India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has “revamped and streamlined” a program to strengthen domestic manufacturing through customs bonded warehouses, the agency said in an Oct. 15 press release. The program includes a single application form for “uniformity of practice” and no “geographical limitation on where such units can be set up,” the press release said. “Units” can also import goods under a customs deferment program in which the “duties are fully remitted if the processed goods are exported,” the agency said.

A group of 15 southwest regional customs agencies in China signed a memorandum of cooperation to improve customs clearance, “improve supervision and crack down on smuggling,” according to an Oct. 14 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The memorandum will support the “New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor construction,” a “trade and logistics passage” built by Singapore and China, the report said.

A Miami-based financial adviser pleaded guilty to money laundering charges after violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 11 press release. Frank Roberto Chatburn Ripalda, a citizen of the U.S. and Ecuador, tried to bribe officials at Empresa Pública de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (PetroEcuador), Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, the press release said. Chatburn faces a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

The Export-Import Bank is extending the public comment period as it reviews the bank’s “Economic Impact Procedures and Methodology,” according to an Oct. 15 notice. Comments are now due Oct. 23.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is extending the deadline for public comments on its guidelines for “determining Additionality on requests the Bank receives to support export transactions with repayment amortizing over the medium or long term,” according to an Oct. 15 notice. Comments are now due Oct. 23.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed a review of a Commerce Department rule that would restrict additional exports and re-exports to Cuba, the OIRA said.

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that a House ratification vote for the new NAFTA can be held before Thanksgiving, according to Dan Ujczo, chairman of Dickinson Wright's cross-border law practice. Ujczo, whose firm works with auto manufacturers and who follows the politics of North American trade closely, said when his clients did fly-ins, Republicans, trade associations, and Democrats outside the Progressive Caucus all said that. But Ujczo doesn't think that's true.

China said its negotiators were on the same page with the U.S. during trade talks in Washington last week, answering a question during an Oct. 15 press conference from a reporter who asked whether both sides “have the same understanding” of the deal. “What the U.S. side said is true, and it is the same with our understanding on this agreement,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. “This economic and trade agreement will be very important. It will bring benefits to China, the U.S. and the world, and it will contribute to trade and peace.”

The European Union Council said Turkey should be sanctioned for its “illegal drilling activities” near Cyprus, calling on the EU’s High Representative and the European Commission to “swiftly present proposals.” The council said the Commission should adopt a “framework regime of restrictive measures” targeting those responsible for the drilling. Cyprus condemned Turkey's drilling in an Oct. 4 statement and backed the EU’s decision to consider sanctions.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 7-11 in case they were missed.