Nigeria recently issued guidance for exporters shipping to countries within the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Jan. 28. It details various export requirements, including those regarding permits, licenses, certificates and other documents necessary within the AfCFTA, whose members began trading Jan. 1. Exporters and agents need to apply to the Nigeria Customs Service for an AfCFTA certificate of origin once the required fees are paid. Along with a bill of entry and a certificate of origin for shipments, exporters also are required to include a bill of lading, a certificate of analysis, a packing list and a commercial invoice, the HKTDC said.

Germany’s economics and export control authority will stop issuing paper permits and notifications for most documents beginning March 1, a Jan. 29 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The agency said it will issue electronic permits and notices for all trade-related documents except for certain temporary export and repeated export permits, transit permits, reexport approvals and rejections, and notices of opposition, which will continue to be issued in paper form. The agency will also issue a second copy on paper for permits if a foreign customs office will not accept an electronic version.

The European Commission sent its 2020 report on export controls of dual-use items to the European Parliament and Council on Feb. 2, detailing the changes made to the export control regime, export control contingency plans for Brexit, activities of the Dual-Use Coordination Group and EU export controls data. The report covers implementation of the regulation during 2019. Of note, the report laid out the changes to the 2019 EU control list, including new controls on dual-use items such as discrete microwave transistors, signal generators with specified “Radio Frequency modulation bandwidths,” and software designed to restore operation of microcomputers after Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or Electrostatic Discharge Disruption (ESD); for masks and reticles designed for optical sensors; and air-launch platforms for space launch vehicles.

The European Union and Japan expanded the number of geographical indications protected under their free trade deal and loosened restrictions on trade in cars and wine, the EU said Feb. 1. The changes, announced on the agreement's second anniversary, will protect 28 additional geographical indications for each country. The two sides also agreed to extend the list of car safety requirements that don’t require “double approvals,” making vehicle trade easier. Japan also further aligned its wine standards to those of the EU, which will allow more EU wine to access the Japanese market. In another change, the two sides said they simplified procedures for obtaining tariff preferences, making it easier for EU companies -- particularly small businesses -- to export to Japan.

The European Commission in January approved imports of five types of genetically engineered crops and renewed the authorization for three corn crops used for food and animal feed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service reported Jan. 28. The approvals were off the usual EC schedule and were the ones that remained to be taken up at the end of 2020. The GE crops cover three corn types and two soybeans, USDA said, adding that the imports will be subject to the European Union’s strict labeling and traceability rules. The approvals and renewals are in effect for 10 years.

The importance and size of the Mexico-U.S. trading relationship does not receive enough recognition in the U.S., Mexico's outgoing ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, said Feb. 5 during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mexico is the U.S.'s no. 1 trading partner, she said, and the economies are inexorably linked, with the automobile supply chain as just one example of it. One piece of a car will cross the border an average of seven times before final assembly, she said.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Feb. 5 (some may also be given separate headlines):

Vietnam is readying for a boost to its coffee exports due to global shortages in coffee stocks and the recently implemented European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (see 2003310027), the Vietnam Customs Department's CustomsNews reported Feb. 1. Noting global coffee stocks in port warehouses have fallen to “their lowest level in many years,” the report said exporters should benefit from the EUVFTA's removal of all taxes on processed coffee (down from 9% tariffs) as well as unroasted and roasted coffee products (down from 7%). The report said Germany is the largest importer of Vietnamese coffee.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021 to establish normal trade relations. “Our nation’s embargo on Cuba is an artifact from the 1960s. To continue this outdated, harmful policy of isolation would be a failure of American leadership,” he said in a Feb. 5 press release. The U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021 would repeal the Helms-Burton Act and the Cuban Democracy Act, and other provisions that affect trade, investment and travel with Cuba. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., are cosponsors of the bill. Members of Congress have been introducing bills to lift the embargo for more than 10 years.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, put a hold on the commerce secretary nominee over the future of restrictions on Huawei. Gina Raimondo, in written responses to Senate Finance Committee members' questions, said, “I currently have no reason to believe that entities on those lists [the Entity List and the Military End User List] should not be there. If confirmed, I look forward to a briefing on these entities and others of concern.” That was not definitive enough for Cruz, who tweeted Feb. 4 he would lift the hold when the Biden administration “commits” to keeping Huawei on the Entity List. Cruz does not have the power to prevent the Senate from bringing the nomination for a vote, but he could filibuster if there are not at least 60 votes to cut off debate. Most Finance Committee Republicans voted to advance her nomination, so it's quite possible a filibuster could be avoided. Raimondo's nomination is not expected to advance before or during the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.