Though allegations that China’s “retreat” from previous commitments in the trade talks with the U.S. were the Trump administration’s grounds for hiking the List 3 Section 301 tariffs to 25 percent and proposing a fourth tranche of duties on remaining Chinese imports not previously dutied, it was the U.S. side that actually reneged, suggested a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson May 16. “It takes sincerity to make a consultation meaningful,” the spokesperson said during a press conference. “Judging from what the U.S. did in previous talks, there are two things we have to make clear,” he said. “First, we need to follow the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Second, words must be matched with deeds. Flip-flopping is the last thing we need.” During the various rounds of trade negotiations, the U.S. “repeatedly rejected rules in consultations and brought difficulties to the talks, while China, on the other hand, has been acting in a constructive spirit all along,” he said. “The international community bears witness to all this.” The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t comment.
The United Nations Security Council sanctioned one entity and removed five other entities from its sanctions lists, the U.N. said May 14. The U.N. added the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant -- Khorasan” to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions list while removing Nessim ben Mohamed al-Cherif ben Mohamed Saleh al-Saadi from the same list, according to press releases. The U.N. also removed sanctions on four separate entities: the Directorate General of Baghdad Electricity Distribution and the Iraq-based Idrisi Centre for Engineering Consultancy (ICEC), National Centre for Engineering and Architectural Consultancy and State Enterprise for Fertilizer Industries.
After the Trump administration issued an executive order and announced export controls that targeted Chinese technology firm Huawei, China hinted at retaliation, saying it will take “necessary measures to safeguard” its companies. During May 16 press conferences, China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the U.S.’s decision to add Huawei Technologies to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and criticized the executive order President Donald Trump signed on May 15.
President Donald Trump said May 17 said the U.S. has also reached an agreement with Mexico to drop U.S. Section 232 tariffs. The Mexican government issued a statement that said it would be lifting all its retaliatory tariffs in response. Mexico had targeted U.S. pork, dairy and metals. Mexican President Andres Lopez Obrador noted in the statement that this agreement will allow the countries to move forward with ratifying the new NAFTA, which is known in that country as the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada, or T-MEC, for the Spanish acronym. The Mexican statement did not say how quickly the tariffs and retaliatory tariffs would be lifted. A joint statement from Canada and the U.S. said tariffs would end under a similar agreement within 48 hours.
The 25 percent Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and the 10 percent tariffs on aluminum will be removed within 48 hours, Canada and the U.S. said May 17. When the metals tariffs are removed, Canada will also roll back its retaliatory tariffs, which hit American metals and agriculture, as well as some prepared food. The joint statement said stricter customs enforcement to prevent transshipment will be coordinated between Canada and the U.S.
The Commerce Department on May 16 added Huawei Technologies to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List, eliciting strong reaction from Huawei and China over the move that may have substantial effects on U.S. exporters. In a notice in the Federal Register, BIS said it is imposing license requirements on Huawei and its 68 non-U.S. affiliates for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations with a license review policy of presumption of denial. The Federal Register notice is scheduled for May 21 publication, but the changes take effect May 16. All shipments aboard carriers as of May 16 may proceed to their destinations under previous license conditions.
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
In the May 15 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union is ending its antidumping duties imposed on imports of bioethanol from the U.S., it said in a notice. Ending the AD duty order likely wouldn’t cause a recurrence of dumping by U.S. exporters, the EU said. The repeal takes effect May 16. The duties had originally been imposed in 2013 at a rate of €62.30 ($69.80) per metric ton.
The "annual interest rate for the third quarter of 2019 (July 1st 2019 to 30 September 2019) will be 1.6661," the Canada Border Services Agency said in a May 15 email. That rate affects "all importers and brokers who submit their B3s and AO notification of release queries using the CCS/CADEX system," the agency said.