covers customs and other import requirements, export controls and sanctions, trade remedies, WTO and anti-corruption

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Note. Unless otherwise noted, all information in this update is taken from official bulletins and official websites of international organizations (UN, WTO, WCO, APEC, Interpol, etc.), the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, the Eurasian Economic Union. , and customs, newsletters or press releases for trade unions or government agencies. Specific sources are usually available by clicking on the blue hypertext links. Please note that, as a general rule, information related to fishing is not included.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and took steps to close access to the Gulf States on Monday, June 5, 2017 by boycotting air, sea or land traffic to and from Qatar, other Arab and African states. imitated them. Political and economic boycotts have had a major impact on international trade.
The Baker McKenzie International Trade Team invites you to a one-hour webinar on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 to update you on the latest developments, discuss boycotts of the legal and commercial implications of doing business with Qatar and/or Qatari citizens, and consider how businesses can ensure their operations run as smoothly as possible.
We hope you can join us. Please register using the link on the right. Login details will be sent by email the day before the event. In the meantime, feel free to contact [email protected] if you have any questions.
Our market-leading international trade team has extensive experience in advising clients on their response to political crises and sanctions, including Iran, Crimea, Syria and Libya in recent years. We are one of the companies with an experienced international trading team and also operate in the main markets of the current crisis (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Qatar).
George Sayen, Partner, Saudi Arabia Ghada El Evani, Senior Associate, Egypt/UAE Nick Roberts, Senior Associate, Qatar Ian Siddell, Partner, Bahrain/Qatar Ziad Gadalla, Partner, Egypt
The International Trade Compliance Update is a publication of Baker McKenzie’s international practice in international trade and trade. Articles and reviews are intended to provide our readers with information about the latest legal developments and issues of importance or interest. They should not be regarded or relied upon as legal advice or opinions. Baker McKenzie advises on all aspects of international trade law.
A note on spelling, grammar and dates. In keeping with the global nature of Baker McKenzie, the original spelling, grammar, and date formatting of non-US English material has been preserved from the original source, whether or not the material appears in quotation marks.
Most translations of documents into languages ​​other than English are unofficial, performed by automated processes, and provided for informational purposes only.
Unless otherwise noted, all information is taken from the official websites of international organizations or governments, their newsletters or press releases.
This update contains public sector information available under the UK Open Government License v3.0. In addition, the materials used for the update comply with the policy put into effect by the Commission Decision of the European Commission of 12/12/2011.
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2356 on North Korea extending the asset freeze and travel ban to more individuals and the asset freeze to more entities.
On June 2, 2017, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 2356 (2017) on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), condemning in the strongest possible terms the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, including a series of ballistic missiles. launches and other actions by North Korea since September 9, 2016 that violate and flagrantly ignore Security Council resolutions. The UN Security Council decided that the measures imposed by paragraph 8(d) of resolution 1718 (2006) (assets freeze) apply to the 14 individuals and 4 entities listed in Annexes I and II to the resolution, and the measures taken in accordance with its action any natural or legal person acting. On behalf of or at their direction and entities owned or controlled by them, including by illegal means, the measures imposed by paragraph 8(e) of resolution 1718 (2006) (travel ban) apply to the individual resolutions listed in Annex I. and Persons acting on their behalf or at their direction.
On 21 June 2017, the WTO announced that work to complete Australia’s accession to the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) has been intensified and is nearing completion. Informal discussions in the Public Procurement Committee on June 21, 2017 confirmed that work is also steadily moving towards the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to the agreement. The meeting kicked off accession talks between Russia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
On June 16, 2017, the WTO reported that, at the request of the US in the US Large Civil Aircraft Conditional Tax Relief Dispute (DS487), the Appellate Body Chamber allowed WTO members to attend oral hearings and the public through deferred transfers. The opening statement was broadcast from WTO Headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday 5 July 2017.
Given the need to protect certain sensitive commercial information, public scrutiny is limited to opening statements by Member Delegations that have agreed to make their statements public.
On June 15, 2017, the WTO announced that, as a result of changes to the WTO rules of origin web page, WTO members and the public can now directly access members’ laws and practices regarding rules of origin. The updated web page also provides updates on the ongoing work of the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin.
With the increase in the number of regional trade agreements, more and more countries apply different preferential rules of origin. In addition, a growing number of WTO members are also introducing non-preferential origin requirements. Therefore, there is a growing need for transparency and a better understanding of these requirements.
To simplify and centralize access to such requirements, notifications received by the WTO Secretariat regarding preferential and non-preferential rules of origin for members are now available directly through the updated web page. For non-preferential rules of origin, a scrolling menu allows the user to quickly check which WTO members do or do not apply non-preferential rules of origin and, in the case of the former, access details of their respective rules.
Detailed information on preferential rules of origin can be found in the WTO Preferential Trade Agreements Database and the WTO Regional Trade Agreements Information System.
The revised rules of origin web page also includes new features such as a simplified menu and centralized information, meeting documents, links to related disputes, and technical assistance information. In addition, the content has been updated to reflect the ongoing work of the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin.
On 7 June 2017, the WTO announced that WTO members held an annual review of export subsidies and other export support measures at the Committee on Agriculture meeting on 7 June. They also exchanged information about each other’s agricultural policies. Canadian dairy policy and India’s wheat stocks are of concern to members. The ad said:
The committee’s review of the agricultural export policy is part of monitoring how the Nairobi decision on agricultural export subsidies is being implemented. At a ministerial meeting in December 2015 in Nairobi, members decided to eliminate agricultural export subsidies, widely seen as unfair trade practices that distort trade and undermine food production in vulnerable countries, and to strengthen other forms of export support rule.
The WTO Secretariat has circulated a new revised background document G/AG/W/125/Rev.6 containing four questions on export subsidies, export finance, international food aid and State Trade Enterprise (STE) agricultural exports (annex). The Cairns Agricultural Exporters Group and the Russian Federation circulated document G/AG/W/164, which contains an analysis of information on export support policies. He noted that this was the first annual review, based on the 2016 Members Report, that the Committee had begun assessing Members’ implementation of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision.
Of the 18 members(1) that agreed on export subsidies since the Uruguay Round, two, New Zealand and Panama, have phased out export subsidies. Australia was the first member to submit a revised export subsidy waiver schedule to the WTO, which came into effect on 22 May 2017. Several members provided updates on steps taken domestically to prepare for the revision of their commitment schedules. The EU, Israel and Norway said they expected to notify the revised export subsidy schedules by the end of 2017.
Members exchanged information on export competition discipline, export finance support, agricultural export SOEs and other aspects of international food assistance.
In terms of export finance support, the Cairns Group and Russia paper noted that “less than half of the projects reported had maturities longer than the 18-month maximum maturities. STE agricultural exports cover a wide range of products.”
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Alf Wederhus from Norway, noted that there was still more to be done by members to exchange information. “I call on members, developed and
Developing countries that are in a position to do so are doing their best to provide accurate and timely information and, where possible, improve the information provided to inform this special discussion on export competition,” he said.
Members also exchanged information on their agricultural policy practices. Questions and answers to each query can be found in the Agricultural Information Management System.
The Fifth Trade Policy and Practice Review of Nigeria took place from 13 to 15 June 2017. The review was based on a report from the WTO Secretariat and a report from the Government of Nigeria.
The following disputes have recently been submitted to the WTO. Clicking on the case number (“DS”) below will take you to a page on the WTO website for more information about this dispute.
US Compensatory Measures on Certain Hot Rolled DS436 Carbon Steel Flat Products from India
During the period covered by this update, the Dispute Resolution Authority (DSB) or the parties to the dispute took or reported the following actions. Panel Requests are not listed (click the ‘DS’ number to go to the case summary, click Activity to go to the latest news or documents):
United States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft – Second Complaint (Claimant: European Community)
Under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), WTO members are required to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that may affect trade with other members. The WTO Secretariat circulates this information to all member countries in the form of “notifications”. A separate section on WTO TBT notifications provides a summary table of notifications issued by the WTO over the past month.
On 14 June 2017, the WCO announced that the decisions of the WCO Harmonized System Committee (HSC) at its 59th session (15-24 March 2017) are now posted on the WCO website.
These include, inter alia, 27 new classification opinions and 30 sets of amendments to the HS explanatory notes, as well as 28 classification rules concerning, inter alia, arachidonic acid oil (ARA), a mixture of red and green pepper (Capsicum frutescens) containing full cheese (feta and fresh cheese) immersed in a liquid consisting of sunflower oil, garlic and spices, rapid test kits for the detection of Zika virus and other diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, pharmaceutical substitutes for bone implants; photoresists, which are light-sensitive solutions of plastic resins used in the photolithographic fabrication of semiconductor materials; desktop art easels; laminated fabrics; steel electronic safes designed to protect valuables; a palm-sized washing machine device powered by a small electric motor used to remove stains from clothing, unassembled parts of a bicycle, virtual reality headsets designed to be attached to and used with certain types of mobile phones, and skipping ropes.
WCO Supports Palestine Free Trade Agreement Initiative WCO Supports Egyptian Customs Administration (ECA) in Developing Their Strategic Plan Adds Annexes IB to III B and Annex to “Guidelines for the Technical Update of WCO Preferential Rules of Origin”, China Mexico Signed Joint Action Plan with Israel WCO AEO Program Successfully Supported Jordanian Customs in Time to Release Study (TRS) 2017 Power of Data: WCO ITC Leads Discussion on Latest IT Trends Liberian Revenue Service: As Modern Human Resources is Established, nCEN User Base Growing in Europe. The WCO is conducting a diagnostic on the potential of Burkina Faso Customs to implement CITES. The WCO supports the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Administration (ERCA). ar risk management strategy WCO support Consolidation of SAFE standards framework and implementation of AEO program in Fiji Afghanistan Customs Department (ACD) received WCO support to develop its strategic plan for 2018-2022. Cyprus Customs Introduces Cultural Heritage Protection to Students G20 African Partners Relations WCO Sub-Regional Workshop on Technical Updates to Rules of Origin for ASEAN Member States held in Bangkok, Thailand Classification Decisions of the 59th Session of the Harmonized System Committee WCO Workshop on Customs Valuation and Taxation Program published Asia-Pacific Highlights Importance of Improving Customs and WCO Tax Cooperation Western Balkans Strategic Trade Control Training Event
Zagreb 6-9 June WCO National Workshop on Post Clearance Audits in Minsk, Belarus Azerbaijan Hosts National Workshop on Customs Laboratory Modernization WCO Meeting with ASEAN Ambassador in Brussels WCO Support to Guinean Customs Promotes and Facilitates Further Cooperation between Border Agencies in Law Enforcement, 2017 d. WCO ITC summarizes expert opinions on the power of data. The WCO is assisting Pakistan Customs in matching its WeBOC system to the WCO data model. WCO Country Revenue Program Seminar on Apia, Samoa. this weekLatest WCO Newsletter AvailableWCO Supports Nigeria’s National Council for Trade Facilitation (NCTF)WCO Supports Cameroon in FTASACU Implementation customs audit (CCA) capacity
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has sent the following notifications to the Parties:
2017/042 Procedural decision of the Standing Committee of the National Ivory Action Program (NIAP) 2017/043 Totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) 2017/044 Registration of captive breeding operations of Annex I animal species for commercial purposes 2017/045 Online survey on the disposal of confiscated live samples 2017/046 Canadian stricter domestic measures on imports of Caudium spp. 2017/047 Madagascar proposes to suspend commercial trade in specimens of Dalbergia species. and persimmon genus. From Madagascar 2017/048 Annex I operational registration Commercial captive species 2017/049 IPBES: External Review of the Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
The following documents of interest to international traders (other than food safety standards) were published in Gaceta Oficial Digital (Official Gazette Digital) during the reporting period: