On November 9, 2016, the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Customs and Tariff Law. Some highlights of the revised Articles (some of which require implementing regulations, which were adopted on 11 November 2016):
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.
CBP has published in the Federal Register the following determination concerning the country of origin of merchandise for purposes of US Government procurement under the Trade Agreements Act. A copy of the final determination may be reviewed by clicking on the ruling number. Any party-at-interest may seek judicial review of the final determination within 30 days of the date of publication in the Federal Register.
On 23 August 2016, the new UK Department for International Trade (DIT) released a “Survey to identify trade and investment barriers in 7 overseas markets”.
The UK government is planning to hold joint economic and trade committee meetings with Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam by the end of 2016. The aim of these dialogues is to discuss bilateral trade and investment issues and to strengthen the UK’s economic, industrial and commercial ties with these markets.
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…
On April 16, 2015, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice: 9095] that outlines the U.S. Government (USG) actions taken to extend certain sanctions relief under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) as part of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), that halts progress on Iran’s nuclear program and rolls it back in key respects in exchange limited, temporary, and targeted sanctions relief to Iran…
The Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, announced that the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) between Taiwan and Israel entered into force on December 4, 2014, the date from which traders are eligible to enjoy benefits provided by Taiwan Customs and Israel Customs under the MRA. The announcement said the implementation of the MRA will effectively enhance trade security and facilitation for both sides, and thus promote bilateral trade.The MRA was signed…
On 20 August 2014, the Amendment of Customs Tariff Law adds Articles 20-1, 28-1, 83-1 and 87-1；and revises Articles 7, 10, 13, 20, 23, 59, 81, 83 and 93 (Publication № 7154) was enacted. It went into effect on 22 August 2014. The Legislative Yuan has prepared the following summary: The amendment of 20 August 2014 applies to the Customs Tariff Law. The essential points are:1) To add that the untaxed goods carried by transports…
The Agreement Between Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Partnership (ASTEP) will be implemented on 19 April 2014. Singapore Customs (SC) Circular No: 07/2014 dated 3 April 2014 outlines the procedures for the claiming of preferential tariff treatment for originating goods from the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (“Chinese Taipei”) under the ASTEP. Information on the Rules of Origin for exports to Chinese…
On 22 January 2014, the Gazette of the Office of the President published № 7123, Amendment of Patent Law adds Articles 97-1~97-4; and revisions to Article 143. According to an English language summary on the Legislative Yuan website, The essential points of the Amendments to the Patent Law are: • To specify that a patentee may apply to the customs to seize the imported goods which possibly infringe his or her patent right (Article 97-1)• To provide…