Cambodia’s online certificate of origin system is being expanded to two more provinces and is expected to be adopted nationwide by the end of the year, according to a Sept. 20 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The system will reduce paperwork and the time businesses spend applying for certificates at Cambodia’s commerce ministry's headquarters, the report said. The online system is expected to lower the certificate processing time from 10 to 14 days for the current manual processing to 16 hours, the HKTDC said.

The Commerce Department posted an updated version of its "China's 301 Retaliation Product Scope" that lists U.S. goods that are included in China's retaliatory tariffs. The updated list includes Chinese tariff increases that took effect Sept. 1.

Key elements of the Treasury Department’s recently released proposed regulations on the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act include an expanded jurisdiction to review “non-controlling investments” and certain exemptions to reviews, Crowell Moring said in a Sept. 19 post.

Gilbert Kaplan, Commerce's undersecretary for international trade, resigned last week, a Commerce spokesperson said, declining to answer further questions. Kaplan's resignation came during an important week in trade negotiations with China as Chinese officials visited Washington to continue talks. Kaplan was confirmed to the role in 2018 after working as a trade lawyer with King & Spalding. The resignation was first reported by Bloomberg.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said that the two sides made progress again on edits to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement when they met Sept. 20. "Once issues are resolved, they're going to come off the table, and we're not going to revisit them as we proceed to the next one," Neal said. He said the Democrat working group he leads will have a written response for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer next week, when they meet again.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on Iran two days after President Donald Trump instructed the Treasury to increase pressure on the country. The sanctions target the Central Bank of Iran, the National Development Fund of Iran and Etemad Tejarate Pars Co. for funding Iran’s military and contributing to terrorism, Treasury said in a Sept. 20 press release.

It may only be a matter of time before countries create a trade payment system to avoid U.S. sanctions, said David Mortlock, a trade lawyer and senior fellow with the Atlantic Council.

The recently released 2020 incoterms rules (see 1909100056) are easier to use and understand compared to previous versions, one of several significant changes to the International Chamber of Commerce’s latest revisions, said Frank Reynolds, the U.S. delegate for the ICC’s 2020 drafting group. The ICC said the new incoterms edition is “more accessible” and includes “more detailed explanatory notes with enhanced graphics” to clarify the responsibilities of exporters and importers. It also includes an “extensive introduction … that anybody can understand,” Reynolds said in an interview.

Robert Ernest joined Arent Fox’s logistics and transportation group and will advise clients on international supply chain solutions, Arent Fox said. Ernest previously worked as a general counsel for the Americas region with the Panalpina Group.

In the Sept. 19 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: