Canada is implementing new import restrictions on certain commodities used in animal feed, including unprocessed and raw grains and oilseeds and associated meals, when imported from a list of countries that have had cases of African Swine Fever in the past five years. According to a Canadian Food Inspection Agency notice posted by the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, the restrictions apply to all goods of Chapter 11 of the Canadian tariff schedule, and some goods of Chapters 10, 12 and 23, imported through the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec and Halifax. Such imports, when imported from any of the 43 countries named as having a recent case of ASF, must be accompanied by an import permit from CFIA and a producer questionnaire. The U.S. is not one of the countries on the list.

India again delayed retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the U.S., pushing the new start to May 2, according to a notice from India’s Ministry of Finance. The tariffs, first announced in May 2018 and most recently delayed until April 1, 2019, will target agricultural products, motorcycles, steel products, and phosphoric and boric acid, and are aimed at offsetting the $241 million in duties India expects its U.S. customers to pay on its steel and aluminum exports. The tariffs have been delayed multiple times after they were originally expected to take effect in June 2018. Many of the items already face high tariffs -- walnuts are taxed at 100 percent, fresh apples at 50 percent, chickpeas at 60 percent, motorcycles at 100 percent -- but the actions would add 10 percent more to many ag products, 20 percent more to walnuts and almonds, and 50 percent more to motorcycles.

China will continue to suspend tariffs on U.S.-made cars and auto parts past April 1, according to a notice from China’s State Council and a report from Reuters. In December, China originally announced it was suspending additional 25 percent tariffs on U.S. vehicles and parts as a show of good faith as the two countries negotiated a trade deal. The tariff suspension was scheduled to end April 1, but China announced on March 31 that the country would be upholding the suspension to “create a good atmosphere for the ongoing trade negotiations between both sides,” according to Reuters. China’s State Council said it will announce at a later date when the extension will expire.

Because the Trump administration has cheered on Brexit, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., thinks Congress should not consent to starting negotiations with the United Kingdom on a free trade agreement. Murphy, who spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York April 1, said the U.S. should reach a free trade agreement with the European Union first. Though, in a quick acknowledgement of the difficulty the two sides had during Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks, Murphy added "or at least give that FTA a serious try."

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer touched on India’s potential retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. and criticized the country’s “significant tariff and nontariff barriers” in the 2019 National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers. The 540-page report, released March 29, said India’s tariff barriers “impede imports of U.S. products into India” and was critical of India’s “complex” customs system and failure to “observe transparency requirements.”

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security would like to increase its funding by about $4 million for export administration (EA), the agency said in its Fiscal Year 2020 budget justification. That new money would be split between "Identifying and Reviewing Emerging Technologies" and "Addressing Increased Foreign Investment Reviews," it said. BIS is asking for funding for 21 new personnel, the agency said.

In the March 29 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue & Customs issued a guidance document March 29 detailing value-added tax procedures for imports from Ireland should the U.K. leave the EU with no deal on April 12, as scheduled. Once the U.K. leaves the EU, import VAT will be due on goods moving from Ireland to Northern Ireland, whether those goods are ending their journey in Northern Ireland or are only moving through on the way to Great Britain, HMRC said.

The European Union published a new edition of its Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature tariff schedule in the March 29 Official Journal. “The Explanatory Notes to the CN are considered to be an important aid for interpreting the scope of the various tariff headings but do not have legally binding force,” the EU Commission said in an emailed press release. “The latest version is now available from EU Official Journal C 119 of 29 March 2019. It includes and, where appropriate, replaces those published in the EU Official Journal, C series, up to 4 January 2019.”

The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of March 29 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):