The footnote in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that says that the U.S. could change its de minimis level to match Canada's and Mexico's levels was roundly rejected by the Senate Finance Committee on July 30, when the topic was one of the most-discussed aspects of the deal. Paula Barnett, owner of Paula Elaine Barnett jewelry, was the first witness who testified, and she told the committee that she does not want U.S. de minimis levels lowered, because she doesn't have to pay tariffs when goods are returned from outside the country, and because she purchases opals from Mexico, and those purchases are under the $800 threshold.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 22-26 in case they were missed.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control’s amendments to its reporting, procedures and penalties regulations are unnecessary, unclear and “overly burdensome” on the U.S. forwarding industry, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to the agency. The comments stem from OFAC’s June 21 interim final rule on the regulations’ amendments, which expands the scope of certain transactions that must be reported to the Treasury (see 1906200036). The American Association of Exporters and Importers also criticized the amendments, saying they have caused U.S. companies a “great deal of confusion” (see 1907230054).

As the U.S. and the European Union continue to impose diverging sanctions measures, global businesses are being tasked with increasingly challenging compliance dilemmas, several trade experts said during a July 25 KPMG webinar. Companies are facing more strategic decisions about which countries they can and cannot afford to trade with and are reconsidering multiyear contracts because of the constantly changing sanctions landscape, the experts said.

If the United Kingdom leaves the European Union on a “hard Brexit,” the U.K. will likely make use of more flexible licensing powers, publish more sanctions guidance and may quickly impose its own set of sanctions on human rights violations, said Maya Lester, a U.K.-based sanctions lawyer, during a KPMG webinar on July 25.

President Donald Trump on July 26 directed the U.S. trade representative to seek changes at the World Trade Organization that would prevent rich countries from claiming benefits reserved for developing countries in WTO agreements.

U.S.-China trade talks broke down over disagreements about the deal’s enforcement mechanism, said Michael Pillsbury, the director for Chinese strategy at the Hudson Institute. And as negotiations are expected to restart, Pillsbury said there is no guarantee a deal will be struck.

CBP hopes its Electronic Export Manifest system reduces costs and waiting times for U.S. exporters, who are being burdened by CBP’s “antiquated process for exports,” said Jim Swanson, director of CBP’s Cargo and Security Controls Division, at the agency’s Trade Symposium in Chicago on July 25.

CBP is working with several African countries to improve their ports and customs agencies and to increase trade with the U.S., said Tasha Reid Hippolyte, director of CBP’s Africa, Middle East and Central Asia Division, speaking during the agency’s Trade Symposium in Chicago on July 24.

The Commerce Department plans to issue decisions on Huawei-related export license applications “within the next few weeks,” Secretary Wilbur Ross said July 23 on Bloomberg Television. Ross said Commerce has received about 50 applications from 35 companies. “We’re processing them as quickly as we responsibly can,” he said.