The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 7 (some may also be given separate headlines):

Vietnamese agricultural exports have increased sharply since the country implemented its free trade agreement with the European Union Aug. 1 (see 2007010009), the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency said in an Oct. 7 post. Compared with July, Vietnam exports rose by more than 11% in August and by 30% in September, the post said. The country’s agricultural minister called for more standardization among Vietnam’s agricultural producers to further take advantage of the trade deal, the post said. Although Vietnam’s agricultural sector has benefited, its wood sector has struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said. Wood processors have seen “numerous order cancellations or late payments.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 6 extended the comment period for its pre-rule on foundational technologies, clarifying that it will accept “confidential business information” from commenters if they follow certain guidelines. Comments, which were previously due Oct. 26 (see 2008260045), are now due Nov. 9.

A Morristown, New Jersey, woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to her role in a scheme to illegally smuggle millions of dollars worth of aircraft parts to Iran (see 1906110057), the Justice Department said Oct. 6. Joyce Eliabachus was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after she helped smuggle more than $2 million worth of aircraft components using freight forwarding companies in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Eliabachus used her Edsun Equipments LLC, run from her home, to buy the aircraft components from U.S. distributors before repackaging them and shipping them to the freight forwarders, the Justice Department said. Eliabachus also falsified the components' destination, end-users and value to avoid filing “export control forms.”

China and Norway held another round of free trade agreement discussions (see 2009110008), with China again pushing for faster negotiations to help mitigate trade impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, an Oct. 7 notice from China’s commerce ministry said, according to an unofficial translation. The two sides discussed trade remedies, intellectual property issues, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and trade disputes, China said. “The two sides believe that speeding up negotiations on the free trade agreement is very important for the two countries to jointly fight the” pandemic, the notice said. “The two countries pledged to end the negotiations as soon as possible.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service on Oct. 7 released final rules listing a small mammal and a bird as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. One rule lists coastal populations of the Pacific marten (Martes caurina), a small mammal from coastal California and Oregon. The other rule adds the eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis), a bird subspecies known from the eastern and central U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil and several countries in the Caribbean and Central America as threatened. FWS includes in both notices a 4(d) rule that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rules take effect Nov. 9.

The U.S. should find ways to increase trade with Taiwan but should be careful not to worsen tensions with China, which views Taiwan as its territory, Chinese trade experts and researchers said. A better trading relationship with Taiwan would help the U.S. technology sector, specifically semiconductor makers, many of which rely on Taiwanese suppliers to compete with China, the experts said.

A United Kingdom Department for International Trade defense and security export statistics report for 2019, released Oct. 6, includes information on the number of U.K. defense and security exports last year, total value of exports and export destinations.

Thailand recently banned imports of electronic waste, according to the Basel Action Network, an environmental justice group. The country announced the move in September, banning 428 different types of electronic scrap, BAN said in an Oct. 6 press release. BAN and Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH), an environmental research foundation, applauded the move, saying Thailand has been a popular spot for dumping plastic and other wastes by Hong Kong and U.S. brokers. The groups called for strict enforcement of the import ban. “We must remain vigilant against actors that will ignore this new law, both inside and outside of the country,” said Akarapon Teebthaisong, an official at EARTH. BAN and EARTH also commended China for its effort to ban waste imports (see 2006030010) and called on “all countries” to do the same. Interpol recently said it is seeing a rise in illegal trash trade (see 2008280035).

Malaysia recently expanded its sales tax exemption order, KPMG said in an Oct. 6 post. Previously, the exemption applied only to certain locally manufactured goods purchased for export within six months. But the exemption order will now apply also to purchased goods that are transferred to certain “designated areas” and “special areas” and now considered an export. The change took effect Oct. 6.