President Donald Trump was wrongheaded for suggesting the U.S. could sever ties with China, a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said June 19, according to a press conference transcript in English. “In this era of globalization, the interests of all countries are closely intertwined,” he said. “Global industrial and supply chains are formed and developed in such ways as determined by market forces and business decisions. As such, it is unrealistic and insensible to try to sever them or wish political forces would override economic law. Such practices will not help solve America's domestic problems. Instead, they will only cause more harm to the ordinary American people.” The spokesperson sidestepped questions about whether Trump’s threats could endanger the U.S.-China phase one trade deal. “... the U.S. certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China,” Trump tweeted June 18, the day after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Congress decoupling wasn’t a reasonable trade policy.
CBP's Miami seaport is urging exporters to more accurately provide filing information after seeing a “high number” of violations on vehicle export filings. The agency is specifically finding violations with “line details” and commodity descriptions in filings within the Automated Commercial Environment’s AESDirect application, CBP said in a June 19 notice to industry. The agency reminded industry that violators could be subject to fines of $10,000 per violation.
The U.S. renewed sanctions against North Korea for one year, according to a June 17 White House notice. The U.S. said North Korea’s weapons proliferation activities still pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national emergency executive order that was to expire June 26, 2020, will extend to June 26, 2021.
The European Union has not yet decided whether to reciprocate the United Kingdom’s six-month grace period on import entry requirements after Brexit (see 2006120031), said João Vale de Almeida, the EU’s ambassador to the U.K. While de Almeida said the EU wants to be “forceful and systematic” in protecting its market, it is first focused on reaching a withdrawal agreement and will decide on customs issues later.
U.S. universities may be forced to turn down research activities -- including COVID-19 research -- due to the Bureau of Industry and Security's increased restrictions on shipments to military end-users (see 2004270027), the Association of University Export Control Officers said in comments to the agency. The restrictions are so broad that they could severely restrict academic activities that benefit the U.S. despite those activities having “no military or defense application,” the AUECO said.
The Canada Border Services Agency will decommission “the legacy Other Government Department (OGD) release service options OGD PARS (SO463) and OGD RMD (SO471),” it said in a June 18 email. The agency has delayed the decommissioning several times, most recently due to the COVID-109 pandemic (see 2003250003).
The Canada Border Services Agency provided a list of coming changes to the Departmental Consolidation of the Customs Tariff that are a result of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The changes take effect on July 1 and are included in a June 18 customs notice.
India plans to raise import duties on more than 150 goods and impose non-tariff barriers on another 100 goods in an effort to protect domestic industry, according to a June 18 Reuters report. The measures, which have been under review since April and are expected to be “gradually outlined” over the next three months, could include license requirements and stricter quality checks, the report said. The decision could target $8 billion to $10 billion worth of imports, including engineering goods, electronics, medical equipment and air conditioners, to deter “lower quality imports which render Indian products uncompetitive,” the report said. The report specifically names China as one of the countries that could be impacted.
India lifted export restrictions on hydroxychloroquine and formulations made of hydroxychloroquine, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a June 18 notice. The country banned exports of the drug in March (see 2003250014).
China revised certain origin standards that will impact the mainland’s trade with Hong Kong and Macao, China’s General Administration of Customs said in a June 18 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The notice includes a revised “table of origin standards” for each region. The measures take effect July 1.