More than 170 lawyers and legal scholars urged President Donald Trump to rescind a June executive order that authorizes sanctions against International Criminal Court lawyers and investigators (see 2006110028), saying the sanctions violate American values and undermine the legitimacy of other U.S. sanctions. “U.S. sanctions have long been legitimately imposed on terrorists, international criminals, and gross violations of human rights,” the June letter said. “But targeting ICC lawyers -- and in some cases their families -- punishes the very people who investigate atrocities.”

The Trump administration is considering more measures to punish Beijing for interference in Hong Kong, including sanctions outlined in the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. While Pompeo declined to say how far the administration would go to sanction China, he said President Donald Trump wants to ensure Hong Kong is “treated just like mainland China.”

The Trump administration issued an advisory for companies doing business with China’s Xinjiang region, which could expose companies to sanctions, export controls and forced labor risks. In a 19-page guidance issued July 1, the departments of State, Commerce, the Treasury and Homeland Security describe supply chain risks and possible sanctions exposure for companies trading with the region, and includes suggested due diligence practices. The guidance comes less than a month after President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against Chinese officials for human rights violations against the country’s Uighur population in the Xinjiang region (see 2006170064).

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade on June 29 updated its guidance on existing trade agreements with non-European Union countries. The guidance now reflects that the U.K. has begun trade negotiations with Turkey and Vietnam. Turkey is part of the EU Customs Union, so any deal between the U.K. and the EU will affect the U.K.’s trading relationship with Turkey, the guidance said.

China will apply most favored nation tariffs on all trade with Kiribati, China’s General Administration of Customs said June 30, according to an unofficial translation. The new tariffs take effect July 1. Kiribati is a country in the Pacific Ocean.

Japan is considering imposing antidumping duties on imports of South Korean potassium carbonate, the country said in a June 29 notice, according to an unofficial translation. Japan said it plans to complete its investigation in one year. The move came after a Japanese industry group requested that antidumping duties be imposed, arguing low-priced imports of certain South Korean chemicals are damaging Japanese producers, which have been forced to lower their prices, a June 29 report in the Nikkei Asian Review said. Potassium carbonate is used to produce glass for liquid crystal panels, the report said.

China announced suspensions of meat imports from facilities in the United Kingdom and Brazil, the country’s General Administration of Customs said this week, according to an unofficial translation. The country also suspended meat imports from plants in Canada and Germany, a June 29 Bloomberg report said, adding to previous import suspensions from four Australian exporters (see 2005130013) and a U.S.-based Tyson Foods plant (see 2006220023). The restrictions come amid growing Chinese fears of virus-contaminated agricultural imports (see 2006230012 and 2006290009).

China will retaliate for the U.S. decision to ban defense exports and suspend license exceptions for shipments to Hong Kong (see 2006290063), a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a June 30 news conference. The spokesperson said the U.S. restrictions will “never succeed,” adding that China will “take necessary retaliatory measures to resolutely safeguard its national interests.” He did not say how China will retaliate.

Singapore authorities arrested six Chinese nationals for illegally importing liquor and avoiding about $65,000 (in Singapore dollars) in import taxes, Singapore Customs said in a June 29 notice. The six people allegedly imported the liquor using false descriptions, labeling the goods as beverages, spices, cosmetics, sanitizer and soap. Authorities said they seized about 900 bottles of illegally imported liquor. The six people face fines of up to 40 times the amount of taxes they evaded and a six-year prison sentence.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, celebrated the switchover from NAFTA to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement -- coming July 1 -- but also talked about a trade irritant with Canada and one with Mexico in a conference call with reporters June 30.