The United Kingdom and New Zealand agreed to a new trade deal following 16 months of talks, the Department for International Trade said. In a video call, prime ministers Boris Johnson of the U.K. and Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand praised the deal for removing barriers to trade while deepening market access for sectors such as tech and the services trade, DIT said. Tariffs will be dropped on a wide range of U.K. goods including clothing and ships, bulldozers and excavators, DIT said. Improved travel conditions for professionals will also be implemented, the U.K. said. "This deal is a win-win for two like-minded democracies who believe in free and fair trade," said British Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan. "It delivers for families, workers and businesses across Britain, and sets the stage for greater cooperation between our two nations on global challenges like digital trade and climate change. It is a vital part of our plan to level up the country: slashing costs and red tape for exporters, building new trade routes for our services companies and refocusing Britain on the dynamic economies of the Asia-Pacific."
The United Kingdom adopted a second amendment to its Belarus sanctions regime, replacing the sanctions with new financial, trade and aircraft restrictions, and expanding the grounds on which a person may be designated. The amendment also reinstates a prohibition on the transfer of restricted technology that was dropped from the regime in error while correcting errors over the application of an exception for authorized conduct in the Chanel Islands, Isle of Man or British Overseas Territories.
The United Kingdom and Caribbean Forum held the first meeting of their Economic Partnership Agreement's Trade and Development Committee Oct. 7 via videoconference, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said Oct. 20. Issuing a communique following the meeting, the parties said the EPA secured continuity of a trading relationship worth over $4 billion, DIT said. The two sides discussed “tariff liberalisation, trade in goods and services, and Geographical Indications,” the DIT said. Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, the Bahamas, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.K. attended the meeting.
The European Union granted Chinese exporter Liling Taichang Ceramics Co.'s request for new exporting producer treatment with regard to the definitive antidumping duties on ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China, the European Commission said. The exporter will receive the 17.9% dumping rate for cooperating companies not included in the sample of the original investigation. The commission found that Liling Taichang was not a company during the period of investigation, precluding its ability to be included in the original investigation sample.
The U.S. and the European Union will hold an outreach event Oct. 27 on dual-use export controls, the European Commission said. Stakeholders may submit questions and comments in advance with the goal of reviewing and discussing areas of future export control cooperation, as identified by the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council's first meeting in Pittsburgh. Registration will be limited to two people per organization. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
The European Union updated an antidumping duty on high tenacity yarns of polyesters from China, finding that an exporter's name change did not affect is right to receive the individual antidumping duty rate applied to it, the European Commission said. As a result of the change, Jiangsu Solead New Material Group Co. receives the same rate that Wuxi Solead Technology Development Co., the company's former name, was assigned.
The European Union extended its sanctions regime against ISIL/Da'esh and al-Qaida along with individuals and entities associated with the terrorist organization for another 12 months, until Oct. 31, 2022, the European Council said. The sanctions regime currently subjects six individuals to a travel ban and an asset freeze and stands as a supplement to the United Nations Security Council sanctions.
The European Union appointed two judges to the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Council said. Krisztian Kecsmar of Hungary and Ion Galea of Romania were named following the resignations of Zoltan Csehi and Octavia Spineanu-Matei. The new judges' appointments are through Aug. 31, 2022.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation published its 2020-21 annual review, discussing changes to U.K. sanctions made following the nation's departure from the European Union. Key statistics include that 34 autonomous U.K. sanctions regimes entered into force under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018; 278 new designated individuals were added to the consolidated sanctions list during fiscal year 2020-21; 48 individuals and entities were delisted during the period of review; and 43 new specific licenses were issued by OFSI. Also, £12.2 billion (equivalent to nearly $16.8 billion) in frozen funds were reported to be held by U.K. firms as of September 2020.
The United Kingdom updated the physical address and email address of the Enforcement of Strategic Exports, Sanctions and Intellectual Property Rights office, the Department for International Trade said. The office is responsible for receiving and processing voluntary disclosures relating to already exported goods that should have received an export license. The address is 14 Westfield Ave., Stratford, London E20 1HZ; the email address is michael.halstead@hmrc.gov.uk.