India is under pressure to lift its ban on certain onion exports (see 2009150019) due to significant shipping backlogs at ports and borders, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Sept. 21. More than 400,000 metric tons of onions are stuck at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the USDA said, and more than 500 trucks of onions are at the Nepal and Bangladesh borders. USDA said officials in the state of Maharashtra, the largest onion-producing state in India and where Jawaharlal Nehru operates near Mumbai, plan to ask the national government to “immediately” lift the ban.
China is considering revising its standards for processed cheese and cheese products with new terms, definitions, physical and chemical indicators, and new microbial limits, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said Sept. 18. China notified the World Trade Organization on Sept. 14 of this addendum to an earlier notification in June 2019, the USDA said, and is accepting comments until Nov. 13. China has not proposed an adoption date for the new standards.
The Australian Sanctions Office will launch Pax, its new sanctions portal, Oct. 1, the country said Sept. 23. Pax, announced earlier this year (see 2001070018), will be more “user-friendly” for industry and allow for better engagement with the Sanctions Office, the notice said. Australia will release details on how to access Pax, including “support materials,” on the day of the launch.
Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department issued an updated list Sept. 16 of officers authorized to sign delivery verification certificates and trade licenses for imports and exports of “strategic commodities.”
China will revise its inspection and supervision procedures for crude oil imports to increase efficiency, the country’s customs authority said in a Sept. 21 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The procedures will allow oil importers to begin offloading shipments before all customs procedures are finalized if they provide certain information and an oil sample from the load being delivered. But China said imports of crude oil benefiting from these procedures may be sold only after they have passed the full customs inspection and issued a certificate. The new procedures will take effect Oct. 1.
U.S. pecan exporters may see an expanding market in Taiwan due to a spike in demand for pecan imports, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report issued Sept. 18 said. Taiwan pecan imports rose by 74% in 2019, and room for pecans to expand in the market, specifically in the snacking sector, is “strong,” USDA said. The agency said Taiwan is the second-largest Asian market for U.S. shelled pecan exports.
New customs codes and procedures for trade in China's Yangpu Bonded Port Area went into effect Sept. 20, the General Administration of Customs said in a notice that day, according to an unofficial translation. The notice details new codes for indicating the port area in import and export declarations and methods for collecting statistics on trade to and from the port.
Singapore Customs is urging fruit and vegetable importers to evaluate whether they underpaid their Goods and Services Taxes and to submit voluntary disclosures for any unpaid duties, according to a Sept. 18 notice. The agency said unpaid duties may have been caused by a “difference between the quantity and value” of imports declared to customs in the permit and the actual quantity and value of the fruits and vegetables imported. Importers who submit incorrect declarations can face a one-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000 or the “equivalent amount of duty and GST payable, whichever is higher.”
India will begin random sampling of certain imported LED products to make sure they are complying with the country’s standards, according to a Sept. 17 notice from India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The country’s customs will randomly select certain LED products and “control gear” for those products to be sent to labs for testing, the notice said, and imports that fail to meet Indian standards will be “sent back” or destroyed “at the cost of the importer.”
Singapore will update its Strategic Goods Control List to bring it up to date with the latest export control changes made at the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement and by the 2019 European Union List of Dual-Use Items, the country said in a Sept. 15 notice. The changes, to take effect Nov. 16, include new controls on dual-use items and “editorial changes for consistency.”