The Treasury Department issued a current list of countries that require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott. The Oct. 10 list includes Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, unchanged from the previous iteration of the list.

CBP seized a record 16 stolen vehicles during the 2019 fiscal year at the Port of Wilmington in Delaware, an increase from the port's previous high of seven seizures in 2012, the agency said in an Oct. 8 press release. The most recent seizure was a stolen 2018 Cadillac Escalade, worth more than $57,000, that was set to be illegally exported to West Africa, CBP said. Officers seized the car on Sept. 1 after discovering its vehicle identification number belonged to a Mercedes-Benz, the agency said, adding that it “routinely” expects cargo for “weapons, illicit narcotics, bulk currency, counterfeit consumer products, and other prohibited items.”

The U.S. could violate its World Trade Organization spending limit on subsidies to its farmers as a result of the trade war with China, according to an Oct. 4 Congressional Research Service report. The U.S. could be “vulnerable to a challenge” under the WTO’s dispute system if it exceeds the spending limit and if its farming subsidies induce surplus production and depress market prices, creating unfair market distortions, the CRS said. While the U.S. “probably” did not violate the spending limit in 2018, it could “potentially exceed” it this year, CRS analysts found. The prolonged trade war with China has directly led to the increased U.S. farming aid, which is receiving international “scrutiny,” trade experts have said (see 1909090059).

The Environmental Protection Agency is revoking a significant new use rule (SNUR) on fatty acid amide, in a final rule. Effective Dec. 9, the agency is removing the import certification and export notification requirements for the chemical because it has received test data that show it has low toxicity, EPA said.

Jaguar Imports of Orlando, Florida, will pay a $98,000 civil penalty to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security as part a settlement with the agency over unlicensed exports to Colombia, Mexico and Canada, BIS said in an Oct. 9 notice. The company is said to have illegally exported pepper spray, stun guns, handcuffs and police batons to the countries between 2015 and 2017, BIS said. The items were classified on the Commerce Control List and valued at about $35,355, the agency said. As part of the settlements Jaguar Imports "shall not take any action or make or permit to be made any public statement, directly or indirectly, denying the allegations." If the company fails to comply with the agreement, Jaguar Imports may see its export privileges denied, the agency said. The BIS order is effective Oct. 9, it said.

The Commerce Department’s Oct. 9 blacklisting of several Chinese technology companies may not impact trade negotiations this week but could lead to significant retaliation against U.S. companies, trade experts said. And while the Trump administration insisted the Entity List decisions were unrelated to trade talks with China, the move unnerved U.S. companies impacted by the trade war that fear Commerce’s announcement could expedite the release of China’s so-called "unreliable entity list."

Oman is creating a department to regulate the country’s e-commerce sector and curb sales of counterfeit goods, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in an Oct. 8 report. The new agency, called the Electronic Commerce Department, will write regulations to monitor e-commerce websites, provide guidance to commercial websites, help organize “integrated commercial transactions” on open networks and help facilitate “the purchase and sale of goods and services via electronic networks,” the report said.

In the Oct. 8 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom on Oct. 8 published a draft of the tariff schedule and tables of tariff rate quotas that will take effect Oct. 31 if the U.K. leaves the European Union with no transition deal in place. “These documents are drafts. Final versions will be uploaded with the legislation, which is subject to Parliamentary approval,” the U.K.’s HM Revenue & Customs said. The U.K. also updated its guidance on non-preferential, most favored nation rates of duty after a no-deal Brexit. “If your goods are not listed on this page, you will not have to pay customs duty (tariff) when importing them into the UK,” the updated guidance says.

European Customs Data Model Version 5.0 (EUCDM) is now available on the European Commission’s Tax and Customs Union EUCDM website, the commission said. The new version includes changes implemented in December on VAT collections and anti-fraud, as well as changes to the Union Customs Code from a September regulation (see 1909110069). EUCDM is the model for trans-European customs systems, as well as the national customs clearance systems of EU member states.