China-Ecuador Sign Free Trade Agreement
On May 10-11, 2023, Ecuador and China signed a new Free Trade Agreement. It includes fruits and nuts. Ecuador becomes the fourth country in the region to sign a treaty with China, after Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.
UK: Agreement to Join the Asia-Pacific Trade Bloc CPTPP
In March 2023, the United Kingdom reached an agreement to become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This is a trade bloc in the Asia-Pacific region consisting of 11 countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The UK will be the first new member since the bloc was established in 2018 and the first European member.
USA-Japan Trade Agreement Enters Year Five
According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) GAIN report, the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA) reached its fifth year of implementation on April 1, 2023. As part of this agreement, tariffs on various products, including tree nut flour/meal, peanut butter, peanuts or cashew nuts will be eliminated. To avail themselves of preferential tariff treatment under the rules of origin and origin procedures outlined in the USJTA, importers are required by Japanese Customs to provide a declaration stating the country of origin.
Spain: Protected Designation of Origin Granted for “Nueces de Nerpio” Walnut
On May 22, 2023, the European Commission issued the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/979, officially registering the name “Nueces de Nerpio” as a protected designation of origin (PDO). This registration follows Spain’s application to protect the name.
According to the application, “Nueces de Nerpio” refers to dried walnuts from healthy fruit of a specific local walnut tree variety native to Nerpio and from other varieties adapted to the production area. The walnuts can be presented whole in the shell, as whole kernels, half-kernels, or ground. The species of the walnut tree is identified as Juglans regia L.