The European Commission decided to end European Union import duties on imports of corn, sorghum and rye from the U.S., the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a Sept. 3 report. The change occurred “only four months after re-introducing duties for the first time since March 2018,” the report said. “The re-introduction of duties in April 2020 were allegedly triggered by the decline in U.S. corn prices after the COVID-19 crisis significantly reduced the demand for U.S. bio-ethanol production.”

The United Kingdom released an updated guidance on Sept. 2 for “British businesses on developing their overseas trade and doing business in Iran.”

COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts, straightening supply chains and increasing trade were discussed as the United Kingdom held its first economic talks with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Aug. 26. The U.K. said it wants to work with ASEAN to increase trade in essential goods -- including food, medicine and medical devices -- and is committed to “free trade” during the pandemic. “We are determined to build on this partnership and explore opportunities for collaboration,” the U.K. said.

The United Kingdom launched 11 new trade advisory groups to seek input from industry as the country pursues trade deals after Brexit, the U.K. said Aug. 26. Feedback from the groups will be used to inform U.K. negotiations, especially as discussions with the U.S., Japan, Australia and New Zealand “intensify,” the U.K. said. “Talks with Japan, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand are entering their crucial latter stages,” U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss said, “so it is only right that we step up engagement with vital industries to utilise their technical and strategic expertise.”

The European Commission is accepting feedback until Oct. 6 on a proposal to establish special value-added tax arrangements for Northern Ireland after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. The proposal is to maintain certain EU VAT rules for Northern Ireland (see 2008030013), which is part of the U.K., even after the rest of the territory reaches the Brexit deadline.

A “skinny deal” to be completed before the United Kingdom crashes out of the European Union on Dec. 31 is seen as unlikely, but experts differ slightly on what that means for business. Robert Hardy, commercial director of Oakland Invicta Ltd., and founder of a Brexit-focused customs consultancy, said that even if there was a “soft Brexit,” all that would do is delay the pain, because presumably the deadline would be pushed out to fill in the details. “Customs paperwork exists in all scenarios. Actually, in a no-deal scenario, there’s less paperwork,” he said, because you don't have to account for rules of origin. “There’s more duty, but I don’t pay the duty, I do the paperwork,” he quipped.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service issued a report on Aug. 14 about upcoming changes to technical requirements for alcoholic products in the Eurasian Economic Union. The changes, which mostly take effect Jan. 9, 2021, detail safety standards and establish requirements for distribution, packaging, labeling, storage, transportation and disposal.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service issued a report on Aug. 14 about the European Union’s import controls for certain agricultural goods. It details the EU’s “extensive” control regimes for food items, including pre-export check requirements and special conditions for entry.

Due to human rights concerns, the European Union officially ended preferential import treatment on a range of Cambodian products, an Aug. 12 notice said. The move, set in motion in February, will affect about 20% of Cambodia’s exports to the EU, the notice said, which will now be subject to the EU’s general tariffs instead of the previous duty-free access. The move is expected to affect about $1 billion worth of Cambodian exports (see 2003030020), including garments, footwear and travel goods.

The United Kingdom will continue to impose countervailing and antidumping duties on imports of U.S. biodiesel, including biodiesel consigned from Canada, after the U.K. leaves the European Union, the country said Aug. 10. The determination filled a “call for evidence” from U.K. companies to examine trade remedies imposed by the EU that “matter to U.K. industry,” it said.