The Bureau of Industry Security seeks comments on the burden on importers from its information collections related to license exceptions and exclusions for products subject to Export Administration Regulation export controls, it said. The agency is set to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget for these information collection requirements, which may include reporting or record-keeping requirements. Comments on the requirements and BIS's estimate of their burden on importers are due May 6.

Companies not established in the United Kingdom will not be able to use most simplified procedures and customs facilitations in the U.K. should the country leave the European Union with no trade deal in place, the U.K.’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said In a guidance document issued March 6. That means that, to keep using the procedures, companies must either be a sole trader resident in the U.K.; have a registered office in the U.K.; or have a permanent place of business in the U.K. to carry out business activities, HMRC said.

The U.S. plans to increase sanctions on Iran by targeting certain foreign entities doing business with the country, potentially creating more compliance issues for American companies, according to Steven Brotherton, principal at KPMG. Speaking at a KPMG export controls information event, Brotherton said he was told in a recent meeting with an official from the Department of State’s Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions sector that the U.S. administration will be doing “a number of things to really ratchet up the sanctions on Iran.”

A recent fine on a U.S. company while simultaneously penalizing the manager of the company's foreign subsidiary after both violated sanctions on Iran seems reflective of the increasingly aggressive nature and number of U.S. enforcement actions taken on sanctions violations during the last few months, according to several Washington trade lawyers. The fine was called “unprecedented” in early February by the Department of the Treasury. After distributing just one penalty through the first eight months of 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control doled out six penalties during the last four months of 2018, according to the office's records. And two months through 2019, OFAC already has administered four penalties worth more than $7 million, according to the agency, including a $5.5 million penalty against the German subsidiary of an Illinois-based company on Feb. 14.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is issuing an interim final rule amending requirements for shipping lithium ion cells and batteries on passenger and cargo aircraft. The interim final rule “prohibits the transport of lithium ion cells and batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft; requires lithium ion cells and batteries to be shipped at not more than a 30 percent state of charge aboard cargo-only aircraft when not packed with or contained in equipment; and limits the use of alternative provisions for small lithium cell or battery shipments to one package per consignment,” PHMSA said. A limited exception is included for replacement batteries for medical devices on passenger aircraft. The interim final rule is intended to align the U.S. Hazardous Materials regulations with the 2015-16 edition of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. The new regulations take effect March 6, and comments on the interim final rule may be submitted until May 6.

South Africa recently raised its tariff on beet and cane sugar to 4.0179 ZAR ($0.28) per kilogram, according to a notice in its Government Gazette. The tariff increase applies to subheadings 1701.12, 1701.13, 1701.14, 1701.91 and 1701.99.The tariff had been 3.6957 ZAR ($0.26) per kilogram since December. "The SARS uses a variable tariff formula in order to adjust the import duty to a dollar-based reference price (DBRP)," Global Trade Alert said in a note on the tariff increase. "The DBRP represents the lowest duty-free price an importer pays in order to import goods to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). In case the price dips below the DBRP, a duty is levied."

In the March 5 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Chile has increased tariff discounts applicable to imports of wheat, flour and meslin, according to a notice issued by the Chilean Ministry of Finance. Discounts for imports of wheat under subheadings 1001.91.00 and 1001.99.11-1001.99.99 are now set at $117.45 per ton, and discounts for imports of flour under subheading 1101.00.00 are now $183.22 per ton. They had previously been set at $91.69 and $143.04 per ton, respectively, according to Global Trade Alert. The increase took effect Feb. 16, and will remain in effect for two months.

Brazil has notified the World Trade Organization that it intends to put in place $180 million in tariffs on certain goods from the European Union in retaliation for the EU’s steel safeguards. The tariff would apply to certain goods of heading 0402 at 15%, of 0703 at 19%, of 2402 at 11%, of 4202 at 19% or 11%, of 4203 at 11%, of 6403 at 19%, of 8113 at 10%, of 8703 at 19%, of 9004 at 11%, of 9403 at 10%, of 9503 at 19%, of 9504 at 11%, of 9506 at 11%, and of 9614 at 10%. Affected goods include milk, cigars and cigarettes, jewelry, certain motor vehicles, playing cards, sports equipment, garlic, purses, apparel, footwear, sunglasses, wooden furniture and toys. Not all goods within those subheadings would be affected. The amount of the tariffs is equal to the harm Brazil says will result from an EU tariff rate quota on Brazilian steel with an out-of-quota rate of 25%. Brazil may impose the tariffs beginning 30 days after notification, which was dated Feb. 18.

Argentina Customs recently increased reference prices used to set minimum per unit valuation for imports of motorcycle helmets under subheading 6506.10.00 from a handful of countries in Asia, and added a new reference price for bicycle helmets from those countries, according to a notice in its Boletin Oficial. Reference prices for motorcycle helmets were increased to $16-$100, depending on materials used in the helmet, up from $13-$14, according to a note from Global Trade Alert. Reference prices for bicycle helmets were set at $2.82 to $4.50. The reference prices apply to merchandise from North Korean and South Korea, China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the notice.