Canada, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Japan and an assortment of other countries around the world said the World Trade Organization has an essential role to play in ensuring the continued flow of essential goods -- including medical supplies -- across borders. “We stress that trade restrictive emergency measures aimed at protecting health, if deemed necessary, shall be targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary, not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains, and be consistent with WTO rules. We pledge to lift any such measures as soon as possible,” the statement said. “We also stress the necessity of maintaining agriculture supply chains and preserving Members' food security. We, therefore, pledge to not impose export restrictions and to refrain from implementing unjustified trade barriers on agricultural and food products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” No country in the European Union signed the statement, issued May 5, nor did the U.S.
Exports to China
The Commerce Department’s new export restrictions on military end-users may significantly raise due diligence requirements for industry, leading to licensing delays and a burdensome vetting process for technology companies, law firms said. If Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security does not clarify the scope of the rule to limit its impact, the rules are likely to damage the semiconductor, telecommunications and aircraft sectors, the law firms said. “This could have a detrimental impact on a broad swath of U.S. industry,” Baker McKenzie said in an April 30 blog post. “A universe of transactions triggering license requirements could significantly increase.”
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 6 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 27 - May 1 in case you missed them.
China will eliminate “purchase tax” on “new energy vehicles” from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022, China’s Ministry of Finance said in an April 22 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The measure will exempt taxes for imports of electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and “fuel cell vehicles” when imported by Chinese car manufacturers and dealers, the notice said.
President Donald Trump suggested China may not meet its purchase commitments under the phase one trade deal and threatened to terminate the agreement if the commitments are not met. “We're going to have to see what's going on,” Trump said during a May 3 Fox News town hall event. “They have to buy. And if they don't buy, we terminate the deal. Very simple.”
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 4 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Jamieson Greer, chief of staff at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from May 2017, is joining King & Spalding as a partner in its international trade practice. The law firm said that Greer was involved in negotiations for the phase one deal with China and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. “He also played a key role for USTR in the legislative reform of U.S. foreign investment reviews and implementation of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act by [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.],” the firm said. Last year, King & Spalding hired Steven Vaughn, the general counsel at USTR.
China recently requested industry and government feedback as it prepares to revise its measures on organic product certification, which could impact the types of organic goods China can import, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released April 30. The request for pre-draft revisions comments is “unique,” the USDA said, adding that China is asking for comments through a “written questionnaire” because it cannot conduct field visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The comment deadline is May 11. China did not notify the World Trade Organization about previous revisions to its organic product certification rules last year, the USDA said.
Some companies are concerned about the possibility of the Commerce Department issuing major export control actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which they say will compound economic hardships caused by the mitigation response to the highly contagious disease. In interviews, industry officials said they are unsure about their ability to manage sweeping regulatory changes even as they acknowledge that a moratorium on export control actions is unlikely.