India recently “slashed” its sugar export subsidy by just over $27 per metric ton under its Maximum Admissible Export Quota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a June 22 report. The reduction -- from $81.96/metric ton to $54.64/metric ton on May 20, 2021 -- in the assistance program, which facilitates sugar exports and subsidizes production costs for domestic sugar mills, is aimed at accelerating the “diversion of sugar toward ethanol production,” the USDA said. India also hopes the measure helps it in “gradually reining in subsidized exports of Indian sugar in the global markets.”
Beginning July 26, exporters of duty and goods and services tax-unpaid liquor or "tobacco sea stores" on a vessel outside Singapore must be registered with Singapore Customs before an export permit can be obtained, the customs agency said in a June 22 notice. Registration can be initiated via the “Application for Registration as an Exporter of Duty and GST-Unpaid Liquor and/or Tobacco Sea Stores” form on the Singapore Customs website as of June 22. Applications must be approved before an applicant is considered registered. Once approved, registration is valid for three years.
The Philippines recently issued a new 12% value-added tax on previously zero-rated goods and services, including sales of certain raw and packaging materials to Philippines companies, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 22. Effective June 26, the VATs will apply when a sale is made to a Philippines “export‑oriented enterprise” for the purpose of “manufacturing, processing, packing or repacking the buyer’s goods in the Philippines.” In addition, a 12% VAT will apply to sales of raw or packaging items to a Philippines exporting business “whose export sales account for more than 70% of its total annual production.” VATs will also apply to “services such as the processing, manufacturing or repacking of goods for export purposes.”
China sanctioned a Belgian politician for writing a resolution calling for the Belgian government to acknowledge the human rights abuses being committed against the Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province. Samuel Cogolati, member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, has been sanctioned for “maliciously spread[ing] lies and misinformation and gravely [undermining] China's sovereignty and interests,” a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a June 16 news conference, according to a translated transcript. The Belgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee approved the resolution June 15.
Japan imposed a final antidumping duty rate of 30.8% on dipotassium carbonate imports from South Korea, Japan's Ministry of Finance said in a June 18 news release. It takes effect June 24 and will remain effective through June 23, 2025. The rate continues the provisional rate that has been in force since March 25, the release said.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade moved its export policy for COVID-19 treatment drug remdesivir and its active pharmaceutical ingredient from “prohibited” to “restricted” in a June 14 notification. The export of the drug or its API against the drug's advance authorizations will no longer need a separate authorization, the release said.
Bangladesh will soon issue a “wide range” of value-added tax exemptions on locally manufactured products and cut advance taxes on imported raw materials to boost the domestic industry and aid local exporters, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 15. The exemptions and cuts, effective July 1, will apply to manufactured household appliances, computing products and more. Advance taxes will drop from 4% to 3% for imported raw materials used in certain domestic industries, HKTDC said.
Australia is seeking industry feedback on the impact of its free trade agreement with Malaysia to assess how the deal is benefiting traders. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said June 16 it is hoping to understand how accessing the Malaysian market has changed for Australian exporters since the pact took effect in 2013, and whether any factors “have affected your industry's ability to expand exports.” The country is also seeking information on “unintended impacts” and any remaining trade barriers in Malaysia that should be addressed. Comments are due by Sept. 30.
China passed a law implementing new tools to fight foreign sanctions, the National People's Congress said in a June 11 news release. The law includes three countermeasures to foreign sanctions: banning entry to China and deportation, seizing property in China and barring transactions between a listed individual or entity and organizations or individuals in China. The Chinese government may take “other necessary measures” to counter sanctions, it said. The law is meant to “counter, fight and oppose unilateral sanctions on China imposed by foreign countries, safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests as well as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations,” the release said.
The European Parliament is calling for greater sanctions on Belarus following the forced landing of a Ryanair flight and subsequent arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega. While 88 individuals, including the current president, and seven entities are listed under the EU's Belarus sanctions regime, the EU called for a “fourth package” with sectoral sanctions including a “ban on imports of oil products, potash fertilisers, metal products and wood and wood products,” a June 10 resolution said. The Parliament also underscored the need to sanction all relevant state-run enterprises helping the Belarusian regime through foreign exchange revenue and to ramp up efforts to combat Belarusian cigarette smuggling, which is a large source of revenue for the current regime, the resolution said.