On July 14, 2017, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced that the Cabinet and Ministerial Orders and the Public Notices required for the enforcement of the Revised Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (Revised Act) were promulgated and publicized in the Official Gazette on July 14, 2017.
On 6 July 2017, the European Commission announced that the European Union and Japan have reached an agreement in principle on the main elements of an Economic Partnership Agreement. The announcement said:
On June 26, 2017, the Secretary of Public Function – Sub-secretary of Administrative Responsibilities and Public Contracts published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (the Official Federal Gazette) a circular [Oficio №. UNCP/309/TU/370/2017] with tables showing in national currency the thresholds under the various free trade agreements of which Mexico is a party that apply from July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017, when foreign goods and services are to be offered to the Government.
On June 29, 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in conjunction with the Department of Commerce (DoC) , published in the Federal Register a request for comments [Docket No. USTR–2017–0010] that they will consider as part of the comprehensive performance reviews required by Executive Order 13796 of April 29, 2017)
In Hanoi, Vietnam, Trade Ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum issued an actions statement reflecting the outcomes of their 23rd Meeting. Listed below are the subjects covered.
Ministers and Vice Ministers from the Trans-Pacific Partnership signatory countries issued the following Statement:
21 May 2017. Ha Noi, Viet Nam – Ministers and Vice Ministers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore and Viet Nam met today to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade.
On April 14, 2017, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued its Report to Congress on Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States. The Report reviews developments in international economic and exchange rate policies and is submitted pursuant to the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the “1988 Act”), 22 U.S.C. § 5305, and Section 701 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (the “2015 Act”), 19 U.S.C. § 4421. Treasury has established thresholds for the three criteria specified in the 2015 Act that determine whether enhanced analysis is necessary: (1) a significant bilateral trade surplus with the United States is one that is at least $20 billion; (2) a material current account surplus is one that is at least 3 percent of GDP; and (3) persistent, one-sided intervention occurs when net purchases of foreign currency are conducted repeatedly and total at least 2 percent of an economy’s GDP over a 12 month period.
On 13 April 2017, the Minister of International Trade and Industry published in the Federal Government Gazette P.U. (B) 191/2017 Notice of Affirmative Final Determination of an Investigation With Regard to Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar Products Imported Into Malaysia pursuant to the Safeguards Act 2006 which applied to steel concrete reinforcing bars that are hot rolled steel bars containing indentations, ribs, grooves or other deformation. Subsequently, on 13 April 2017, the Minister of Finance published…
On April 7, 2017, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy, Trade and Industry announced that the Twelfth round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK)
On April 7, 2017, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced (currently available only in Japanese) that the Cabinet decided to continue banning all cargo exports to or imports from North Korea (DPRK) and intermediary trade transactions