The United Kingdom Parliament on Oct. 22 voted to approve the broad outlines of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new transition deal for exiting the United Kingdom. The 329-299 vote on the implementation bill’s “second reading” in Parliament would normally move the bill forward to a detailed examination of the bill at committee stage and then a final vote on the “third reading,” though U.K. lawmakers in a second vote rejected Johnson’s proposed three-day timetable for considering the bill and a new schedule has yet to be proposed, according to a report from the BBC.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 15-18 in case they were missed.

Venezuela’s oil production will continue to drastically decline in 2020 if Nicolas Maduro stays in power, potentially crippling future Venezuelan oil trade, said Alejandro Grisanti, director of the ad hoc board for Petroleos de Venezuela set up by opposition party leader Juan Guaido. Speaking during an Oct. 22 Atlantic Council panel, Grisanti said Venezuela’s oil production will fall to 450,000 barrels per day in 2020 if Maduro stays in power. The country’s oil production has fallen from 1.5 million to about 750,000 barrels per day this year due to U.S. sanctions, Grisanti said.

Companies are concerned about the “heavy-handed use” of export controls and sanctions by the Trump administration, which could lead to a less interconnected global trade order, said Babak Hoghooghi, a trade lawyer specializing in sanctions and export controls at Berliner Corcoran. Hoghooghi, speaking during an Oct. 18 panel hosted by American University's Administrative Law Review. He said the U.S.’s “overuse” of sanctions prompts other countries to consider decoupling from global economies and seek long-term workarounds to U.S. policies. Other trade experts have warned of similar consequences (see 1908010020). “I would venture to say that this process has already begun,” Hoghooghi said.

The EU will apply its own tariffs to U.S. products, Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said in a news release. "“We regret the choice of the U.S. to move ahead with tariffs," she said. "This step leaves us no alternative but to follow through in due course with our own tariffs in the Boeing case, where the U.S. has been found in breach of WTO rules."

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- CBP hopes to have a fully functioning electronic export manifest system up and running by the end of year, said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and security controls, at the Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON) on Oct. 11. Specifically, Swanson is eyeing a “November time frame” for the ocean, air and rail modes, with truck coming at a later date after CBP completes its work on rebuilding the inbound manifest system for that mode, he said.

Companies and trade groups warned the Treasury Department that the proposed regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act may repel foreign investors and customers, fails to clearly define “critical technologies” and could place trusted trading partners at disadvantages, according to comments due Oct. 17.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations to further restrict exports and re-exports to Cuba, BIS said in a notice. The amendments change BIS licensing policies and exceptions for certain aircrafts and vessels, establish a 10 percent de minimis level for Cuba, make the Cuban government ineligible for certain donations and clarify the scope of unlicensed telecommunication items the Cuban government can receive. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs recently said it completed its review of the rule (see 1910150041)

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson will take a second European Union exit deal to the U.K. Parliament on Oct. 19, after coming to new terms with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on an agreement on Brexit. Under the deal, Northern Ireland will formally remain part of the U.K. customs territory, but will also be an entry point into the EU customs zone with no tariffs on goods entering from Ireland and a vote in four years on whether to keep the arrangement in place, according to a BBC report.

Although the International Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 incoterms did not make the significant revisions that industries expected, it did introduce several changes that may require updated contacts between importers and exporters.