INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND TRADE
Customs
Canada:
The
Department of Finance will remove tariffs on an array of goods used in the
production of other goods to improve the competitiveness of Canadian
exporters. Included are certain motors to manufacture air filtration,
ventilation units, non-woven fabrics, acrylic fabrics and certain vinyl
and rubber sheets for flotation apparel (20 ITR 119; 1-16-03).
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND INVESTMENT
Tax Agreements
U.S.:
U.S. and Switzerland have entered into a Mutual Agreement Regarding Tax
Information Exchange to facilitate investigation of off-shore accounts
that aid individuals in hiding income (Rev. Proc. 2003-11; FEDERAL 2003
TAXDAY, 12703-submitted by Charles Verdin, Esq.).
Customs Agreements
U.S.:
Spain has joined the U.S. Container Security Initiative (CSI) risking
legal action by the European Commission against EU members challenging the
initiative as distorting trade (20 ITR 102; 1-16-03).
Investments
Singapore:
Companies that headquarter their Asian operations in Singapore may qualify
for preferential tax rate of 15 percent for three years. This is 7 percent
below the current corporate tax rate (20 ITR 109; 1-16-03).
IMMIGRATION
Passenger Manifest Requirements Under the Enhanced
Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act (2002)
The
INS proposes a new rule requiring the submission of arrival and departure
manifest electronically in advance of an aircraft or vessel arrival in or
departure from the United States. Comments may be submitted
electronically to the INS at
insregs@usdoj.gov (include reference number INS NO. 2182-01; 80 IR
19;1-16-03).
Social Security Totalization Agreements
Totalization Agreements are executive agreements between the United States
and foreign countries that eliminate dual contributions of a foreign
national being required to participate in the pension system of more than
one country. Of the 20 countries with which the U.S. has such Agreements,
all but Italy
grant a five-year exemption for payment into pensions systems by visiting
foreign employees. Thus, a U.S. citizen working for a U.S. company abroad
in a country that has entered such an Agreement may pay only into the U.S.
Social Security system while working in a foreign country for five or
fewer years, after which they must pay into the pension system of the
foreign country. The countries with which agreements exist are Italy,
Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden,
Spain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Ireland,
Luxembourg, Greece, South Korea, Chile, and Australia (7 IB
1568;12-15-02).
Twenty-First Century
Department of Justice
Appropriations Authorization Act
The
Act includes a provision to permit intending immigrants who have labor
certification applications caught in a lengthy agency backlog to extend
status beyond the six year limitation as long as 365 days have elapsed
since the filing of the labor certification application permitting H-1B
status to be extended in one year increments (ILT January/February 2003;
p.5).
LEGISLATIVE AND LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
Immigration
U.S.:
Bill H.R. 4546 would allow military troops to be deployed at the border to
prevent entry of terrorists, drug traffickers and illegal aliens (ILT
December 2002; 745).
45
CFR Part 50 is proposed to be amended with the interim final rule for the
waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement of the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) Exchange Visitor Program (67 Fed. Reg.
77692/12-19-02).
Taxation
U.S.:
Bill H.R. 285 was introduced as comprehensive international tax
legislation without repealing the U.S. export tax regime under the Extra
Territorial Income Exclusion (ETI) Act of 2000 (20 ITR 104; 1-16-03).
Trade
China
China will revise its Foreign Trade Law this year to shift government
functions away from managing specific operation of enterprises to ensure
fair and orderly competition (20 ITR 106; 1-16-03).
CLIENT ALERT
“Special Registration for
Non-Immigrants”
Male citizens or nationals of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia who were born on
or before January 13, 1987, and were inspected and last admitted to the
United States as non-immigrants on or before September 30, 2002, and who
will remain in the United States after February 21, 2003, must register
with the INS between January 13 and February 21, 2003 inclusive (Fed. Reg.
67 77642-77644).
DOS Announcement
National Visa Center fees must be paid with money orders or bank checks
and not personal or attorney checks (ILT; January/February 2003; p.33).
Sources:
IR - Interpreter Releases, Federal Publications, Inc.; ITR - International
Trade Reporter, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.; IB-Bender’s Immigration
Bulletin; ILT - Immigration Law Today, American Immigration Lawyers
Association Monthly Journal; IL - International Lawyer, SMU School of
Law; FT- Financial Times; TE - The Economist Magazine; WSJ - Wall Street
Journal; ILN/ABA-International Law News, American Bar Association; TMIJ-Tax
Management International Journal, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.; AILA -
American Immigration Lawyer’s Association; IBLB - International Business
Law Bulletin, Center for International Legal Studies, Salzburg Austria;
GAT - German American Trade, German American Chamber of Commerce; DBIM -
Doing Business in Mexico, Transnational Publishers, Inc.
