Steve Francis is the new assistant director of the interagency Global Trade Investigations Division (GTID) and director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, ICE Homeland Security Investigations said in a news release. The Counter-Proliferation Investigations (CPI) Unit and the Export Enforcement Coordination Center (E2C2) are both now part of GTID, a "newly-formed division that was created as part of a headquarters reorganization," ICE said. “With this realignment, the IPR Center is better positioned to maximize the effectiveness of its 25-agency partnerships in the fight against intellectual property theft and trade law violations,” Francis said. “We value these partnerships and the collaboration that further strengthens them.” Francis previously served as the special agent in charge of HSI operations in Michigan and Ohio and was involved in creating the Global Trade Task Force, another interagency effort (see 1903200033).

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

In the June 7 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

German Customs seized half a ton of firearms accessories shipped from the U.S. to Austria after authorities discovered some of the items in the shipment were banned under German law, according to a June 7 report from the Deutsche Welle website. The shipment, which was seized in late May and which was also missing certain permits, was meant for an arms dealer in Austria, the report said. The shipment included a range of items banned under German law, including “laser systems and tactical lights,” which the report said are banned because they are used to improve a weapon’s aim. Other items in the shipment included “rangefinders, telescopes” and other “minor components,” the report said. While only some of the products are banned in Germany, customs seized the entire shipment because it was “not accompanied by correct documentation,” the report said.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and China signed a customs agreement to exchange information about goods and “transport vehicles,” according to a June 6 report from Tass, a Russian state-run news site. The agreement will speed up customs operations, improve efficiency “in the field of risk management,” improve customs control forms and mitigate risks “of transporting potentially dangerous, banned and restricted goods” between the EAEU and China, the report said. Along with China, the agreement was signed by the chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, and officials representing Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, according to the report.

Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows:

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of June 7 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Canada's legislature recently approved legislation to implement an updated Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, Global Affairs Canada said in a May 27 news release. Jim Carr, minister of International Trade Diversification, was pleased with the royal assent of the legislation. “The modernized Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement represents another milestone in the great friendship between our two countries and promises even deeper relations in the years to come," he said. "Our new agreement improves access to the Israeli market for Canadian companies, creating the right conditions for small and medium-sized businesses to compete and succeed, and to create jobs for the middle class here in Canada.” Livingston International said in a blog post that "with both Canada and Israel having now completed their domestic ratification processes, the two countries will proceed to establish a date for the entry into force of the modernized agreement."

The rise of export-credit agencies around the world is threatening U.S. exporters and pushing them out of certain marketplaces, Paul Shmotolokha, the nominee for vice president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, said in his pitch to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on June 5.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture' Foreign Agricultural Service on June 6 issued a guidance for the exclusion process for Chinese tariffs on U.S. exports, including an unofficial translation on the Chinese Ministry of Finance's exclusion application instructions. Among a list of directives, the guidance encourages industry associations to apply for exclusion on their members’ behalf. While USDA said China’s window for accepting applications for its published list of products will end July 5, it said China is planning to publish an additional list of goods eligible for tariff exclusions with an application window from Sept. 2 through Oct. 18.