Australia is putting in place “strengthened” seasonal measures to prevent the introduction of brown marmorated stink bug into the country, the Australian Department of Agriculture said on its website. Certain goods from 33 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan and countries throughout Europe, will require treatment while the measures in effect, and roll-on, roll-off vessels that berth, load or transship in those 33 countries will face inspection requirements, Australia said. The seasonal measures will apply for goods shipped from Sept. 1, 2019, that arrive in Australian territory by May 31, 2020.
Britain published guidance that offers insight into how it would transfer European Union sanctions on Burundi and the Republic of Guinea into the United Kingdom's sanctions regime in the case of a no-deal Brexit, the U.K. said on July 23. In its guidance on Guinea sanctions, the U.K. said the purpose of the measures would be to lead the Guinea government to “investigate properly the violent repression in Guinea” on Sept. 28, 2009, and bring “criminal proceedings” on those responsible. The U.K. said the purpose of the Burundi sanctions is to encourage the country’s government to “respect democratic principles,” “bring about a peaceful solution to the political situation in Burundi,” “refrain from policies” that “repress civil society” and abide by international human rights laws.
The U.S. is extending a national emergency to continue sanctions on “transnational criminal organizations” for one year, the White House said in a July 22 press release. Under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the sanctions target criminal organizations that threaten “international political and economic systems,” some of which are “entrenched in the operations of foreign governments and the international financial system,” the press release said. The organizations “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat,” the White House said. The first executive order declaring this national emergency was on July 24, 2011.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on a Chinese oil company and its CEO for buying crude oil from Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said July 22. The announcement sanctioned Zhuhai Zhenrong Company Limited and CEO Youmin Li, Pompeo said.The sanctions were originally announced by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 22, but the agency did not immediately release detailed information about the sanctions (see 1907220049). Pompeo said the sanctions are part of the U.S.’s “maximum pressure campaign” on Iran.
CBP is working with several African countries to improve their ports and customs agencies and to increase trade with the U.S., said Tasha Reid Hippolyte, director of CBP’s Africa, Middle East and Central Asia Division, speaking during the agency’s Trade Symposium in Chicago on July 24.
The Commerce Department plans to issue decisions on Huawei-related export license applications “within the next few weeks,” Secretary Wilbur Ross said July 23 on Bloomberg Television. Ross said Commerce has received about 50 applications from 35 companies. “We’re processing them as quickly as we responsibly can,” he said.
Japanese and European Union officials in late June clarified certain provisions of the EU-Japan economic partnership agreement for a “smoother and more efficient implementation” of the agreement, according to a July 19 notice from KPMG and a July 17 notification from Japan Customs. The agreement was intended to simplify the import declaration provision of the agreement “by which preferential tariff treatment is claimed in Japan,” KPMG said. Among the changes are provisions that say importers are not required to provide an “additional explanation … concerning the originating status of the product if not available to the importer” and that the “absence of an explanation, in addition to the statement on origin, will not lead to a rejection of the claim or a denial of the preferential tariff treatment” under the agreement. KPMG said the changes “could help address some of the administrative burden and associated trade barriers” between the two countries.
India Customs is updating regulations for filing sea cargo manifests for imports, exports and transshipments, requiring traders and shippers to adhere to new “defined timelines,” according to an alert by C.H. Robinson. The changes will take effect Aug. 1.
An American Enterprise Institute trade scholar says "Japan has chosen a dangerous and destructive mode of retaliation, one that is likely to greatly disrupt global electronic supply chains and bolster China’s push for dominance of 5G wireless," and it's not justified, even if South Korea has been provoking its former occupier.
The mayor of Chicago told the Chicago Sun Times July 22 that she asked Marriott if the CBP Trade Symposium could be moved out of Chicago. “When it became clear that Marriott was unable to accommodate our demand, I mobilized city resources to facilitate the peaceful protest against the conference, ensure the protection of First Amendment rights and to safeguard all guests and visitors on the McCormick Place campus," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. A rally staged by immigrant rights groups was held outside the conference hotel at 11:30 a.m. local time July 23, ahead of when Department of Homeland Security Acting Director Kevin McAleenan was scheduled to give a luncheon keynote address.