Although members of Congress have complained that Canada's tariff rate quota changes do not comply with USMCA commitments (see 2008280003), a Nov. 20 Congressional Research Service update on USMCA's agricultural provisions says that dairy exports to Canada in the third quarter of 2020 were 10% higher than in the third quarter of 2019 and 9% above the same period in 2018. It also noted that after four years of decline of U.S. exports of poultry and eggs to Canada, poultry meat exports grew 8% in the third quarter this year compared with the same quarter in 2019, but were only 3% higher than in the third quarter of 2018. Egg exports were flat.
Canada stopped issuing new permits for exports and brokering of controlled goods and technology to Belarus due to concerns about the country’s fraudulent presidential election and reports of human rights violations under the new regime, Canada said in a Nov. 9 notice. Canada issued sanctions on Belarusian officials Sept. 29 (see 2009300011). Canadian exporters that were issued permits before Nov. 9 may continue to export during their “period of validity,” the notice said. The country said it will “continue to monitor the evolving situation and may reassess” the decision.
Argentina announced a tariff-rate quota for six months for up to 1,000 units of certain “electric, hybrid and hydrogen motor vehicles,” the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Nov. 24. All in-quota imports will benefit from either duty-free treatment or reduced duties of 2% or 5%, “depending on the product,” HKTDC said.
China's President Xi Jinping on Nov. 25 congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his election, the Chinese Embassy in Washington reported. Promoting “healthy and stable development” of China-U.S. relations “serves the fundamental interests of the people in both countries” and “meets the common expectation of the international community,” Xi's message to Biden said, the embassy said. “Xi said he hopes that the two sides will uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.” The Biden transition team didn’t comment.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service issued a guidance Nov. 20 on exporting “small-sized” individual product samples to “interested buyers in Japan.” The guidance is intended for companies that depend on trade shows and travel to showcase their products in Japan but have been unable to do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides information on duty-free shipments and import notification exemptions for U.S. exporters.
The Congressional Research Service issued a Nov. 20 update on U.S. restrictions against Cuba, including the recent remittance restrictions announced by the Treasury Department. The report outlines the new restrictions, including the State Department’s new Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (see 2009230029) regulations that aim to restrict the Cuban government’s access to remittance-related funds (see 2010230024 and 2010260018) that become effective Nov. 26.
Former U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that although President-elect Joe Biden has signaled that trade is not a priority for him, he is unlikely to be able to put it on the back burner completely until the COVID-19 crisis and economic recession are resolved. “Trade is going to come to them even if they don’t necessarily want to go to trade,” she said during a Peterson Institute for International Economics Trade Talks interview Nov. 24. When Biden is at a G-7 or G-20 meeting, and other heads of state bring up trade, “What are you going to do? Say, 'I'm not going to do trade for the next two or three years'? So, you can’t underestimate what happens when [India's] Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi wants to talk to you about trade. Or [China's President] Xi Jinping wants to talk to you about trade. Or [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel wants to talk to you about trade.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration permanently placed the synthetic opioids cyclopentyl fentanyl, isobutyryl fentanyl, para-chloroisobutyryl fentanyl, para-methoxybutyryl fentanyl and valeryl fentanyl into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, in a final rule published Nov. 25. The substances had been temporarily listed in Schedule I since 2018. The final rule takes effect Nov. 25.
While the Joe Biden administration will likely pursue more multilateral sanctions than the Trump administration, industry should not expect the Office of Foreign Assets Control to reverse its yearslong trend of increased sanctions, a former OFAC official and law firms said.
Japan revised its foreign exchange and export control ordinance regarding review of certain “cargo and technology,” a Nov. 24 news release said, according to an unofficial translation. The changes affect technology related to the “design of equipment attached to numerical control devices,” liquids that “can be used as refrigerants” and “electric braking shutters.” Japan said it will begin enforcing the changes Jan. 27, 2021.