On 29 April 2020, the Federal Council announced that the Federal Customs Administration (FCA) expects that the lockdown easing measures adopted by the Federal Council on 16 April will lead to a noticeable increase in the movement of goods. In dialogue with the business community, existing measures have been optimised and expanded, and the next steps outlined to ensure rapid processing of commercial goods traffic at the border. The Federal Council was informed of this…
On 24 April 2020, the European Commission published Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/568 (the “Implementing Regulation”), which prohibits the export from the EU of certain personal protective equipment unless a licence is first obtained from an EU Member State authority. The Implementing Regulation came into force on 26 April 2020. The Implementing Regulation replaces the temporary export controls imposed by the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/402 published on 15 March 2020, as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU)…
On April 24, 2020, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) published in the Federal Register a notice that it will accept additional comments from the public, during the period June 12 to June 22, 2020, on petitions for duty suspensions and reductions that the Commission places in Category VI in the preliminary report that it sends to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance on June 9, 2020. Under…
On April 24, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the USTR’s determination to grant certain exclusion requests, as specified in the Annex to the notice, and corrects a technical error in a previously announced exclusion. The product exclusions will apply as of September 24, 2018, the effective date of the $200 billion (Tranche 3) action, and extend to August 7, 2020. The amendments…
On April 24, 2020, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that he had notified Congress that Canada and Mexico have taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), and that the Agreement will enter into force on July 1, 2020. Following that notification to Congress, the United States became the third country to notify the other Parties that it had completed its domestic procedures to implement the agreement—the final…
On April 22, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published two separate notifications of continuation of temporary travel restrictions, which announce the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to continue to temporarily limit the travel of individuals from Canada or Mexico into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States-Canada and United States- Mexico borders. Such travel will be limited to “essential travel,” as further defined in the…
On April 22, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the Federal Register a notice announcing an extension of an Order issued March 20, 2020, under Sections 362 and 365 of the Public Health Service Act, and associated implementing regulations, that suspends the introduction of certain persons from countries where an outbreak of a communicable disease exists. The Order was issued on April 20, 2020 and shall remain in effect until…
On April 21, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a request for petitions from North American producers of passenger vehicles and light trucks who request an alternative to the standard staging regime for the rules of origin for automotive goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA or the Agreement) using the procedures and guidance for submitting petitions in the notice. To be assured of consideration, a vehicle…
On April 22, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will publish in the Federal Register a temporary final rule [USCBP-2020-0017; CBP Dec. 20-05] implementing the Executive Order issued on April 18, 2020, entitled “National Emergency Authority to Temporarily Extend Deadlines for Certain Estimated Payments” authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to exercise the authority under section 318(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the designee of…
On April 22, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing an extension of an Order issued March 20, 2020, under Sections 362 and 365 of the Public Health Service Act, and associated implementing regulations, that suspends the introduction of certain persons from countries where an outbreak of a communicable disease exists. The extension Order was issued on April 20, 2020 and shall remain in…