On May 10, 2018, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice: 10407] that a determination has been made that a number of foreign persons have engaged in activities that warrant the imposition of measures pursuant to Section 3 of the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (the “Act”; Pub. L. 109–353).
On 26 April 2018, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) Federal Customs Administration (FCA) issued Circular No. 071-16.1 PH R-30 regarding the entry into force on 1 June 2018 of the Free Trade Agreement between the EFTA States and the Philippines (FTA or Agreement).
CBP has published in the Federal Register the following determination concerning the country of origin of merchandise for purposes of US Government procurement under the Trade Agreements Act. A copy of the final determination may be reviewed by clicking on the ruling number. Any party-at-interest may seek judicial review of the final determination within 30 days of the date of publication in the Federal Register.
On January 31, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) published in the Federal Register a final rule [Docket DARS-2017-0019] amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement the November 20, 2017 designation by the Department of State of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, in accordance with section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration Act of 1979. A state sponsor of terrorism is a country, the government of which has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.
On January 24, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published in the Federal Register a final rule [FAC 2005–97; FAR Case 2018–001; Docket No. 2018–0004; Sequence No. 1]
On 8 January 2018, the Department for International Trade (DIT) released Preparing for a UK trade policy: a guide to trade legislation, a guide to the Trade Bill which establishes a new trade policy after leaving the EU, and the trade-related tax measures in the Taxation (Cross-Border) Trade Bill.
On December 27, 2017, the Diario Oficial (Official Gazette) published the US Dollar and national money (Peso) thresholds for government procurements subject to free trade agreements. The Secretary of Public Function notified the amounts in Office No. UNCP/309/ TU/786/2017. The amounts are in effect from January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018.
On December 28, 2017, the Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD) published in the Federal Register a final rule [Docket DARS-2017—0017] amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate revised thresholds for application of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements, as determined by the United States Trade Representative. The thresholds are effective January 1, 2018. The thresholds are shown below:
On December 28, 2017, the Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD) published in the Federal Register a final rule [Docket DARS-2017-0020] amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add Latvia as a qualifying country. On April 10, 2017 the US Secretary of Defense and the Latvian Minister of Defense signed a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement. On the same day, the US Secretary of Defense made a determination and findings that it…
On December 11, 2017, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice setting the dollar procurement thresholds to implement certain U.S. trade agreement obligations, as of January 1, 2018, for calendar years 2018 and 2019. Executive Order 12260 requires the USTR to set the U.S. dollar procurement thresholds for application of Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (TAA; 19 U.S.C. 2511 et seq.). These obligations apply to covered procurements valued at or above specified U.S. dollar thresholds.