August - 2019

Canada announces a reduction in CIFTA custom tariff rates

On 28 August 2019 the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) announced an amendment of the Departmental Consolidation of the Customs Tariff from 8 August 2019. This amendment encompasses rate reductions from the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CIFTA). These rate reductions, effective 1 September 2019, contain a change to the CIAT tariff treatment and affect 847 tariff items.

U.S. imposes additional sanctions on Russia

Effective 26 August 2019, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act), imposed sanctions against Russia in the areas of multilateral development bank assistance, bank loans and export restrictions. These sanctions are a result of a determination, made against Russia on 6 August 2018, stating that the Russian government used chemical weapons

China announces new tariffs on U.S. goods

On 23 August 2019 the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China announced that it will raise additional customs duties 5-10% on approximately 5000 goods originating in the United States of America, worth 75 billion USD. The first of these tariffs (affected items found in Annex 1 (in Chinese)) will come into effect on 1 September 2019; the second of these tariffs (affected items found in Annex 2 (in Chinese)) will come into effect on 15 December 2019. Included in t

HMRC publishes new Brexit bulletin

On 21 August 2019 the United Kingdom’s (UK) HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published their latest letter advising UK businesses on actions to take in preparation for the UK leaving the European Union (EU). The HMRC reports that the UK Government has stated that regardless of any deals (or lack thereof), the UK will leave the EU on 31 October 2019. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, HMRC reiterates that UK businesses will have to apply customs, excise and VAT procedures for

Additional Huawei affiliates added to BIS Entity List

On 19 August 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it will add 46 additional non-U.S. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei) affiliates to the BIS Entity List. These 46 Huawei affiliates are in addition to the 68 non-U.S. Huawei affiliates BIS added to the Entity List on 16 May 2019 (see previous blog post). The 46 additions were published in the Federal Register on 21 August 2019 and came into effect on 19 August 2019. BIS

South Africa imposes 10% duty on certain tinplate imports

The Minister of Finance of South Africa has issued Amendment No. 1/1/1626 to Part 1 of Schedule No. 1 to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964. This amendment imposes a 10% rate of duty on imports of goods classified under tariff numbers 7210.11, 7210.12.10, 7210.12.90 and 7212.10. Preferential rates of duty on imports of the above-mentioned goods from EU (European Union), EFTA (European Free Trade Association) or SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries remain unch

BIS amends EAR by updating the Entity List

The U.S Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding seventeen entities to the Entity List. These entities are considered to be “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.” This ruling also modifies 23 entries and removes three entities on the Entity List. This rule is effective 14 August 2019 and details can be found in the Federal Register.

U.S. DEA announces Kassim Tajideen’s sentence

On 9 August 2019 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that Kassim Tajideen has been sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $50 million by a U.S. District Judge in the District of Columbia. In 2009 Kassim Tajideen was designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist based on his financial support of Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based terrorist group. On 6 December 2018 Tajideen, who operates businesses in L

OFAC issues new regulations on Venezuela, on Iran and settles with PACCAR Inc

On 5 August 2019 the U.S. President signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13884 entitled “Blocking Property of the Government of Venezuela.” E.O. 13884 freezes Venezuelan assets in the U.S. and prohibits any transactions with the Government of Venezuela. On 6 August 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new and amended General Licenses in connection with E.O. 13884, new and revised FAQs, and a guidance document regarding humanita

European Commission publishes guidelines on dual-use trade controls

The European Commission has published Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/1318 in the Official Journal. This document (adopted on 30 July 2019) provides non-binding guidance “to help exporters identify, manage and mitigate risks associated with dual-use trade controls.”

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