Although China, the U.S. and the European Union have taken actions during the COVID-19 pandemic that are damaging to the goal of free trade, Canadian diplomats and scholars at the Peterson Institute for International Economics said that doesn't mean we're headed for a new round of sphere-of-influence-style trading chains rather than global integration.
Russia is considering a draft bill that would allow imports of sanctioned goods under certain circumstances, according to a May 22 post on a Baker McKenzie blog. The bill, proposed earlier this month, will allow imports if the goods constitute “essential commodities that do not have analogues in Russia” or if Russia is experiencing a shortage of those goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Baker McKenzie said.
European Union and Japanese leaders issued a May 26 joint statement laying out their commitments to trade cooperation and a reduction of trade barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two sides, speaking during a video teleconference, said they are committed to sustaining the “flow of medical supplies, agricultural products, raw materials and other goods,” adding that any restrictive trade measures should be consistent with World Trade Organization Rules. Both sides also spoke against “unnecessary” export restrictions that may limit trade.
7The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 20 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Vietnam will only allow certain temporary imports of goods for reexport at certain border checkpoints beginning in 2021, according to a May 26 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The checkpoints, which will be designated as “international border gates or main border gates,” will allow imports of all goods that are stored in a bonded warehouse before being reexported. Use of other border gates for temporary imports will be “strictly prohibited,” the report said.
India is restoring physical submissions of certificates of origin for certain exports to Thailand and Vietnam, according to a May 22 notice. India previously allowed certain agencies to issue electronic certificates of origin but had received complaints from exporters about problems “obtaining preferential access” in Thailand and Vietnam due to the digital certificates. India said applications for certificates of origin should now be submitted manually. Electronic certificates are still available for exports to other nations under India’s trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said its negotiators will seek to make things easier for express shippers in Kenya, will seek to get Kenya to agree to basing its phytosanitary rules on science, and “secure comprehensive duty-free market access for U.S. industrial goods” as it works towards a free-trade agreement with that country.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended a sanctions entry for Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, according to a May 27 notice. He is still subject to an asset freeze. The U.K. and the United Nation Security Council sanctioned the ISIS leader earlier this month (see 2005260021).
The U.S. is considering a variety of sanctions, asset freezes and controls on transactions for China’s planned crackdown on Hong Kong’s autonomy, according to a May 26 report from Bloomberg. The Treasury Department could target Chinese officials and companies, the report said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” in a statement May 27 to Congress that Hong Kong no longer warrants the same treatment under U.S. laws as it did before the handover to China in 1997.