More than 25 industry associations are asking the Commerce Department to allow more time for public comments on Commerce’s next advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies, which is expected in the coming weeks. The associations asked for a 90-day comment and review period in a June 27 letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
A new round of tariff cuts under the World Trade Organization’s expanded Information Technology Agreement take effect July 1, again lowering duties on information technology goods in some 50 countries around the world. For some countries, including the U.S., this third round marks the last set of tariff cuts under the expanded agreement, with all tariffs for covered goods now being set to zero. Other countries, particularly in the developing world, were given longer implementation periods, and tariff cuts stretch out until 2024.
A Commerce Department official allayed concerns from the U.S. industry that new export controls on emerging technologies will be overbroad, saying it will only look to control a "slice" of categories of technologies, not whole classifications.
President Donald Trump said he won't lift current U.S. tariffs, but also won't add tariffs on any more Chinese imports "for at least the time being." He said during a press conference at the G20 Summit in Japan that negotiations will resume "where we left off to see if we can make a deal."
Mark Morgan, acting director of ICE since May, will become the acting commissioner at CBP, Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in a June 27 news release. Morgan's formal position will be CBP "Chief Operating Officer and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner," Homeland Security said. Acting CBP Commissioner John Sanders, who was also COO of the agency, recently resigned from his post, effective July 5 (see 1906250028). ICE Deputy Director Matthew Albence will take over as acting director, McAleenan said.
Even as mercantilistic policies spread, José Raúl Perales said there's good news in global trade -- developing countries' commitment to trade facilitation. Perales was speaking on a panel at the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference in Washington June 27.
In the June 27 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Russia renewed a ban on food imports from the U.S., European Union member states and others until Dec. 31, 2020, according to an unofficial translation of a June 24 Russian government notice and a post on the EU Sanctions blog. The ban was originally scheduled to last through Dec. 31, 2019, and also bans food imports from Canada, Australia, Norway, Iceland, Albania, Montenegro, Liechtenstein and Ukraine.
Laos recently set new certificate requirements for non-resident importers and exporters that were set to take effect June 27, according to an alert from the law firm Tilleke & Gibbons. Under the new regulation, importers and exporters in Laos that have no registered business in the country will require a Trading Rights Certificate from the Department of Import and Export in order to sell and purchase goods. The goods can’t be sold directly to consumers in Laos, and must be sold through authorized distributors. To be eligible for a certificate, the importer or exporter must operate in accordance with the laws of their country of origin, have not committed an offense or be involved in criminal proceedings related to trade or financial matters, and must come from a World Trade Organization member country.
A bipartisan effort to reduce fentanyl trafficking passed the Senate June 27 on the must-pass defense authorization bill. The amendment would dedicate some money for investigations into which Chinese companies are supplying fentanyl to the U.S. black market. It also requires sanctions on drug manufacturers in China that knowingly provide synthetic opioids to dealers, and would sanction financial institutions that assist those manufacturers or international drug cartels. However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's staff could not say by press time how much money would be appropriated.