The European Commission received its mandate to officially begin negotiating a trade deal and other agreements with the United Kingdom starting March 2, the commission said Feb. 25. In a separate guidance describing the European Union’s negotiating directives, the commission said it “intends to achieve as much as possible” during the Brexit transition period and prefers a “comprehensive” deal rather than several smaller agreements (see 2001280042). But it also said an extension of the transition period by “1 to 2 years” is possible if a deal cannot be reached in time. The commission also clarified that there remains a risk of a no-deal scenario and urged all U.K. companies to “prepare now” for no longer being part of the EU’s “single market” and customs union.

In the Feb. 19-24 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Norway’s new value-added tax regime for e-commerce transactions will take effect April 1, according to a Feb. 21 KPMG post. As part of the regime, foreign suppliers of “low-value goods” will be required to calculate and collect VAT on their sales into Norway, and VATs on e-commerce cannot be used for goods valued higher than NOK 3,000, or about $320, per item. Suppliers transporting the goods must ensure the “VAT on e-commerce information” is “available” to the Norwegian customs authority, “preferably in a pre-notification in digital format.”

Clarification: The new Licensing for International Trade & Enterprise digital service will be phased in from the end of June to November (see 2002190038), the United Kingdom Department for International Trade's Export Control Joint Unit said. During this time exporters will be given advance notification of any changes, and there will be a training period for users.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade on Feb. 20 released its Strategic Export Controls Training Bulletin for March to June 2020. The bulletin contains information on upcoming export control training events, courses and forms for registration.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade is no longer allowing traders to register for an open general export license that allows exports and transfers of goods relating to the “A400M collaborative regime.” according to a Feb. 20 notice. The license only remains available for traders who registered before Oct. 17, 2019, the DIT said. The license permits exports and transfers of goods, software and technology used for the production and maintenance of the A400M aircraft, for the end-use of certain partner nations and “agreed export customers,” the DIT said.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its list of permitted destinations for several open general export licenses, the DIT said in a Feb. 18 notice. The changes removed Yemen, Lebanon and Turkey as permitted destinations under certain licenses and added a destination for the Italian continental shelf. The DIT also suspended registration for an OGEL for certain military goods and reinstated the ability to register for an OGEL relating to exports “in support of joint strike fighter: F-35 lightning II.”

In the Feb. 13-18 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Union is beginning an antidumping duty investigation on aluminum extrusions from China, the European Commission said in a Feb. 14 notice in the EU Official Journal. Preliminary duties on Chinese aluminum extrusions imposed in connection with this investigation could come in seven to eight months, the notice said.

The United Kingdom is extending the deadline for companies to apply for funding for customs training (see 2001220051) as the U.K. leaves the European Union, the U.K.’s revenue and customs agency said in a Feb. 10 notice. The grant funding deadline, which was originally set to expire Jan. 31, 2020, was extended one year to Jan. 31, 2021, the notice said. The U.K. said it has awarded the equivalent of about $21 million in grants, with about $10 million still remaining in the program.