Background

Trade Committees

The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service is accepting through Sept. 20 applications for membership on the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee and the related Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees for Trade, which provide detailed policy and technical advice, information, and recommendations regarding trade barriers, negotiation of trade agreements, and implementation of existing trade agreements affecting food and agricultural products. Each committee member must be a U.S. citizen, must represent a U.S. entity with an interest in agricultural trade, and must not be registered with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

South Africa

FAS reports that the government of South Africa has published a new sugar import tariff of $60.09/metric ton that will apply to sugar imported into the Southern African Customs Union. However, FAS notes that South Africa imports relatively low volumes of refined sugar from the U.S., with imports dropping from 1,081 MT in 2017 to zero in 2023.

Burma

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule that, effective Aug. 21, added a general license to the Burma Sanctions Regulations to authorize the provision of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components for medical devices, and software updates for medical devices to individuals whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to those regulations.

Nigeria

FAS reports that on Aug. 14 Nigeria’s Customs Service publicly released guidelines that waive all import (and associated levy) taxes for rice, sorghum, millet, corn, wheat, and beans until Dec. 31, 2024. As a result, duties and levies moved from 30 percent to zero for husked brown rice, from five percent to zero for corn, and from 20 percent to zero for wheat. FAS notes that in 2023 Nigeria imported $1.9 billion in wheat from the world, with the U.S. accounting for $185 million.

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