Canada and Mexico each on May 20 ended their retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in response to the end of U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products from the two countries (see 1905170058). General safeguard duties set by each country remain in place but don’t affect U.S. exports.

The Trump administration's decision to examine emerging technologies as candidates for export controls could cost U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars and threaten thousands of jobs, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a new report. If substantial export controls are enacted, the report warns, firms “could lose $14.1 [billion] to $56.3 billion in export sales over five years, with missed export opportunities threatening from 18,000 to 74,000 jobs.”

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is issuing a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions with Huawei and 68 of its affiliates without new licensing requirements set by their recent addition to the Entity List. The general license is scheduled for publication in the May 22 Federal Register, and will remain in effect from May 20 through Aug. 19.

U.S. exporters applauded the Trump administration's plans to roll back steel and aluminum tariffs and the decision by both Canada and Mexico to lift retaliatory tariffs.

The Canada Border Services Agency is looking closely at surtax payments due on imports from the U.S. that were required as part of Canada's retaliatory tariffs, a CBSA spokesman said May 17. "The CBSA has been analysing import data and conducting compliance activities to verify that the correct amount of surtax was paid by importers since the summer of 2018," the spokesman said by email. "These activities are continuing on an ongoing basis and additional assessments of surtax owing are issued where appropriate." KPMG recently noted an uptick in CBSA audits on the surtaxes (see 1905130062).

The Commerce Department on May 16 added Huawei Technologies to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List, eliciting strong reaction from Huawei and China over the move that may have substantial effects on U.S. exporters. In a notice in the Federal Register, BIS said it is imposing license requirements on Huawei and its 68 non-U.S. affiliates for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations with a license review policy of presumption of denial. The Federal Register notice is scheduled for May 21 publication, but the changes take effect May 16. All shipments aboard carriers as of May 16 may proceed to their destinations under previous license conditions.

After the Trump administration issued an executive order and announced export controls that targeted Chinese technology firm Huawei, China hinted at retaliation, saying it will take “necessary measures to safeguard” its companies. During May 16 press conferences, China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the U.S.’s decision to add Huawei Technologies to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and criticized the executive order President Donald Trump signed on May 15.

Speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in New York, Sigal Mandelker, Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said more countries are turning to digital currencies to evade U.S. sanctions. She also stressed the importance of complying with the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions programs, rejected the notion of a “one-size-fits-all” compliance program and warned that Treasury is looking into small actors -- not just large companies -- who commit violations.

China plans to hit a wide range of goods from the U.S. with 10 percent tariffs in response to the Trump administration's increase in tariffs on Chinese goods (see 1905130002). Among the major items by value targeted by China on its 10 percent tariff list are food preparations in 2106.90.90, lasers other than laser diodes in 9013.20.00, and cast glass sheets in 7003.19.00. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect June 1.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 6-10 in case they were missed.