On 22 October 2020, the Department for International Trade (DIT) announced that the United Kingdom and Japan will sign theUK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Tokyo on 23 October. The DIT said: The British-shaped deal is the first agreement that the UK has secured that goes beyond the existing EU deal, with enhancements in areas such as digital and data, financial services, food and drink, and creative industries. It brings together two of the world’s…
The European Council has designated 40 individuals under its Belarus sanctions regime, amending Council Regulation (EC) 765/2006. In the UK, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has accordingly updated the consolidated list. 5 of these individuals were already sanctioned under the UK’s Global Human Rights regime and are now subject to an asset freeze under both the UK and EU regimes. OFSI has also updated information for a further 4 individuals under the UK regime, bringing the…
On 13 October 2020, a WTO arbitrator issued its decision on the level of countermeasures the European Union may request with respect to 16-year old dispute with the United States involving subsidies to Boeing in “United States — Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft — Second Complaint” (DS353). The United States had previously won a parallel case involving European subsidies to Airbus and assessed tariffs against European goods worth approximately USD 7.4 Bn. In…
On September 15, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published in the Federal Register a document that announces the decision of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate arrival restrictions applicable to certain flights. Specifically, the document terminates arrival restrictions that are applicable to flights carrying persons who had recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, the People’s Republic of China (excluding the…
On August 27, 2020, CBP issued CSMS #43784137 – UPDATED GUIDANCE: Modification of Section 301 Action: Enforcement of U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) Rights in Large Civil Aircraft Dispute. The text is identical to CSMS #43762405 – GUIDANCE: Modification of Section 301 Action: Enforcement of U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) Rights in Large Civil Aircraft Dispute except that it includes a revised list of affected products (LCA 2020 Table chart 20200825.pdf). Subheadings 0406.90.99 (added) and…
On August 25, 2020, CBP issued CSMS #43762405 – GUIDANCE: Modification of Section 301 Action: Enforcement of U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) Rights in Large Civil Aircraft Dispute, which is reproduced below: Background On October 18, 2019, the USTR imposed additional duties on certain products of the European Union (EU) and certain EU member States in this Section 301 investigation to enforce U.S. WTO rights in the Large Civil Aircraft (LCA) Dispute. See 84 FR…
On August 12, 2020, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release stating that, as required by U.S. law, the USTR is issuing a modification to the list of products subject to WTO-authorized additional duties in the United States’ successful WTO challenge to subsidies for large civil aircraft provided by the European Union, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. USTR is removing from the tariff list certain products from Greece and the United…
On August 12, 2020, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release stating that, as required by U.S. law, the USTR is issuing a modification to the list of products subject to WTO-authorized additional duties in the United States’ successful WTO challenge to subsidies for large civil aircraft provided by the European Union, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. USTR is removing from the tariff list certain products from Greece and the United…
The European Commission launched a major review of the European Union’s trade policy, including a public consultation seeking input from the European Parliament, Member States, stakeholders and civil society. The Commission’s objective is to build a consensus around a fresh medium-term direction for EU trade policy, responding to a variety of new global challenges and taking into account the lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis. The consultation covers all relevant topics to the EU trade…
On 24 July 2020, the European Commission announced that at a meeting of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body, the European Union, backed by ten other members of the World Trade Organization (Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Republic of Korea and Switzerland), submitted a joint communication calling for more transparency in respect of trade-related measures introduced by partners around the world in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim is to…