On 11 December, the Swiss Federal Council extended sanctions against Belarus. Financial sanctions and travel bans were imposed on 15 individuals, including President Alexander Lukashenko. The new measures entered into force at 6pm on 11 December. The sanctions are in line with the decisions taken by the EU on 6 November 2020. The 15 persons newly added to the list in Annex 1 to the Ordinance on Measures against Belarus are alleged to be responsible…
On December 14, 2020, the Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule [Docket No. 201203-0323] (“IFR”) that revises aspects of the process for requesting exclusions from the duties and quantitative limitations on imports of aluminum and steel discussed in three previous interim final rules implementing the exclusion process authorized by the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (“232”). These…
On 11 December 2020, the UK and Viet Nam jointly announced the conclusion of the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The announcement said that the UK and Viet Nam enjoy excellent diplomatic relations and increasingly common goals. This is demonstrated by the renewing of the UK-Viet Nam Strategic Partnership for a further ten years in September this year. The Partnership provides a framework for a strong bilateral relationship and outlines key priorities, including low-carbon…
On 10 December 2020, the Department for International Trade (DIT) published a summary of the Trade Continuity Agreement with Canada, The agreement establishes an economic partnership between the UK and Canada, including a comprehensive free trade area. It maintains the effects of the EU-Canada CETA. The UK-Canada agreement covers: trade in goods – including provisions on preferential tariffs, tariff rate quotas and rules of origin sanitary and phytosanitary measures trade in services intellectual property, including geographical indications government procurement The agreement is intended…
As the inauguration of the forty-sixth president of the United States approaches, the fragility of supply remains a critical lesson-learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our new report, in partnership with the Atlantic Council, titled The Biden-Harris Administration and the Future of Supply Chains in the Americas, explores how the next US administration can work alongside partners and allies in the Western Hemisphere to assure supply-chain resilience is achieved and prioritize, by answering key questions such…
On December 9, 2020, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it had filed the first dispute under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by requesting consultations with the Government of Canada (pursuant to Articles 31.2 and 31.4 of the USMCA) in connection with Canada’s administration of its dairy tariff rate quotas. USTR’s request for consultations states: Canada’s dairy TRQ allocation measures appear to be inconsistent with several provisions of the USMCA. First, the measures appear to…
On 8 December 2020, the Department for International Trade (DIT) announced its independent approach to the longstanding trade conflicts between the EU and US around steel, aluminium and aerospace tariffs. The announcement said: To defend the UK steel industry, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is rolling over tariffs in response to the unjustified ‘Section 232’ tariffs imposed by the US on aluminium and steel imports. These tariffs will continue from January 1st when the UK…
BIS issues correcting amendments to Wassenaar Arrangement 2018 Plenary Decisions implementation; and other revisions related to national security controls On December 4, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register amendments [Docket No. 201118–0305] to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by making corrections to address errors that were inadvertently introduced with the September 11, 2020, Federal Register publication of “Wassenaar Arrangement 2018 Plenary Decisions Implementation; and Other Revisions Related to…
The Department for International Trade has revealed in a notice to exporters that HMRC has received settlements totalling £700,368.01 for export control violations between March and September 2020.Fines of up to £211,250 were issued to exporters across 19 settlement actions for unlicensed exports of dual use goods, military goods and related activity controlled by the Export Control Order 2008. This is the highest annual total for export control fines to date.HMRC has a discretionary power to impose…
The UK Department for International Trade has recently published guidance on how the UK will transpose and implement the EU Blocking Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) 2271/96) post-Brexit. The EU Blocking Regulation seeks to counter the extra-territorial impact of certain US sanctions (the “proscribed US sanctions”), currently in respect of Iran and Cuba (please see our previous blog post on updates of the EU Blocking Regulation in respect of Iran here). During the transition period, the EU…