International Trade Compliance Update
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
International Trade Compliance Update (Covering Customs and Other Import Requirements, Export Controls and Sanc- tions, Trade Remedies, WTO and Anti-Corruption) Newsletter | May 2017 In This Issue: World Trade Organization (WTO) World Customs Organization (WCO) Other International Matters The Americas - Central America The Americas - North America The Americas - South America Asia-Pacific Europe, Middle East and North Africa Trade compliance enforcement ac- Please see our Webinars, Meetings, Seminars section for the full schedule of tions - import, export, IPR, FCPA webinars in this series, names of speakers, contacts and information on how to Newsletters, reports, articles, etc. register for one or more of these complimentary webinars, as well as information on other events and links to video recordings of past webinars. Webinars, Meetings, Seminars, etc. WTO TBT Notifications CBP Rulings: Downloads and Searches To keep abreast of international trade-related news, visit our blogs: CBP Rulings: Revocations or Modifi- cations For International Trade Compliance Updates, please regularly visit . European Classification Regulations www.internationaltradecomplianceupdate.com Amendments to the CN Explanatory For additional articles and updates on trade sanctions, export controls and relat- Notes ed subjects, please visit: http://sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com/ regularly. Section 337 Actions For resources and news regarding international trade, particularly in Asia, please Antidumping, Countervailing Duty visit our new Trade Crossroads blog at http://tradeblog.bakermckenzie.com/. and Safeguard Investigations, Or- ders & Reviews To see how the UK referendum on exiting the EU (Brexit) may affect your busi- ness, visit http://brexit.bakermckenzie.com/ For additional compliance news and comment from around the world, please visit http://globalcompliancenews.com/. Editor, International Trade Com- pliance Update Stuart P. Seidel Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this Update is taken from offi- Washington, D.C. cial gazettes, official websites, newsletters or press releases of international or- +1 202 452 7088 [email protected] ganizations (UN, WTO, WCO, APEC, INTERPOL, etc.), the EU, EFTA, EAEU, Customs Unions or government agencies. The specific source may usually be This may qualify as “Attorney Advertis- obtained by clicking on the blue hypertext link. Please note that as a general rule, ing” requiring notice in some jurisdic- information related to fisheries is not covered. tions. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Articles written by Baker McKenzie attorneys have their names and links to their Please see copyright and acknowl- e-mail addresses, usually at the end of the article. edgements on the last page 1 Baker McKenzie World Trade Organization (WTO) The International Trade Compliance Update is a publication of the Glob- Trade Policy Review: Mexico, Belize al International Commercial and Trade Practice Group of Baker The sixth review of the trade policies and practices of Mexico took place on 5 and McKenzie. Articles and comments 7 April 2017. The basis for the review was a report by the WTO Secretariat and a are intended to provide our readers report by the Government of Mexico. with information on recent legal developments and issues of signifi- The third review of the trade policies and practices of Belize took place on 24 and cance or interest. They should not 26 April 2017. The basis for the review was a report by the WTO Secretariat and be regarded or relied upon as legal a report by the Government of Belize. advice or opinion. Baker McKenzie advises on all aspects of Interna- WTO members discuss trade facilitation provisions in RTAs tional Trade law. The WTO announced that WTO members discussed the relationship between Comments on this Update may be trade facilitation provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the WTO’s sent to the Editor: Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the 3-4 April meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements. The announcement said: Stuart P. Seidel Washington, D.C. +1 202 452 7088 Delegates from the European Union, Japan and Australia delivered presentations [email protected] comparing their existing and future RTAs with provisions of the WTO’s landmark TFA, showing how bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agendas have influenced each other in this area. A note on spelling, grammar and dates-- This informal discussion was held to follow up on ministers’ December 2015 instruc- In keeping with the global nature tions for the committee to discuss the systemic implication of RTAs for the multilateral of Baker McKenzie, the original trading system and their relationship to WTO rules, as reflected in paragraph 28 of spelling, grammar and date format- the Nairobi ministerial declaration. Besides instructions for holding these discussions, ting of non-USA English language the ministerial declaration also called on WTO members to work towards the trans- material has been preserved from formation of the provisional Transparency Mechanism, which is used to review RTAs, the original source whether or not into a permanent one without prejudice to questions related to notification require- the material appears in quotes. ments. Translations of most non-English The discussion looked at how certain RTAs of these members converge with or di- language documents are unofficial verge from the provisions of the TFA. Members also heard how trade facilitation pro- and are performed via an automat- visions in RTAs had evolved and shaped TFA negotiations and how, in turn, the TFA ed program and are for information could set the basis for customs and trade facilitation chapters in future RTAs. purposes only. Some delegations also shared their country experiences with trade facilitation-related Credits: provisions in their RTAs. Unless otherwise indicated, all in- Airbus compliance appeal proceedings to be broadcast formation is taken from official in- ternational organization or govern- On 26 April 2017, the WTO announced that at the request of the participants in ment websites, or their newsletters the dispute “European Communities and Certain Member States – Measures or press releases. Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft – Recourse to Article 21.5 of the DSU” (DS316), the Appellate Body Division hearing the appeal has decided to author- Source documents may be accessed by clicking on the blue ize observation of the oral hearing by WTO members and the general public. hypertext links. Given the participants’ request to protect certain sensitive business information, public observation will be limited to the opening statements and will take place This Update contains public sector infor- via delayed broadcast. The broadcast of the opening statements will take place mation licensed under the Open Gov- ernment Licence v3.0 of the United King- at the WTO on Wednesday, 10 May at 10 a.m. dom. In addition, the Update uses mate- rial pursuant to European Commission In light of limited seating capacity, the places reserved for the public will be policy as implemented by Commission allocated on a first come, first served basis upon receipt of a completed reg- Decision of 12 December 2011. istration form. Completed forms should be sent by e-mail only, to the follow- ing address: [email protected]. International Trade Compliance Update | May 2017 2 Baker McKenzie Applications will be accepted until 12 noon, Geneva time, on Wednesday, 3 May 2017. Those to whom seats have been allocated will be advised by e- mail by Friday, 5 May, at which time further information regarding the broad- cast will be provided. See announcement for additional details. DSB activities During the period covered by this update, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) or parties to a dispute took the following actions or reported the following activities. Requests for a panel are not listed (click on “DS” number to go to summaries of the case, click on “Activity” to go to the latest news or documents): DS No. Case Name Activity Date European Union — Measures Related to DS516 Price Comparison Methodologies (Complain- Panels established ant: China) but not yet com- 03-04-17 India — Certain Measures on Imports of Iron posed DS518 and Steel Products (Complainant: Japan) United States — Anti-dumping and Counter- Arbitrator deter- DS464 vailing Measures on large residential wash- mines “reasonable 13-04-17 ers from Korea (Complainant: Korea) period of time” European Union – Measures Affecting Tariff DSB adopts panel DS492 Concessions on Certain Poultry Meat Prod- 19-04-17 report ucts (Complainant: China) United States — Measures Concerning the Arbitrator issues DS381 Importation, Marketing and Sale of Tuna and 25-04-17 decision Tuna Products (Complainant: Mexico) TBT Notifications Member countries of the WTO are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other Member countries. The WTO Secre- tariat distributes this information in the form of “notifications” to all Member coun- tries. See separate section on WTO TBT Notifications for a table which summa- rizes notifications posted by the WTO during the past month. World Customs Organization (WCO) Announcements and news releases [dd-mm-yy] Date Title 01-04-17 The EU Steps Up Capacity Building in Tariff Classification Serbia hosts a Workshop on Customs Laboratories for the Customs Administra- 03-04-17 tions