British Member of Parliament Liam Fox said his experience as United Kingdom trade minister qualifies him to lead the World Trade Organization as director-general. Political skills, not technical ones, are needed in Geneva, he said during a July 30 Washington International Trade Association webinar.

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

The United Arab Emirates revised its list of export controls to reflect changes agreed to during meetings at multilateral control bodies, including the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group, a UAE government June notice and a July 30 EU Sanctions post said. The UAE placed controls on a range of dual-use goods, the post said, including technologies for “nuclear materials, sensors, avionics, navigation systems and telecommunication systems.” The controls also apply to military and riot control vehicles, marine systems and “unmanned conversion kits.”

The United Kingdom will transition a European Union antidumping duty against imports of certain types of Chinese wires after the U.K. leaves the EU next year, the U.K.’s Department for International Trade said July 29. The U.K. said it will retain the duty on certain “pre- and post-stressing wires and wire strands of non-alloy steel.”

Brazil added 225 items to its list of foreign capital goods and information technology and telecommunications goods subject to duty-free treatment under its Ex-Tarifario regime, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a July 30 report. Many of the items, which include 98 capital goods and 127 IT and telecom goods, potentially could be imported from mainland China and Hong Kong, the report said. The goods are classified in Harmonized System chapters 82, 84, 85 and 90. The goods will benefit from duty-free treatment though Dec. 31, 2021.

Vietnam recently imposed antidumping duties on “biaxially oriented polypropylene film products” originating in China, Malaysia and Thailand, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said July 27. The film, typically used in “packaging materials,” will be subject to a duty rate of 9.05% to 23.71% for five years. The products are classified under two Harmonized System subheadings -- 3920.20.10 and 3920.20.91. The decision came after Vietnam determined that the “sales volume, profit margins, market share and production capacity” of its domestic film producers had “declined significantly over recent years” due to cheaper imports from the three countries. Vietnam is, however, offering duty exemptions for imports of the film because some of its producers “lack the capacity” to manufacture it.

The State Department approved a potential military sale to the Philippines worth about $126 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said July 30. The sale includes scout, assault and “light support” boats with armaments and related equipment. The principal contractor for the scout and assault boats is Willard Marine Inc. The principal contractor for the light support boats will be selected “through an open competition contract,” the agency said. The sale also includes 156 machine guns, 36 Gatling guns, thermal scopes and thermal weapons sights, lasers, radios and boat spare parts.

Pushing back against geographical indications for food names and wine names needs to be a priority “in all trade-related discussions,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., argued in a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on July 30. Fifty-nine other senators joined the letter. Without naming the European Union, they said, “Our competitors continue to employ trade negotiations around the world to prohibit American-made products from using common food names and wine grape varietal designations or traditional terms, such as bologna, parmesan, chateau, and feta, which have been in use for decades.” Farm and agricultural industries issued a press release in support of the letter.

A House oversight subcommittee is investigating the Trump administration's July decision to loosen export restrictions on gun silencers (see 2007130014), saying it is “deeply concerned” about a potential conflict of interest behind the decision. In a July 28 letter to the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., chairman of the House Oversight’ Committee Subcommittee on National Security, cited a July 13 report in The New York Times that the decision was made at the “urging” of White House lawyer Michael Williams, who previously served as general counsel to a gun advocacy group.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for seven chemical substances subject to premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Oct. 2. The SNURs cover the following chemical substances: