On December 29, 2020, the Federal Register published Presidential Proclamation 10128 of December 22, 2020 – To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes, which takes the following actions: Designates the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country for purposes of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and modifies general note 16(a) to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to…
As a result of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, several African countries have implemented supporting measures for the economic actors to ensure the continuity of their activities and mitigate the negative effects on the economy. In particular, Togo has suspended all ongoing tax controls on local companies. In Mali, a guarantee fund for the private sector has been created to cover the financial needs of businesses affected by the pandemic. The Central…
The Democratic Republic of Congo set up on 5 March 2020, a national export promotion agency named “Anapex.” According to Decree No. 20/003 of 5 March 2020, the agency’s mission is to promote exports of all agricultural, agro-industrial, industrial, and artisanal products of Congolese origin. The agency’s activities consist mainly of implementing policies meant to facilitate the export of Congolese products, providing support to Congolese companies, and developing local skills. Click here to read more.…
On October 25, 2017, the Federal Register published Presidential Notice of October 23, 2017 - Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which extends for an additional year the national emergency first declared in Executive Order (EO) 13413 (October 27, 2006), which also ordered related measures blocking the property of certain persons contributing to the conflict in that country.
On July 14, 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice providing country-by-country allocations of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 (October 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018) in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar, certain sugars, syrups and molasses (also known as refined sugar), specialty sugar, and sugar-containing products.
The European Council has adopted sanctions against nine individuals who hold positions of responsibility in the State administration and in the chain of command of the security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for planning, directing or committing serious human rights violations. This is in addition to the seven people on whom the EU imposed sanctions as of 12 December 2016 due to the obstruction of the electoral process and related human rights violations.
On March 27, 2017, the Department of State (State) published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice: 9929] seeking input from stakeholders to inform recommendations of how best to support responsible sourcing of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (the conflict minerals).
On October 25, 2016, the Federal Register published Presidential Notice of October 21, 2016 – Continuation of National Emergency With Respect to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which continues for an additional year the national emergency first declared on October 27, 2006, by Executive Order 13413 and amended by Executive Order 13671 of July 8, 2014. The national emergency is being continued because the situation in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of…
On September 29, 2016, the Department of State published in the Federal Register an interim final rule [Public Notice: 9602] amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to designate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA); reorganize the content in several paragraphs to clarify the intent of the ITAR; update defense trade policy regarding Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire to reflect resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC); update defense trade policy regarding Sri Lanka to reflect the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016; and update defense trade policy regarding Vietnam to reflect a determination made by the Secretary of State.