Japan recently published a list of 21 proposed geographical indications for agricultural goods from the European Union, including cheese, ham, olive oil, sausage, butter, baked goods and jam, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a July 7 report. If the proposals are finalized, Japan will not “monitor compliance with product specifications for [the] GI designations in their country of origin.” The list was published July 7. Public comments are due Oct. 7.

Japan will accept U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sanitary certificates for U.S. fresh oyster exports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said July 7. The certificate can be used for oyster exports from Oregon, Washington state, Connecticut and New York, USDA said, and U.S. exporters must be on the Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List to meet Japan's sanitation standards. USDA also detailed further Japanese requirements for oyster imports intended for raw consumption.

Fifty-two members of Congress, led by Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to engage with Congress during the negotiations of a phase two agreement with Japan.

Chile, Singapore and New Zealand recently signed an agreement to improve trade cooperation and streamline customs procedures in the digital economy, a July 7 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report said. The deal, signed last month, requires the three countries to make all trade administration documents available online and establishes a single window through which companies can submit import and export documents “through a single entry point,” the HKTDC said. The agreement also improves a range of customs measures, including expedited processing for express shipments, where the countries’ customs authorities will release certain goods with minimum documentation. The authorities will also release certain express shipments within six hours of receiving the required customs documents regardless of the shipment’s weight or value, the report said, and allow a single submission of information for all goods contained in an express shipment.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is extending for one more year the temporary listing of NM2201, 5F-AB-PINACA, 4-CN-CUMYL-BUTINACA, MMB-CHMICA and 5F-CUMYL-P7AICA in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said. The synthetic cannabinoids, first temporarily listed in 2018 (see 1807090017), will now remain listed in schedule I until July 10, 2021. DEA also issued a proposed rule to permanently list these synthetic cannabinoids in schedule I, with comments due Aug. 12. Substances may only be temporarily listed under the CSA for three years.

Switzerland announced 11 new designations against government officials in Venezuela, according to an unofficial translation of a July 7 notice. The sanctions target: Jose Adelino Ornelas Ferreira, Gladys del Valle Requena, Tania Valentina Diaz Gonzalez, Elvis Eduardo Hidrobo Amoroso, Juan Jose Mendoza Jover, Jorge Elieser Marquez Monsalve, Farik Karin Mora Salcedo, Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta, Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero, Franklyn Leonardo Duarte and Jose Gregorio Noriega Figueroa.

Russia will retaliate after the United Kingdom sanctioned 25 Russian nationals earlier this week (see 2007060025), Reuters reported July 7. A Kremlin spokesperson said it “can only regret such unfriendly steps” by the U.K., and added that “some kind of retaliatory response will apply to the extent that it suits the interests of the Russian Federation,” Reuters reported.

The U.S. sanctioned a Chinese security agency and four officials for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. The sanctions, announced July 9 by the Treasury and State departments, came about a month after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that authorized sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights violations against the country’s Uighur population (see 2006170064).

Trade groups are asking top Mexican politicians to change Mexico's tariff treatment of packages that are under the $117 de minimis level and informal entries. The groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Express Association of America and its Mexican counterpart, and the National Retail Federation, wrote the economy secretary, finance secretary and the head of Mexico's equivalent of the IRS on July 7, because of June 30 amendments to Mexico's Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior regulations.

Jesus Seade, who led the USMCA negotiations on behalf of the president-elect in Mexico in 2018, said that while the World Trade Organization is a member-driven organization, the director-general should be more than just a facilitator, especially since the body is in crisis.