The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its guidance on trade sanctions related to Syria, according to a March 9 notice. The change updates the guidance’s section on crude oil and petroleum products.

The annual report on Russia's compliance with World Trade Organization standards echoed much of last year's report (see 1902050029). The U.S. exported $6.7 billion in goods to Russia in 2018, with aircraft, machinery and vehicles as the most common exports. That is nearly 29% less than was exported 10 years ago. It has complied with its tariff commitments, but has numerous non-tariff barriers, the U.S. Trade Representative's report said.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued a March 9 guidance for businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The guidance provides information on how DIT is providing “supply chain disruption support” and other support for businesses that export to China.

The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit updated its guidance for its revoked open general export licenses for chemicals, according to a March 3 notice. The guidance provides revoked versions of the OGELs as a reference for exporters, the notice said.

The World Trade Organization must do more to address unfair trade practices, including trade advantages arising from industrial subsidies, state-owned companies and forced technology transfers, United Kingdom Trade Secretary Liz Truss told the WTO, according to a March 3 news release. To do this, WTO members should “update the WTO rulebook” and develop rules for developing countries to “trade their way to prosperity.” She added that more WTO members must advocate for “working together, not protectionism,” and said, as an independent member of the WTO, the U.K. will push for “liberalisation in trade.”

Italy recently issued guidance to its rules on “letters of intent” for value-added tax relief for certain exporters, according to a March 2 KPMG post. The guidance outlines new procedures so “habitual exporters” can trade without application of VATs, KPMG said. Among several recent changes, those exporters no longer have to provide suppliers or Italian Customs with a “copy of the letter of intent or the tax authority’s receipt” and no longer have to post those letters in a “special ledger,” the post said.

In the Feb. 25 - March 3 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom will need about 50,000 more private sector agents to keep up with the increased volume of customs declarations as a result of Brexit, U.K. minister Michael Gove said in Parliament March 26, according to a report in the Financial Times. Gove was confirming an estimate from the U.K. Road Haulage Association, based on an additional 50 million declarations if the U.K. and European Union reach a deal similar to the Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement. “That admission means that private-sector customs agents -- staff trained to fill in customs forms and clear them with the authorities -- will become one of the big growth sectors in the British employment market in the next year,” the Financial Times reported.

The United Kingdom plans to keep a countervailing duty on imports of rainbow trout from Turkey after it leaves the European Union, according to a Feb. 28 notice from the Department of International Trade. But if the EU terminates this measure before the Brexit transition period ends, the measure will not be transitioned, the notice said.

The United Kingdom government released on Feb. 27 a document outlining its approach to negotiations with the European Union on a permanent arrangement following Brexit. The document sets out the U.K.’s approach to negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU that removes all tariffs and quotas, including rules of origin, customs provisions and sectoral agreements. It draws heavily on recent EU trade agreements with Japan, South Korea and especially Canada for examples.