Norton Rose rehired Stefan Reisinger, who was in the international trade practice at Morgan Lewis and at Norton Rose before that, the law firm said in a June 18 news release.

Uganda introduced several tax-related measures in its 2019 budget proposal, including regulations that would expand the list of goods that are exempt from value-added taxes, according to a June 17 report from KPMG. The measures would allow VAT exemptions for “aircraft insurance services, rice mills and agricultural sprayers, supplies of drugs and medicines, imported mathematical sets and certain other items used in education, woodworking machines, welding machines, sewing machines, certain feasibility studies, and earth-moving equipment,” KPMG said. The measures would also reduce the “withholding rate” of VATs to 6 percent, KPMG said. The changes are expected to take effect July 1.

Kenya is considering several tax- and trade-related measures that would impact imports and certain aspects of the country’s value-added tax regulations, according to a June 17 report from KPMG. The measures, included in Kenya’s 2019 budget proposal, would expand the definition of “supply of imported services” to apply to people who are not registered for VAT, the report said, and would expand the scope of VATs to include goods “made through the digital marketplace.” The measures would also change the “timing of the supply of imported goods” to include “the time the goods are removed from a special economic zone,” KPMG said. In addition, the measures would reduce the rate of the VAT withholding from 6 percent to 2 percent and increase the excise tax rate on alcohol and tobacco products. Lastly, the measures would allow tax exemptions for equipment used for the development of “solar and wind energy” and allow VAT exemptions for motherboards and “related components” made in Kenya and “services and machinery related to plastic recycling.”

In the June 18 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Brazil published measures June 5 on enforcement of sanctions against people “investigated or accused of terrorism, its financing or related acts,” according to a post from law firm TozziniFreire. The decree includes “sanctions imposed” by United Nations Security Council resolutions, other countries and Brazilian authorities, TozziniFreire said. Sanctions may include import or export restrictions, assets freezes, the post said, and travel restrictions to Brazil. Brazil plans to publish a list of people and entities subject to the sanctions, which are part of a “movement to expand and consolidate the application of sanctions in Brazil” and to demonstrate “the importance of implementing solid trade compliance controls,” according to the post.

Natural Resources Canada recently finalized two amendments to its energy efficiency regulations. In Amendment 15, NRC will bring up to date four existing residential heating categories and add three new categories, as well as five new commercial heating categories. New categories include gas boilers, electric furnaces and water heaters. Amendment 16 applies to nine existing or new product categories. The new residential product categories are portable air conditioners and miscellaneous refrigeration products. Commercial/industrial clean water pumps was the only new category of commercial or industry products. According to NRC's forward regulatory plan, the agency is considering future amendments to the regulations and listed the new and existing product categories being considered for inclusion. "Stakeholders will be formally notified which of these products will be included in Amendment 17 before consultations begin," it said. "Additional products may be added in discussion with stakeholders, provinces and territories."

Singapore issued a “best practices” list to ensure companies are not being “exploited for illicit activities,” specifically related to smuggling exports of liquor and tobacco products, Singapore Customs said in a June 17 notice. Singapore issued the notice after noticing “irregularities” certain exports where goods were declared “to be destined for one country but were subsequently found to be meant for shipment to another country,” the notice said. In other cases, “liquor and tobacco products were described as some other items in the bill of lading,” Singapore said, leaving the country to believe the goods were “meant for smuggling into another country.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service finalized a rule updating the qualifications for participating in the Export Credit Guarantee Program, the agency said in a notice. Previous regulations required certifications for program participant "affiliates," FAS said. The agency is now eliminating that requirement in order to better align with other USDA requirements, it said. Also, "the 'affiliate' certification is burdensome on U.S. exporters, sellers, and U.S. and foreign financial institution participants that are large, and often diverse, organizations with many affiliates," it said. "This change will therefore reduce the burden on program applicants and participants." The change is effective June 18.

Most of the questions to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about the Section 301 tariff actions focused on the pain to U.S. consumers and the difficulties faced by importers of products that are subject to 25 percent tariffs. But Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told the nation's top trade negotiator that even a local meat locker has been hurt by the trade war. Thune, who was questioning Lighthizer during his appearance June 18 in front of the Senate Finance Committee, said the meat locker employee told him that before the trade war began, someone would buy cow hides for $150 each. China imports a lot of animal skins to support its furniture and shoemaking industries. "Now I have to pay 600 a head to haul it away," Thune said the man told him, which is a cost of $40,000 a year. For a business that size, that could be the entire profit margin, Thune said.

Trade negotiations will resume with China ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, Trump tweeted June 18. He said he and Xi "will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan." The White House said the two leaders talked on that morning about "structural barriers to trade with China and achieving meaningful reforms that are enforceable and verifiable."