On January 24, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published in the Federal Register a final rule [FAC 2005–97; FAR Case 2018–001; Docket No. 2018–0004; Sequence No. 1]
On December 27, 2017, the Diario Oficial (Official Gazette) published the US Dollar and national money (Peso) thresholds for government procurements subject to free trade agreements. The Secretary of Public Function notified the amounts in Office No. UNCP/309/ TU/786/2017. The amounts are in effect from January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018.
On December 27, 2017, the Federal Register published Proclamation 9687 of December 22, 2017 – To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes. The Proclamation:
According to the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN Report 102017, the head of the Israeli Customs Directorate has announced that its services will be offline January 10- 14, 2018. The down-time is needed for the installation of a new computerized system: Shaar Olami (Global Gate). The new system aims to improve the level of service in customs and provide rapid transit of goods to and from the State of Israel. This will enter into force on Sunday January 14, 2018. The GAIN report states:
On June 26, 2017, the Secretary of Public Function – Sub-secretary of Administrative Responsibilities and Public Contracts published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (the Official Federal Gazette) a circular [Oficio №. UNCP/309/TU/370/2017] with tables showing in national currency the thresholds under the various free trade agreements of which Mexico is a party that apply from July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017, when foreign goods and services are to be offered to the Government.
On May 10, 2017, CBP issued CSMS #17-000270 FTA Origination Analysis and Certification when no Tariff Change Rule (TCR). We quote the CSMS below:
The WTO announced that WTO members discussed five new or enhanced proposals to advance services negotiations at meetings of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation and the Services Council on 14-17 March 2017. Four of these proposals aim to ensure that domestic licensing procedures and technical standards do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade while one proposal relates to the establishment of a trade facilitation agreement for services. The WTO provided the following summaries:
On December 27, 2016, the Secretariat of Public Function published in the Diario Oficial an Office Circular setting forth two tables. The first table lists the trade agreements and where the listing of agencies covered may be found in that agreement. The second table shows the threshold amounts converted into the national currency for the first six months of 2017 for government purchases by agencies and administrative bodies that are subject to the terms of various free trade agreements.
Member countries of the World Trade Organization (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 Secretariat distributes this information in the form of “notifications” to all Member countries. The chart below summarizes notifications from the WTO in English received and posted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) during the past month.
On June 21, 2016, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding thirty-six (36) persons to the Unverified List (the ‘‘Unverified List’’ or UVL), and adding an additional address for one (1) person currently listed on the UVL. The 36 persons are being added to the UVL on the basis that BIS could not verify their bona fides because an…