The Permanent Technical Committee of the World Customs Organization unanimously re-elected Ian Saunders, assistant commissioner of International Affairs at CBP, as chairperson of the PTC, the WCO said in a news release. Gordana Vidanovic of Serbia was re-elected as vice-chairperson.

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

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

The European Chemicals Agency reminded companies that they still “need to prepare for a UK withdrawal without a transition period, that is, one without an agreement ratified by both sides ensuring that the withdrawal happens in an orderly manner,” in a press release dated March 18. ECHA has published instructions for what actions companies need to take, such as transferring their REACH registrations from a U.K.-based registrant to a registrant based in an EU member state. “The Agency would like to emphasise that while UK companies can initiate a REACH asset transfer in ECHA’s IT tools at any time before the date of withdrawal, the successor company in the EU-27 should only accept the transfer after the actual date of the withdrawal,” it said.

The European Union and China need to “develop a more balanced and reciprocal economic relationship” in light of China’s “proactive and state-driven industrial and economic policies,” the European Commission said in a report on the EU-China strategic outlook, dated March 12. Echoing recent U.S. criticism of China, the report calls out China’s favoring of its own domestic champions, including when enforcing intellectual property rights and other domestic laws, as well as investment restrictions and forced technology transfer. A more balanced relationship “can be achieved through various means: by working together with China in international fora to upgrade the rules and by making decisive progress in bilateral negotiations, but also by making use of tools such as the recently modernised and strengthened trade defence instruments,” the report said.

Counterfeit goods made up as much as 6.8 percent of total imports into the European Union in 2016, up from 5 percent just three years earlier, mirroring a worldwide increase in trade in counterfeits, the European Union Intellectual Property Office said in a new report. China remained the world’s top shipper of counterfeits, though Hong Kong plays an increasing role as a transit point, and “India, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates remain among the top provenance economies,” the report said.

The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for March 18 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

There are two situations that require payment for "B2 payment," the Canada Border Services Agency said in an emailed reminder. When a Detailed Adjustment Statement is issued, "Importers/Brokers can make a payment at the Port, or they can make a payment online," CBSA said. "If the payment is made online, the importer/broker must send an email" to CBSA-ASFC_CARM.GCRA@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca and "provide the BN15, B2 number(s), the amount owing on the B2, and the payment amount and payment date is needed." When no DAS is issued yet, "Importers/Brokers must make their payment at the Port. The Cashiers will code the payment in ARL to identify it as a pre-paid B2," it said. "When the B2 posts to the account the payment will automatically match to it."

Sri Lanka looks set to create an authorized economic operator (AEO) program to provide expedited customs clearance for low-risk importers. The country’s 2019 budget proposal, presented in the Sri Lankan parliament March 5, includes provisions on the new AEO program, as well as on changes to Sri Lanka’s “port and airport development levy,” KPMG said in a client alert. Among those changes are new exemptions from the levy for alfalfa meal and pellets for the livestock industry and goods imported for construction of large projects, as well as a reduction in the levy for certain high-tech plant, machinery and equipment, the firm said.

Japan’s upcoming imperial succession will bring customs clearance to a halt, and the arrival of any cargo during the period should be avoided, according to a client alert from the Arpin International Group. The “Golden Week” will be held April 29-May 6, marking the abdication of Japanese Emperor Akihito and the accession to the throne of Crown Prince Naruhito. “Most public authorities, customs offices, harbor companies, and many general companies will be closed during this time,” Arpin said.