Rhenus Logistics of Germany acquired Freight Logistics, which is based in Miami, Florida, Rhenus said in a news release. “The acquisition of Freight Logistics is an important step for us in expanding our business activities in the Americas region and follows our latest acquisition of Rodair in Canada in the beginning of 2019," said Jorn Schmersahl, CEO of Rhenus Air & Ocean Americas. "These steps enable us to consolidate our network there and to serve both North America and the Latin American region from Miami as our new gateway. This will help us live up to our goal of being globally oriented and we can establish more links between the continents.” Financial terms of the deal weren't released. Freight Logistics "specializes in supply-chain solutions, international transportation (air & ocean), customs brokerage, compliance, warehousing and distribution," Rhenus said.

FTI Consulting will now offer services related to export controls and sanctions compliance, the company said in an April 16 news release. "The Export Controls and Sanctions offering at FTI Consulting includes compliance program assessment and design, implementation and remediation; investigations and disclosures; independent monitoring or related support services; supply chain and third-party risk management; trade control audits and reviews; license application preparation and license management support; de minimis calculation analysis; deemed export control reviews; wind-down support for sanctioned country operations; and compliance crisis management," the company said. FTI hired Matthew Bell, who previously worked as chief export compliance officer at ZTE, as senior managing director to lead the new effort. “The complexities and changing nature of export control and sanction regulations require companies to undertake vigilance, ongoing training and continuous process improvement, particularly as governments have signaled additional enforcement and trade disputes have increased,” said Paul Ficca, global leader of the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment at FTI Consulting.

In the April 17 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that beginning May 2, those who had property seized by the Cuban government after the Communist revolution can sue foreign companies "trafficking in property that was confiscated by the Cuban regime. Any person or company doing business in Cuba should heed this announcement," he said April 17. The right to sue foreign companies had been suspended for more than 20 years, and European diplomats warned Pompeo ahead of the announcement "the extraterritorial application of unilateral restrictive measures, such as the LIBERTAD Act, is contrary to international law." Trade Minister Cecilia Malmstrom said that if he went through with the plan to allow these lawsuits, the EU may launch a World Trade Organization case, and would allow EU companies to file counterclaims in EU courts against Americans bringing suit.

The executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-UK Business Council, said that even a customs union would be more complicated for U.S. exporters than the status quo. Marjorie Chorlins was speaking with reporters on a conference call April 17. "The amendment proposing a customs union came very close to passing," she said, in response to a question from Export Compliance Daily. But exactly what would be included in the customs union could vary -- it does in Norway and Turkey, she said.

The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of April 17 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

The Canadian government should increase its role in getting China to resume imports of canola, the Canola Council of Canada said in an April 17 news release. "As days have turned into weeks and a Canadian delegation has not yet been accepted by China, the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) is calling on the Government of Canada to consider all available options to resume seed trade," the group said. "While technical discussions are still required, continued delay shows that more options need to be considered."

Leaders from South Korea and Saudi Arabia discussed “economic cooperation” and signed an agreement that will increase exports of “testing materials,” according to a press release from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on “technical cooperation in the field of energy efficiency,” which will lead to “exporting testing materials and consulting on energy efficiency,” the release said. The countries also agreed to “strengthen support in automobiles … [information and communications technology (ICT)], smart city, and airport construction,” and supported the possibility of more agreements in the future. The meeting was the second in a series for the Korea-Saudi Vision 2030 Committee, an effort by the two countries to strengthen bilateral ties.

The Philippines recently lifted certain restrictions on rice imports and replaced them with tariffs, revoking specific requirements that forced traders to apply for licenses from the National Food Authority (NFA) and allowing the country’s president to change duty rates, according to an April 11 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Indonesia revoked a regulation that would have imposed value-added taxes on luxury goods bought and sold through e-commerce, according to an April 15 notice from KPMG. The regulation was initially scheduled to take effect April 1, but Indonesia reversed the change in late March, KPMG said. Because the VAT change was withdrawn, KPMG said, the “existing income tax regulations” will continue to apply for all e-commerce transactions.