Less than a week after signing a bill that will sanction Chinese officials for human rights abuses, President Donald Trump said he had held off on the sanctions so as not to interfere with the U.S.-China trade deal, a June 21 Axios report said. The report comes amid a series of U.S. and China steps that have further deteriorated the trade relationship, including threats of U.S. sanctions and moves by China to reduce agricultural purchases.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of June 22 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Importers of certain consumer goods in Kenya will be banned from using bonded warehouses to delay duty payments starting Aug. 12, according to a June 17 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Those importers will instead be required to pay customs duties when the goods arrive, the report said. The measure, which is expected to hit smaller businesses the hardest, will impact imports of alcohol, used motor vehicles, textiles, office supplies, “foodstuffs of any form,” a range of bulk commodities, cigarettes, spare parts, electrical parts, cameras, phones, used footwear and more. It is not yet clear what will happen to commodities currently stored in warehouses, the report said.

The United Kingdom updated a guidance on June 19 detailing security and political risks for companies operating in Azerbaijan. The guidance includes updated information on risks related to intellectual property theft, organized crime, human rights violations, bribery and corruption, and terrorism.

The European Union called U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court “unacceptable” and said it will defend the court from the U.S. measures (see 2006110028). “The European Union remains committed to defending the Court from any outside interference aimed at obstructing the course of justice and undermining the international system of criminal justice,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said in a June 16 statement, adding that the sanctions are “unprecedented in scope and content.” He urged the U.S. “to reverse its position.”

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of June 19 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Everett Eissenstat, senior vice president of global public policy at General Motors, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the stricter rules of origin in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement won't “change the whole dynamic” of siting decisions but will be taken into consideration.

The customs duty deferral period that began in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2003270053) is set to end June 30 and “usual collection activities will return to normal on July 1,” the Canada Border Services Agency said in a June 19 email. The June statements of accounts will display a due date of June 30 that will “include deferred debt from March, April, and May 2020 as well as the current June debt,” the agency said.

China and Cambodia expect to ratify before the end of the year a free trade agreement featuring increased market access for goods and services, improved investment protocols and increased regulatory alignment, according to a June 18 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Cambodia hopes the deal delivers a boost to its exports, the HKTDC said, which will soon lose their duty-free access in the European Union (see 2003030020).

An Italian national was sentenced to prison after trying to procure a U.S. power turbine without an export license, the Justice Department said June 18. Gabriele Villone, who was sentenced to 28 months in prison for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Control Reform Act, tried to procure the $17.3 million turbine for Russian companies, the agency said.