Brazil is streamlining certain requirements for imports of used machinery and equipment and goods eligible for tax benefits, the Brazilian Ministry of Economy said in a May 9 press release. In a notice published May 8, the Brazil Ministry of Economy extended the validity period of domestic production analyses, which form part of the initial stage of the approval process for used and benefit-eligible goods by determining whether there are any like domestic goods, according to an alert from the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council. Brazil is also adding several documents to its Ministry of Economy Electronic Information System (SEI/ME) related to importation of used production lines to expedite the import process, the press release said.

Brazil is temporarily lowering tariffs to zero percent on 315 capital goods and information and telecommunications technology goods under its Ex-Tarifario regime, according to a May 9 notice in the Brazilian Diario Oficial. The goods, classified in chapters 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 90 of the Brazilian tariff schedule, will remain duty free through Dec. 31, 2020, said the notice, which took effect May 13. The goods had been subject to tariff rates of 12 percent to 18 percent, according to a report in Brazilian news magazine Istoe. Brazil also established a tariff-rate quota allowing 6,000 tons of vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate co-polymers classified under Brazilian subheading 3904.30.00 to enter at a 2 percent duty for a period of 12 months, with out-of-quota merchandise entering at the regular rate of 14 percent, according to an alert from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The Ex-Tarifario system allows for temporarily duty free treatment for capital and ICT goods not made in Brazil, in a manner similar to the U.S. Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.

Argentina will exempt certain capital goods and temporary imports from a fee increase that took effect May 7, according to a notice in the country’s Boletin Oficial. Effective May 21, capital goods imported for production of hydrocarbons from unconventional reserves, as well as other capital goods under certain programs and all temporary imports, will be subject to a zero percent “tasa de estadistica” (statistical fee). Argentina had increased the fee, which is similar to the U.S. Merchandise Processing Fee, to 2.5 percent for all imports beginning May 7 (see 1905090056).

China recently announced the broad outlines of a new food safety plan that seeks to implement a “world-leading set of food safety standards” by 2035, said a report by state-run news agency Xinhua. Utmost efforts should be made in developing standards, conducting regulation, imposing penalties and seeking accountability, the plan said, according to Xinhua.

Information technology exports from the U.S. increased by 2.5 percent to an estimated $338 billion from 2017 to 2018, but export growth in that sector slowed, according to a 2019 technology trade report from the Computing Technology Industry Association. The report said growth slowed “slightly” compared to the 2017 rate of 4.5 percent. Since 2010, the report said, exports in the information technology sector experienced a 23 percent “aggregate growth” and added about “$65 billion in new earnings.”

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a speech on the Senate floor May 21, said he hopes that the administration does not repeat with Huawei what it did with ZTE, "where we stood tough at the beginning, it had an effect, and then we backed off."

That the U.S. made “unreasonable demands” on China “through maximum pressure” is the “underlying reason” why 11 rounds of negotiations “failed to yield an agreement,” a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said May 20. “This wouldn't work from the very beginning.” When U.S. threats didn't work and “instead led to widespread doubts at home and abroad as well as market fluctuations, the U.S. “resorted to muddying the waters and shifting the blame,” he said. “The international community bears witness to the sincere and constructive attitude China has shown in the past 11 rounds of negotiations.” There’s “hope for success only when the consultations proceed on the right track of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” he said. The Office of U.S. Trade Representative didn’t comment.

Global economic growth slowed “sharply” in 2018 due to escalating trade conflicts and could continue to slow from the U.S.’s trade war with China, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a May 21 report. While global growth has stabilized at a “moderate level” in 2019, the report expects the global economy to grow at a “fragile” rate in the next two years, but could be derailed by “trade tensions, high policy uncertainty, risks in financial markets and a slowdown in China.” Trade tensions could slow global growth to 3.2 percent in 2019 and 3.4 percent in 2020, OECD said, and world trade will grow by just more than 2 percent in 2019, which would be the lowest rate in a decade. The estimates are conditional on “no escalation of trade tensions,” OECD added, which could reduce global gross domestic output by more than 0.6 percent over the next three years.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service recently clarified procedures for exporters to obtain radiation letters, according to the North American Meat Institute. In communications with Meat Institute staff, FAS said requests for radiation letters should include the U.S. company name, address, phone number and point of contact name. “Requests also should stipulate the agricultural commodity being exported, the export destination and the number of radiation letters needed -- the limit is 50,” the trade group said. Exporters are required to submit requests on company letterhead to the FAS Processed Products and Technical Regulations division, which will then issue the radiation letters via UPS for agricultural food and feed products only, the North American Meat Institute said. Companies are required to send a UPS label along with their requests, it said.

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said Congress will soon pass a bill placing sanctions on Nord Stream 2, the Russian gas pipeline to Germany, Reuters reported May 21. The bill would likely place significant restrictions on companies involved in the project. Perry said the bill will appear in the “not too distant future,” according to Reuters. “The United States Senate is going to pass a bill, the House is going to approve it, and it’s going to go to the President and he’s going to sign it, that is going to put sanctions on Nord Stream 2.”