Vietnam is asking its steelmakers to increase production and limit exports to combat rising steel import prices, which have reached a 13-year high of $1,000 per ton, Nikkei Asia reported May 18. The main cause for the price spike has been China, the report said, which “commands the majority of global steel production.” Vietnam exported nearly 10 million tons of steel last year, the report said, “and the question remains whether the government interference will help keep a substantial portion of that volume within its borders.”

China has reached out to several members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in the hopes of joining the trade agreement that was originally created to exclude it, Bloomberg reported May 17. Officials from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and possibly others have had talks with the Chinese about the agreement initiated by the U.S. to balance China's growing power. President Donald Trump pulled out of the CPTPP in 2017; Japan subsequently took over and concluded negotiations the following year. China would be the largest economy in the pact if it were to join but faces an uphill battle as views of China have become increasingly negative in CPTPP member nations, the report noted.

Vietnam Customs charged Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co. with falsely declaring aluminum goods' names, codes and quantity, leading to underpaid taxes, CustomsNews reported May 18. Following an initial customs declaration by Thao Khoa saying that the unprocessed aluminum alloy shipment was 13.5 tonnes, a physical inspection by the Export Cargo Procedures Team at Saigon Port Zone 1 found that the shipment was more than 24 tonnes. The false declaration led to the company's prosecution by the customs agency.

Australia plans to provide federal funding to modernize its trade system, reduce certain costs for agricultural importers and boost export growth, KPMG said in a May alert. The country will spend $37.4 million over three years to improve its trade system and “hopefully” provide industry with a “single window to government,” KPMG said. It will also spend $5 million to “reform and streamline” its antidumping regime, $411.4 million to “protect” the agriculture industry by reducing “regulatory timeframes,” and $198.2 million over four years to support export growth and diversification. KPMG called the measures a “welcomed” budget increase for Australian importers and exporters.

China spent 213.6 billion yuan ($33 billion) to bolster key industries such as semiconductors and defense in 2020 to ensure a tight technology race with the U.S., according to Nikkei Asia in a May 17 report. The spending is up 14% from 2019. Using listed companies' earnings data gleaned from information company Wind, Nikkei broke down where the subsidies are going, including to top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co., which received just shy of 2.5 billion yuan along with $2.25 billion in financing from two state-backed funds. China will continue to focus on producing general-purpose chips, as IC Insights predicts that the nation's semiconductors will account for only 19.4% of global demand in 2025.

China's Ministry of Finance extended until Dec. 25 tariff exemptions for 79 U.S. and Canadian products that were to expire May 18, it said in a news release on May 16, according to an unofficial translation. The list of exemptions includes communication equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, radar equipment and digital cameras (see 2005120031). The list also includes certain metals, acids, chemicals, “medical disinfectants” and oils. Companies that wish to use the exemptions must apply to China’s customs authority within six months of the publication of the list, China said.

Singapore plans to amend its labeling and advertising requirements for “Nutri-Grade beverages” sold in the country, a measure that could affect a “wide variety” of drinks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 13 report. The new labeling requirements move would affect about 70% of prepackaged drinks sold in Singapore, including soft drinks, teas, coffees, juices, energy drinks and milk-based beverages, USDA said. Singapore is seeking comments on the new requirements, which would take effect June 30, 2022.

China will impose taxes on imports of light cycle oil, mixed aromatics and diluted bitumen beginning June 12, to curb imports accused of polluting the environment and exacerbating a fuel surplus, according to a May 14 statement, Reuters reported. A 1.52 yuan (0.24 cent) per liter consumption tax on imported LCO and mixed aromatics will be implemented, while a 1.20 yuan per liter levy will be set on diluted bitumen. The new trading barrier will inflate the cost of buying the fuels from regional suppliers who have in recent years sold China record volumes of these goods, taking advantage of tax loopholes, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service released a report May 11 on Vietnam’s new national standard for poultry meat imports that took effect earlier this year. The revised standards include new definitions and requirements for raw materials, production, food safety, quality, labeling, packaging, transportation and more. It also includes a “zero tolerance” for salmonella on chilled poultry meat, USDA said.

Myanmar's military has built an economy largely centered around a limited number of institutions created by its Defense Ministry, cementing the military's role at the center of the Southeast Asian state's economic dealings. A new report from Bloomberg takes a look at how the military class skirted Western sanctions. Driving the military's continued hold on the economy are two Defense Ministry-founded and -operated conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Co. Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corp. The two companies employ thousands of civilian and military personnel, control various domestic industries and offer a variety of essential goods for the citizenry, Bloomberg reported. According to analysts, this structure means the wave of sanctions relating to the military takeover of the country in February have a minimal effect.