Omega Consulting Group, according to the company's list of personnel.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The United Arab Emirates is eliminating and reducing government fees on more than 1,500 federal services, including some in the trade sector, according to a press release from the UAE’s Ministry of Finance and a July 22 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The UAE said it has agreed to cut some fees in half to make it cheaper to do business in the country and boost the UAE’s competitiveness. While the fee reductions span across the ministries of the Interior, the Economy, and Human Resources and Emiratisation, the HKTDC said the changes will have a “direct impact” on foreign trade. One change includes a reduced fee for lodging a dispute between “agents, appointed representatives and collectors from a trade agent” from about $3,200 to $2,200, the report said. The changes are expected to decrease the cost of trading to the UAE, the HKTDC said, and were expected to be introduced before July ends.
In the July 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Russia is considering new bills that would counter anti-Russian sanctions through criminal charges and the creation of an “‘unreliable’ payment processors list,” according to a July 30 Lexology report and notices from the Russian State Duma.
Canada appears unlikely to ratify the updated NAFTA before the fall, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on July 29, according to a CTV report. Canadian officials have said that country aims to move ratification in tandem with the other NAFTA countries (see 1906140047) and the U.S. House of Representatives recently recessed. That will make it tougher for Canada to move forward ahead of its Oct. 21 election. "We of course benefit right now from the existing NAFTA that ensures that Canadians are well-served with good and reliable access to the North American market," Trudeau said. "But we also look forward to ratification of the new NAFTA, but we will do that in line with the American process when it picks up again this fall."