The United Kingdom and New Zealand wrapped up the fifth round of negotiations on a free trade agreement, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said in a June 30 news release. Steps were made toward a deal on government procurement, a dispute settlement mechanism, transparency levers and gender equality in trade, the release said. Progress was made toward improving procurement access for small and medium-sized enterprises and supply chain integrity, it said. Negotiations were held June 16-18.
The European Council gave the green light for “neighbourhood aviation agreements” with Ukraine, Armenia and Tunisia along with an air transport agreement with Qatar. The four pacts will open up air transport markets, promoting trade, tourism, investment, and economic and social development, the council said in a June 28 news release. The Qatar agreement will open up the air transport market for all 27 European Union member states and upgrade the standards between Qatar and the EU. The accords also hold environmental, social and fair competition clauses accompanied by enforcement mechanisms to act as guardrails for the agreements' implementation.
The European Union extended safeguard measures on steel imports for three years in a June 25 implementing regulation. The measures were set to expire June 30. The European Commission found that the current tariff-rate quotas on 26 steel product categories need to continue to further protect European industry. The TRQs impose a 25% tariff once the quota quantities are exceeded. The covered products include goods such as hot and cold rolled sheets, metallic sheets, stainless hot rolled quarto plates and rebar.
The European Commission began a review of existing antidumping duties on molybdenum wires from China, a June 28 notice in the Official Journal of the European Union said. Having received a request for review following the publication of the expiration notice for the duties, the commission will look to see if an extension of the duties is necessary to further protect the European molybdenum wires industry. The period under investigation is Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020.
The European Commission repealed antidumping duties on seamless pipes and tubes of iron or steel from China in a June 28 implementing regulation. The repeal was done to comply with a European Court of Justice ruling invalidating the duties.
The United Kingdom and Singapore are looking to remove barriers to digital trade between the two nations through a new Digital Economy Agreement, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said in a June 27 news release. Seventy percent of the U.K.'s services exports were digitally sent to Singapore in 2019, totaling about £3.2 billion, the release said. The DEA would allow for more seamless electronic transactions, e-signatures and e-contracts. Other focuses of the agreement's negotiations include data flows, data protection, consumer rights and cybersecurity.
The European Union banned the sale, transfer or export of dual-use goods and technologies for military use to anyone in Belarus, expanding its sanctions regime on the Eastern European nation, the European Council announced in a June 24 news release. Since the forced landing of a Ryanair flight on May 23 and subsequent arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, the EU has sanctioned individuals, entities and economic activities in the country (see 2106210023). In this most recent push, the EU also barred the sale, transfer or export of technology intended for use in the “monitoring or interception of the internet and of telephone communications.” Trade in oil products, potassium chloride and goods used in tobacco production are also banned. The European Investment Bank is also instructed to halt any payments under public sector-related agreements with Belarus.
The European Council and European Parliament signed a regulation to fund customs control equipment, a June 24 EC news release said. The new funding will support the purchase, maintenance and upgrade of such items as X-ray scanners, radiation detectors, automated number plate recognition systems and mobile laboratories for goods sample analysis. The increased funding is part of the European Union's 2021-2027 budget and has a ceiling of around 1 billion euros.
Belgium’s Parliament is considering another extension for its reduced value-added taxes on certain COVID-19 related goods and lower interest rates on late VATs and duty payments, KPMG said June 25. The reduced VAT rates for masks and hydroalcoholic gels, which were set to expire June 30 (see 2103310006), would continue to apply through September, KPMG said. The reduced interest rates would also be reduced for July, August and September.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has amended the entry for Andrei Mikalaevich Gurtsevich under the Belarus sanctions regime, it said in a June 25 financial sanctions notice. Gurtsevich remains subject to an asset freeze, according to the notice.