The recent entrance of new players into Portugal’s food retail sector will likely increase demand for food imports and open new opportunities for U.S. exporters, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Jan. 22. U.S. exports of agricultural goods, fish and forest products to Portugal doubled from 2017 to 2018, the report said, and the country’s improving economy will continue to improve prospects for U.S. exporters. While U.S. exporters may face competition from neighboring European Union countries, the diversity of food products in Portugal’s market is increasing, the report said, and consumers are becoming “more open, creating opportunities for new and foreign products.”

In the Jan. 17-21 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Union’s antidumping and countervailing duties on biodiesel from the U.S. are set to expire Sept. 16, 2020, unless EU producers file a written request for an expiry review by June 16, the European Commission said in a pair of notices. “This request must contain sufficient evidence that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in a continuation or recurrence of dumping [or subsidisation] and injury. Should the Commission decide to review the measures concerned, importers, exporters, representatives of the exporting country and Union producers will then be provided with the opportunity to amplify, rebut or comment on the matters set out in the review request,” the notice said.

A German court sentenced a Russian citizen to prison for illegally exporting military technology to Russia, according to a Jan. 9 report from Deutsche Welle. The citizen, identified as Vladamir D., was sentenced to seven years in prison after violating European Union sanctions by selling about $2 million worth of goods to “military recipients in Russia,” the report said. The goods are used for “military missile-related technology,” the report said, and included two “hot isostatic presses,” which are used in space-related technology. The man was also contracted to export 33 pounds of “decaborane chemicals” to a “military recipient” in Russia, the report said, and successfully sent an undisclosed amount. Authorities said the man “forged documents and used fake recipients” to evade Germany’s export controls, according to Deutsche Welle.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade amended 14 open general export licenses and one open general transshipment license, and revoked the OGEL for Turkey, according to a Jan. 17 notice. The amendments followed changes to the European Union’s dual-use export control list (see 1910210031)

The European Union is amending procedures for automotive coated steel sheet imports by the automotive sector under safeguards implemented in response to U.S. Section 232 tariffs. The European Commission says procedures for demonstrating end use in the automotive industry -- required to qualify for a special tariff-rate quota only for the automotive sector (see 1909270022) -- have been difficult to implement, causing supply chain disruptions for affected companies. The commission is now revoking those end use procedures, and increasing the amount allowed under the TRQ for regular steel sheet to account for additional imports by the automotive sector as a result of difficulty implementing the end use procedures for the special TRQ. The changes take retroactive effect Oct. 1, 2019.

In the Jan. 15-16 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Slovenia recently amended its value-added tax law to reflect changes to European Union VAT rules, according to a Jan. 15 KPMG post. The changes include new forms for VAT returns and a reduced 5 percent VAT rate on books, newspapers and other periodicals. The changes also include revised penalties for violations of VAT rules and new conditions for VAT exemptions on the “intra-Community” supply of goods. The amendments follow sweeping changes to the EU’s VAT system to simplify trade and tax measures between EU member states (see 1912230057).

The United Kingdom's Export Control Joint Unit on Jan. 14 updated a series of open general export licenses, including exports for dual-use goods, military goods, chemicals, low-value shipments, information and security items, and more. The updates clarify who is eligible to use the licenses.

In the Jan. 14 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: