Due to the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department's recent introduction of the Cargo Fuel Surcharge (FSC) mechanism that runs until the end of June 2022, airlines have announced an increased FSC on all shipments leaving Hong Kong beginning on April 1. According to a C.H. Robinson alert, the FSC rates for long haul flights, including to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives, are as follows:

Taiwan recently issued new regulations for labeling on certain chocolate products, including imports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported March 10. The regulations, announced March 2 and effective Jan. 1, 2022, will set new standards for how much chocolate and cocoa products must contain to be able to use “chocolate” in their names, USDA said. The rules cover chocolate products that contain fillings, pastes and syrups, as well as chocolates that have added vegetable fats.

Laos now requires all imports to be processed through the country’s single window and has mandated traders “immediately register” in the system, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported March 11. Traders can use the Lao National Single Window to receive permits, track cargo, pay duties and make other payments, the report said.

Indonesia will impose safeguard duties on apparel and clothing accessories from China, Bangladesh, Singapore and Vietnam, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported March 10. The duties, from 44 cents to $11.29, will apply to casual and formal clothes, including suits, dresses, “outerwear” and babies’ garments. HKTDC said the Indonesian Safeguards Committee recommended the duties, saying the country’s industry was unable to compete with the imported goods.

Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department suspended 114 customs brokers for violations of governing regulations, CustomsNews reported March 12. The 114 brokers, out of more than 400 in the Ho Chi Minh City area, committed a range of violations, most commonly failing to comply with quarterly reporting requirements, the report said. The brokers will be suspended for a maximum period of six months and can be terminated if their violations are not remedied within the six months.

The Chinese and American semiconductor industry associations will establish a China-U.S. semiconductor working group to streamline information sharing between the two industries, and exchange policies on export controls, supply chain security, encryption and other trade restrictions. The move was announced March 11 on the China Semiconductor Industry Association's website, according to an unofficial translation. The group plans to meet twice a year to address the most pressing issues surrounding semiconductors, including the current global shortage of the key technology, it said. Following the negotiations, each association will appoint 10 member companies to participate in the working group. CSIA is a state-backed association of 774 Chinese semiconductor-related businesses. Its American counterpart is the Semiconductor Industry Association, whose stated mission is lobbying “to strengthen U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research.” Neither group has announced participants for the working group.

As of March 8, all imported and exported goods that must be “analyzed and verified to accurately determine the payable tax amount” will require the tax-paying entity to temporarily pay tax on the goods before they are released, a Vietnamese customs magazine reported March 10. If additional analysis and verification of the goods results in an increase in the tax amount required of the importer or exporter, the taxpayer must pay the difference between that and its declaration within five business days of receiving the request for additional declaration. Customs authorities are responsible for handling overpaid amounts if the levied tax amount on imports and exports was too high.

The February military coup in Myanmar has “crippled” the country’s logistics sector and delayed trade operations, leading to “vast uncertainties” for U.S. agricultural exports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released March 8. The situation in Myanmar is “very fluid and is evolving rapidly,” the agency said. Almost all trade has faced disruptions since the coup and export and import documents are being “severely delayed.” The USDA said the Myanmar Port Authority is facing a lack of drivers and other logistics providers, and importers are seeing high fees because of the reduced staff at the ports to unload containers in a timely manner. The USDA said the country’s military created a “steering committee for trade facilitation” Feb. 20 to help trade flow better, allowing clearances for some containers this month. But companies using the military’s facilitation regime “risk being publicly shamed,” the USDA said, and U.S. products could face “reputational risks.” The agency said a variety of U.S. goods are either stuck at the port or on the water. “The situation remains fluid and uncertain, with concerns of both reputational risk and financial consequences of shipments during this period,” the report said.

China plans to adhere to all aspects of its recent investment deal with the European Union, including ratifying international conventions on forced labor, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a March 7 news conference, according to an interpreter. “I can say it explicitly that China will honor its commitment in the agreement including making efforts to ratify International Labor Organizations (rules),” Wang said. Forced labor concerns have permeated European Union parliamentarians' thinking on the EU-China investment deal, and it is widely seen that certain provisions of the agreement will make parts of the deal unenforceable, including on forced labor (see 2101250052).

China suspended imports of pigs, wild boars and their products from Malaysia after outbreaks of African swine fever in the country, according to an unofficial translation of a March 8 customs notice. China said all imports of Malaysian pigs and boars will be returned or destroyed, and vessels carrying those products will be disinfected.