The first year of the European Union-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement significantly increased U.K. meat, dairy, beverage, leather and electrical machinery exports, according to a Jan. 31 press release from the European Commission. The deal removed the “vast majority of the €1 billion in duties” on EU exports to Japan and will eventually eliminate Japanese customs duties on 97 percent of EU imports once the deal is fully implemented, the commission said. Frozen meats of bovine animals saw the biggest growth under the deal (221 percent increase in exports), followed by milk and cream (120.7 percent) and babies’ clothing and accessories (108.3 percent).

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade on Jan. 30 released a guidance on trading with developing nations during the Brexit transition period. The guidance contains details on the U.K.’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences during and after the transition period.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade released on Jan. 29 a notice to importers about the current range of European Union measures in force on steel. The guidance includes information on EU legislation during and after the Brexit transition period, including EU definitive safeguard measures on steel, EU tariff-rate quota review findings, EU antidumping and anti-subsidy measures in place against steel and aluminum and EU countermeasures against U.S. steel and aluminum tariff increases. The guidance also includes an annex containing product categories that are subject to safeguards.

The European Council issued guidance and background on the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the European Union as the U.K. enters the Brexit transition period Jan. 31, according to a Jan. 30 notice. The guidance includes information on the transition period, copies of the draft agreement on the withdrawal, a revised political declaration on the future relationship between the U.K. and the EU, and further background information on Brexit.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued guidance on trade agreements with non-European Union countries in place during and after the Brexit transition period, according to a Jan. 29 notice. The guidance includes information on when the trade agreements take effect, how long they will remain in effect, which agreements are still in negotiations and more. The transition period begins Feb. 1 and will end after this year.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade clarified that current export licensing arrangements will continue to apply until the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec. 31, the DIT said in a Jan. 29 notice. This includes exports of “strategic items,” military items, firearms, dual-use items and more, the DIT said. The U.K.’s open general export license for dual-use exports to the European Union is not required to export dual-use items to the EU during the transition period, the notice said.

The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade issued a Jan. 29 guidance on bidding for overseas contracts during the Brexit transition period. During the transition, U.K. companies will continue to have access to government procurement agreements “in the same way as if the UK were a Member State of the [European Union],” the notice said. The U.K. said it intends to join the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement -- an agreement among 20 WTO members -- as an “independent member” at the end of the transition period.

In the Jan. 23-28 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its guidance for the open general export license for military goods that have been imported for repair or replacement, according to a Jan. 23 notice. The license is no longer available for registration, the DIT said, but remains available for users who registered before June 20, 2019.

The recent entrance of new players into Portugal’s food retail sector will likely increase demand for food imports and open new opportunities for U.S. exporters, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Jan. 22. U.S. exports of agricultural goods, fish and forest products to Portugal doubled from 2017 to 2018, the report said, and the country’s improving economy will continue to improve prospects for U.S. exporters. While U.S. exporters may face competition from neighboring European Union countries, the diversity of food products in Portugal’s market is increasing, the report said, and consumers are becoming “more open, creating opportunities for new and foreign products.”