Costa Rica’s General Tax Administration published a resolution clarifying which export-related services are exempt from value-added taxes, according to a July 5 post and report from KPMG. The recently published resolution said “port and airport services,” including transportation services for “goods destined for export to ports, airports and land borders” are part of the “exempt operations related to exports,” KPMG said.

Vietnam's General Department of Customs announced several investigations into origin fraud after it discovered foreign companies “taking advantage of Vietnam origin to export to third countries to enjoy preferential treatment,” according to a July 17 report from Customs News, the customs agency’s mouthpiece. The country’s customs is investigating “six large enterprises operating in import and export of wood” products related to China, the report said. Authorities have found several customs violations relating to rules of origin, including companies using a “certificate of fake land use in the document to prove materials are produced in Vietnam.” In one case, Vietnam discovered a company “imported thousands of products from China” but recorded the production in Vietnam, the report said.

Malaysia’s recent amendments to its Customs Act includes updates to the country’s regulations for customs violations, enforcement, record-keeping requirements and more, according to a Federal Gazette notice. The amendments, detailed in a 100-page document that took effect July 9, “represents the most significant round of changes” to the country’s Customs Act, Baker McKenzie said in a July 16 post.

The Drug Enforcement Administration will temporarily list the synthetic cathinones N-ethylhexedrone, α-PHP, 4-MEAP, MPHP, PV8, and 4-chloro-α-PVP in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice. The chemical will be subject to import and export restrictions for schedule I substances. The agency can temporarily list controlled substances for up to three years before a permanent listing is required.

Two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to impose more sanctions on Nicaragua officials, saying the current sanctions regime, including designations announced June 21, need to be expanded. In a July 11 letter, Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Pompeo should “work with Congress on additional efforts to hold Nicaraguan officials accountable.” The letter cited Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s “human rights abuses” and keeping of political prisoners.

Rep. Ron Kind, a pro-trade Democrat from a rural district in Wisconsin, is questioning the Trump administration's claims that large-scale purchases of commodities would follow the meeting of the Chinese and U.S. presidents at the G-20 Summit in Japan. He sent a letter to Larry Kudlow, the president's chief economic adviser, and to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on July 17 making this point. "On July 15, Mr. Kudlow stated that the Administration expects that China will soon be announcing 'some large scale purchases' but offered no further details. Farmers in Wisconsin and around the country are under intense pressure to stay above water, and any notifications of additional agricultural purchases should be clearly communicated to the Congress and the public."

China believes that trade “frictions” with the U.S. “should be resolved through dialogue and consultation,” a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said on July 17. He was asked about President Donald Trump’s July 16 Cabinet meeting remarks that the U.S. has a “long way to go” before reaching a trade deal with China and can still impose the threatened List 4 Section 301 tariffs on $325 billion worth of Chinese goods “if we want.” If the U.S. “thinks there is still a long way to go before a deal is concluded, well, as the Chinese saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” the spokesperson said. “No matter how long the way is, as long as you step forward, you will eventually reach the destination.” In the face of the U.S. threat to impose the List 4 duties, “China will firmly defend its own interests,” the spokesperson said. “If the U.S. does impose new tariffs, that will indeed set new obstacles for the trade talks. There will be an even longer way to go before reaching a deal.”

The U.S. will not sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey because of the country’s recent purchase of Russian defense items, including S-400 missile parts, President Donald Trump said during a July 16 Cabinet meeting. But Trump did not say whether the U.S. would impose sanctions on Turkey, adding that he has a “good relationship” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and that Turkey was placed in a “very tough situation.” Trump said the U.S. is “speaking to Turkey.” “With all of that being said, we’re working through it,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens."

The delay in passing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is closing other foreign markets for U.S. exporters as trading partners grow more uncertain about the U.S.’s trade negotiations, representatives from U.S. livestock industries said July 16.

The EU's customs exemptions for low-value shipments may encourage undervaluation, the European Court of Auditors said in a report on the EU's collection of customs duties for e-commerce imports. Customs duties aren't levied on imports of goods equal to or less than €150. "These low value consignment reliefs (LVCR) can be abused via: (i) undervaluation of goods, which are declared below the thresholds for the VAT and/or customs exemptions; (ii) splitting consignments to be under the threshold limit; (iii) importing of either commercial consignments declared as gifts or of goods which are ineligible for the relief," the auditors said.