The footnote in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that says that the U.S. could change its de minimis level to match Canada's and Mexico's levels was roundly rejected by the Senate Finance Committee on July 30, when the topic was one of the most-discussed aspects of the deal. Paula Barnett, owner of Paula Elaine Barnett jewelry, was the first witness who testified, and she told the committee that she does not want U.S. de minimis levels lowered, because she doesn't have to pay tariffs when goods are returned from outside the country, and because she purchases opals from Mexico, and those purchases are under the $800 threshold.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control’s amendments to its reporting, procedures and penalties regulations are unclear and too broad, the Association of University Export Control Officers and The Clearing House Association said in July 22 comments, joining a series of trade associations that have been critical of the regulations' amendments.

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

In the July 29 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Vietnam’s automated customs clearance system has launched in every customs office throughout the country and the nation has cut down on “administrative procedures in the field,” Vietnam's Customs deputy director general said July 29, according to a report from Vietnam Plus. Deputy Director General Hoang Viet Cuong spoke during a “consultation seminar” on a draft circular on customs risk management, highlighting the need “to build the circular in order to facilitate exports-imports and control law abidance in the field.” Claudio Dordi, director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Trade Facilitation Program, had praise for Vietnam's efforts in trade facilitation, and said the circular will improve business transparency and help the country “effectively realise free trade agreements,” according to the report.

Chinese importers have recently been upping purchases of U.S. agricultural products, according to a report from China’s state run Xinhua news service. “Since July 19, some Chinese firms have inquired with U.S. suppliers about the new purchases of U.S. farm produce including soybeans, cotton, pork and sorghum. Currently, a batch of deals have been made in line with market conditions,” Xinhua said. “The Chinese enterprises involved have applied for the lifting of additional tariffs on some of the U.S. farm produce, and the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will handle their applications according to stipulated procedures.” So far, millions of tons of U.S. soybeans have been shipped to China, the report said, tying the recent activity to talks held between President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping in June.

A Democrat from Texas and one from the San Diego area led a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging a vote on the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, as the new NAFTA is called, before the end of 2019. Rep. Colin Allred, who defeated a Republican incumbent in the Dallas suburbs, and Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., sent the letter July 26.

China is unlikely to reach agreement with U.S. trade negotiators, President Donald Trump said, as it prefers to wait and see if the next president takes a different approach. He was speaking to reporters at a press conference July 26 announcing an asylum policy with Guatemala. "I think China would probably say, 'Let’s wait. Let’s wait. Maybe Trump will lose and we can deal with another dope or another stiff,' like the people that allowed these deals to happen, this horrible thing to happen to our country," he said, according to a transcript released by the White House. Trump said that after he wins a second term, China and other countries "almost immediately" are going to sign "phenomenal deals."

The State Department added four sub-entities owned by the Cuban military to the Cuba Restricted List, the agency said in a July 26 press release and a notice in the Federal Register. The U.S. bans all financial transactions between any entity on the list and U.S. people or companies. The State Department notice did not specify which entities were added but provided a full list of restricted entities.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a North Korean citizen in Vietnam for being a North Korean political official and working for a sanctioned North Korean entity, Treasury said in a July 29 press release. Kim Su Il had “ties” to the Workers’ Party of Korea and is an employee of the Munitions Industry Department (MID), which is sanctioned by both the United Nations and the U.S. for being involved with North Korea’s missile program, the press release said. Treasury said Kim Su Il worked for the MID in Vietnam and has exported “anthracite coal, titanium ore concentrate” and imported and exported “various other goods, including raw materials, to and from North Korea.” He also exported Vietnamese products to China, North Korea and other countries, the press release said. Along with trading, Kim Su Il also chartered ships.