China confirmed it will waive some import tariffs on U.S. soybeans and pork after receiving applications from Chinese companies, according to a Dec. 6 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. China's Customs Tariff Commission will “dedicate a range of goods” to benefit from tariff exemptions, adding that companies will buy the products through “independent negotiation.” Chinese companies can import U.S. soybeans and pork “as they see fit” and “bear the related profits or losses,” Xinhua said. China released its first batch of tariff exemptions on U.S. goods in September, exempting 16 items (see 1909110051). Soon after, China added certain agricultural products, including pork and soybeans, to the list of exempted goods (see 1909130013).

The U.S. needs to increase “engagement” with China to reach a trade deal, said Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., adding that the U.S. has stronger, not weaker, trade relationships with its allies since President Donald Trump became president.

Agricultural trade associations applauded the Japanese Diet’s passage of the U.S.-Japan trade deal (see 1912040008) but urged the Trump administration to quickly begin working on a more comprehensive deal with Japan.

The Dec. 3 House passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 will have serious repercussions for U.S.-China trade talks if the bill becomes law, a China Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson threatened on Dec. 4. H.R. 649 and the companion S. 178 that cleared the Senate in September demand tough U.S. sanctions on China over reports of government-run detention centers imprisoning millions of Muslim-minority Chinese citizens in Xinjiang.

Newly recommended export-related initiatives (see 1912020048), including an effort by CBP to reduce minor “parking ticket” violations, will better allow U.S. enforcement agencies to target serious export violators, Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee members said during a Dec. 4 meeting. CBP’s Export Modernization Working Group hopes fewer minor penalties will clear up enforcement officials to do more large-scale work. “It should help the enforcement side to have time to actually get the bad guys,” said Brenda Barnes, a COAC member and part of the EMWG.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 25-29 in case you missed them.

Switzerland is “absolutely convinced” it needs a free trade agreement with the U.S., which could benefit U.S. agricultural exporters, a Switzerland ambassador and Switzerland trade expert said during a Dec. 3 Heritage Foundation panel. But a deal may be unlikely, particularly because Switzerland faces the difficult decision of accepting U.S. agricultural safety standards over those of the European Union, a trade expert said. That decision presents a significant barrier to a potential trade deal.

China announced sanctions on five U.S. non-government organizations and said U.S. military ships and aircraft will not be allowed to visit Hong Kong, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Dec. 2. The sanctions were in response to the U.S. passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last week (see 1911290012). The sanctioned organizations include the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House.

As CBP prepares to launch its electronic export manifest system, the agency should increase collaboration with stakeholders, provide clear guidelines for regulators and eliminate redundant data requirements, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee’s Export Modernization Working Group said in proposed recommendations. The recommendations were released this month ahead of COAC’s Dec. 4 public meeting.

President Donald Trump signed bills that could remove Hong Kong from receiving special customs and export controls treatment and restrict exports of rubber bullets, tear gas and other items to the region. The bills (see 1911200036), signed Nov. 27, led to backlash from China, which said the country is prepared to retaliate. “We urge the U.S. to not continue going down the wrong path, or China will take countermeasures, and the U.S. must bear all consequences,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Nov. 28.