Weekly Compliance News - Around the World

GCSG's Weekly Compliance News feature is a compilation of some of the previous weeks interesting trade compliance, anti-bribery and corruption, fraud, and due diligence news bites, from around the world.

India - US Trade Conflict | TRADEWIN

“Last year during March, the US Government announced a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% import duty on aluminum products. This move struck the Indian steel industry severely as the US is the seventh largest market for this particular industry. In response, India also proposed to impose duties on goods originating in or exported from the USA in June 2018.” (Click here for the article) - India, United States

US proposes tariffs on another $4 billion of EU goods | American Journal of Transportation

“The U.S. added new products from the European Union to potentially target with retaliatory tariffs in a long-running trans-Atlantic subsidy dispute between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE.” (Click here for the article) - European Union, United States

Customs Value - EU Commission abolishes ‘Domestic Sale’ | Kneppelhout Korthals Lawyers

“…This guidance currently mentions that a ‘domestic sale’, being a sale between a seller and a buyer which are both established in the EU, is not considered a sale for export. This particular guidance is however about to change. The ‘Customs Expert Group on Customs Valuation’ of the EU Commission has recently decided to delete all references to a ‘domestic sale’ from the Guidance Document...” (Click here for the article) - European Union

The Importance of Managing Customs Data Elements Upstream | TRADEWIN

“Like salmon swimming up the river to find a place to spawn, it benefits importers to look at the flow of shipments, ultimately to move upstream to gather relevant data. If you wait until the last minute to get something done, it can feel like a tidal wave of activity coming at you. You may ultimately see delays in the customs clearance of your shipment, for example.” (Click here for the article) - Global

Asia-Pacific: Little to no progress on Anti-Corruption | Transparency International

“With an average score of just 44 for three consecutive years, the Asia Pacific region is making little progress in the fight against corruption. Compared to other regions, Asia Pacific is on par with the Americas (average score: 44) in its lack of progress and behind Western Europe and the European Union (average score: 66).” (Click here for the article) - Global

EU mechanism for trade with Iran now operational | Deutsche Welle

“The European Union announced that its INSTEX mechanism to facilitate trade with Iran was up and running on Friday. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom informed participants that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU member states, and that the first transactions are being processed," said an EU statement. INSTEX, which stands for Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, is a payment system that will allow companies to trade with Iran despite harsh US sanctions.” (Click here for the article) - European Union, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Iran

US terminates Turkey’s preferential trade agreement, reduced tariffs on steel | Reuters

“The United States on Thursday terminated Turkey’s preferential trade treatment that allowed some exports to enter the country duty free, but it has halved its tariffs on imports of Turkish steel to 25%.” (Click here for the article) - Turkey, United States

Corruption in Africa - The Crisis of our Time? | Africa.com

“Imagine a continent where six of its countries are among the ten countries considered most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International. Or one where persons empowered by various states to enforce the law, to protect people and property, and to prevent crime and civil disorder are equally as corrupt as the elected representatives of those states. Or think of living in a place where the cost of corruption is higher than the total combined amount of development aid that is received from foreign donors.” (Click here for the article) - Africa