On March 24, 2020, Office of the Secretary, US Department of Homeland Security published in the Federal Register a document that announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security to temporarily limit the travel of individuals from Mexico into the United States at land ports of entry and ferries along the US-Mexico border and a separate document temporarily limiting the travel of individuals from Canada into the United States at land ports of entry…
On March 19, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. USTR-2020-0012] requesting applications from U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for the establishment of a roster of individuals who would be available to serve as panelists for general state-to-state dispute settlement panels and for specialized labor panels, required by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). To ensure consideration, USTR must receive applications by…
On March 13, 2020, Bill C-4, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act was approved by the House of Commons, the Senate and received Royal Assent, the last step in formal ratification of the tri-lateral agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Agreement is referred to as CUSMA in Canada, USMCA in the United States and T-MEC in Mexico. Mexico and the United States had previously ratified the Agreement. Canadian approval means…
Global Affairs Canada published a notice in the Canada Gazette of February 29, 2020, regarding a public consultation on a WTO framework on investment facilitation for development.In November 2019, 98 WTO members, including Canada, endorsed a new joint ministerial statement in Shanghai, committing to work towards a concrete outcome regarding the framework on investment facilitation for development at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in June 2020. The discussions about investment facilitation for development are about…
In May 2019, Global Affairs Canada launched an 18-month comprehensive review of policies related to supply-managed tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for dairy, poultry and egg products. On February 22, 2020, the Canada Gazette published a notice from Global Affairs Canada announcing that the second phase of consultations, launched on February 14, 2020, gives stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback on TRQ allocation and administration policy options for supply-managed products. The options presented for consideration are…
On February 4, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued CSMS # 41538803 – GUIDANCE: Additional Duty on Imports of Derivative Aluminum and Steel Articles, excerpts of which are reproduced below: On January 29, 2020, the President issued Proclamation 9980 on Adjusting Imports of Derivative Aluminum Articles and Derivative Steel Articles into the United States under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), providing for additional import…
On February 1, 2020, the Canada Gazette published a notice from Global Affairs Canada that states that agreements concluded by Canada with the European Union, with Member States acting on behalf of the European Union, and with the European Union and its Member States acting jointly shall continue to apply to the United Kingdom for the duration of the transition period following its departure from the European Union. If there is any change to this…
On January 29, 2020, President Trump signed H.R. 5430, the “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act,” which implements the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The USMCA is a revised and updated agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The USMCA Implementation Act was approved on January 16, 2020, the in the US Senate by a vote of 89-10, sending it to the President. The House of Representatives had approved the bill on December 19,…
On January 24, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Derivative Aluminum Articles and Derivative Steel Articles into the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Except as otherwise provided in the proclamation, all imports of derivative aluminum articles specified in Annex I to the proclamation shall be subject to an additional 10 percent ad valorem rate of duty, and all imports of derivative steel articles specified…
On January 24, 2020, 17 WTO members issued a statement agreeing to establish a temporary system for appealing WTO disputes. They reached an agreement during the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The WTO members include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the European Union, Guatemala, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland and Uruguay. Canada and the EU had earlier established a separate interim appeals procedure. The statement indicated…