The European Union extended its vaccine export control regime until the end of September, the European Commission announced June 30. The controls apply only to companies with which the EU has negotiated an advance purchase agreement and require these companies to notify their member state authorities of their intention to export COVID-19 vaccines. Due to the controls, the EU has gained greater transparency into the vaccine supply chains and has gleaned that it is a global leader in vaccine exports, the release said.
The United Kingdom and New Zealand wrapped up the fifth round of negotiations on a free trade agreement, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said in a June 30 news release. Steps were made toward a deal on government procurement, a dispute settlement mechanism, transparency levers and gender equality in trade, the release said. Progress was made toward improving procurement access for small and medium-sized enterprises and supply chain integrity, it said. Negotiations were held June 16-18.
The United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council conducted a review of opportunities for their trading and investment relationship, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade announced in a June 30 news release. The review focused on goods trade, services trade and investment. The U.K. and the GCC agreed to enhance cooperation to facilitate greater market access in key sectors such as professional and business services, agriculture, food and drink, education, healthcare, financial services and environmental technologies. The Gulf nations have a comparative advantage in natural resource extraction, petrochemicals and aluminum, while the U.K. has an advantage in manufacturing transport equipment, pharmaceuticals and beverages, an executive summary of the review said.
Switzerland's Federal Council adjusted the Swiss customs tariff in line with the latest revision of the internationally harmonized goods classification from the World Customs Organization, the council said in a June 30 news release. The products that required the new classification numbers include “hybrid vehicles, drones, 3D printers, new products in the tobacco industry and edible insects, for example,” the release said. The next revision is scheduled for 2027.
The United Kingdom and Singapore are looking to remove barriers to digital trade between the two nations through a new Digital Economy Agreement, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said in a June 27 news release. Seventy percent of the U.K.'s services exports were digitally sent to Singapore in 2019, totaling about £3.2 billion, the release said. The DEA would allow for more seamless electronic transactions, e-signatures and e-contracts. Other focuses of the agreement's negotiations include data flows, data protection, consumer rights and cybersecurity.
The European Council gave the green light for “neighbourhood aviation agreements” with Ukraine, Armenia and Tunisia along with an air transport agreement with Qatar. The four pacts will open up air transport markets, promoting trade, tourism, investment, and economic and social development, the council said in a June 28 news release. The Qatar agreement will open up the air transport market for all 27 European Union member states and upgrade the standards between Qatar and the EU. The accords also hold environmental, social and fair competition clauses accompanied by enforcement mechanisms to act as guardrails for the agreements' implementation.
The European Union extended safeguard measures on steel imports for three years in a June 25 implementing regulation. The measures were set to expire June 30. The European Commission found that the current tariff-rate quotas on 26 steel product categories need to continue to further protect European industry. The TRQs impose a 25% tariff once the quota quantities are exceeded. The covered products include goods such as hot and cold rolled sheets, metallic sheets, stainless hot rolled quarto plates and rebar.
The European Commission began a review of existing antidumping duties on molybdenum wires from China, a June 28 notice in the Official Journal of the European Union said. Having received a request for review following the publication of the expiration notice for the duties, the commission will look to see if an extension of the duties is necessary to further protect the European molybdenum wires industry. The period under investigation is Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020.
The European Commission repealed antidumping duties on seamless pipes and tubes of iron or steel from China in a June 28 implementing regulation. The repeal was done to comply with a European Court of Justice ruling invalidating the duties.
The European Union banned the sale, transfer or export of dual-use goods and technologies for military use to anyone in Belarus, expanding its sanctions regime on the Eastern European nation, the European Council announced in a June 24 news release. Since the forced landing of a Ryanair flight on May 23 and subsequent arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, the EU has sanctioned individuals, entities and economic activities in the country (see 2106210023). In this most recent push, the EU also barred the sale, transfer or export of technology intended for use in the “monitoring or interception of the internet and of telephone communications.” Trade in oil products, potassium chloride and goods used in tobacco production are also banned. The European Investment Bank is also instructed to halt any payments under public sector-related agreements with Belarus.