Singapore recently implemented its national standards for e-commerce transactions, requiring businesses to list certain product information for goods sold online, a June 24 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report said. Product information must include the name, description, quantity, availability, details of the product and any associated taxes or import and export fees, the report said. The standards also extend post-purchase coverage through deliveries and include “product handling payment on delivery, self‑collection, proof of delivery and failed delivery protocols.”
India amended restrictions for certain exports of personal protective equipment, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said June 29. The measure sets a monthly export quota of 5,000,000 (50 lakh) for shipments of “medical coveralls for COVID-19.” The notice contains a list of Harmonized System codes for which the export quota applies. The amendment moved the coveralls from prohibited to restricted under the export policy.
The State Department issued a correction to its May 20 notice that placed statutory debarments on 23 people for violations of the Arms Export Control Act. The correction was to “clarify Department policy,” the agency said. The effective date for the 23 statutory debarments remains May 20.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, asked White House trade adviser Peter Navarro to answer a series of questions related to former National Security Adviser John Bolton's assertion that President Donald Trump pleaded with China's president to buy more soybeans and wheat, so Trump could win re-election. He asked him to confirm the claim, and to say whether he was in all the meetings between Trump and the Chinese president that Bolton described. He asked for the answers by July 14.
The free trade deal between the European Union and Vietnam will take effect Aug. 1, the EU said June 30. The deal is expected to eliminate almost all tariffs on goods imposed by the two countries (see 2002120029) and remove non-tariff barriers to allow Vietnamese companies to more easily export to the EU (see 2001020014).
European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said although it's not easy managing the trade relationship with the U.S., the EU and U.S. are still talking. “We’ve resumed conversations with the U.S. some weeks ago,” he said. “We’re up for a small confidence-building deal with the United States -- we have a lot of things we agree on. We’re waiting for the timing when President [Donald] Trump has made up his mind whether he wants to have a deal or not. If he does, we’re ready.”
In calls hosted by CBP on the last day of NAFTA, and the first day of USMCA, trade professionals were anxious to understand what they should change in paperwork.
The Census Bureau recently released its mid-year update to Schedule B, with changes taking effect July 1. New Schedule B numbers are created to break out boneless meat of bison (0201.30.6010) from other boneless bovine meat (0201.30.6090), with old Schedule B number 0201.30.6000 for all fresh or chilled, unprocessed, boneless bovine meat now obsolete. New Schedule B number 2711.12.0010 is also being created for liquefied propane with a minimum purity of 90 liquid volume percent, with other liquefied propane now classifiable under Schedule B number 2711.12.0020. Schedule B number 2711.12.0000 for all liquefied propane is also obsolete. The changes mirror those in the International Trade Commission’s upcoming mid-year update to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, though most of the upcoming HTS changes are not mirrored in Schedule B.
The European Council renewed sectoral sanctions against Russia for six months until Jan. 31, 2021, the council said June 29. The sanctions limit Russian banks’ access to the European Union market, block trade in defense and dual-use goods, and restrict the sale to Russia of sensitive technologies that can be used in its energy sector. The restrictions were originally introduced in 2014 in response to Russia’s actions to destabilize Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 1 issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. Companies that are “holders of blocked property” must provide OFAC with a list of all blocked property held as of June 30. Property that was unblocked by an OFAC license or was previously blocked by a sanctions program that was terminated before June 30 does not need to be reported, OFAC said. The notice includes a link to the 2020 blocked property report spreadsheet and an updated guidance on filing blocked property reports.