Day: September 1, 2018

On 31^st August, the House of Lords Library published a briefing in preparation for the Second Reading and subsequent stages of the Bill in the House of Lords which begin on 4^th September.  The Bill would provide for the establishment of an independent customs regime once the UK has withdrawn from the EU and would also amend existing VAT and excise legislation to abolish the EU concept of acquisition VAT and introduce a range of delegated powers including the imposition, administration, collection and enforcement of customs duty.

https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/LLN-2018-0089

HKTDC on 28^th August reported that US Customs and Border Protection has posted to its website a list of recommended business practices to address the risk of forced labour in global supply chains. US law prohibits the importation of goods mined, produced or manufactured, wholly or in part, in any foreign country by forced labour, including convict labour, forced child labour and indentured labour – and such goods are subject to exclusion and/or seizure and may lead to criminal investigation of the importer.  Recent legislation closed a loophole in the law that had allowed imports of certain forced labour-produced goods if they were not produced domestically in such quantities as to meet consumptive demands.

http://economists-pick-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Regulatory-Alert-US/Forced-Labour-Risk-Management-Principles-Recommended-for-Importers/baus/en/1/1X300W0C/1X0AF0GK.htm

On 31^st August, Yahoo News carried an article about Russia’s appetite for Western cutting-edge technologies with military applications.  It says that the US DoJ has prosecuted at least 5 cases involving the illegal export of night-vision equipment to Russia in the past 5 years, and all 5 cases involved the latest generation of night-vision devices that Russia in recent years has had trouble producing domestically.  The article says that old-fashioned theft of military technology — once a staple of the Cold War — is still alive and thriving.  The article concentrates on the case of one business which the DoJ alleges that at least from 2012 — and likely for many years before that — purchased and exported US night-vision technology from various US-based suppliers, sending nearly 1,000 export-controlled night-vision parts to Russia.

https://in.news.yahoo.com/russia-stole-night-inside-illegal-market-american-night-vision-technology-090013609.html