India amended certain items under its export and import policy for Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies, a June 11 notice said. India published the updated list June 6. The changes affect a range of chemicals, valves, components, fermenters, missile system components, and other materials and substances, the notice said.
China will require increased customs checks for containers, goods and other imports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to limit the spread of a new Ebola outbreak, a June 10 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. China said it will impose health and quarantine checks for cars, containers, goods, luggage, mail, couriers and other items imported from the DRC, due to a new outbreak of the virus in Mbandaka. It also will apply increased restrictions on people entering China from the DRC. The measures will remain in place for six months, effective June 10, the notice said.
China has increased customs checks on coal imports, leading to lengthy delays at ports, a June 11 Reuters report said. China has introduced import quotas and slowed shipments through quality restrictions on “downstream users, such as utilities,” the report said, resulting in lengthier clearance times. Coal imports now may take up to 90 days to clear customs, instead of the customary 30 days, it said. The restrictions may be a measure by China to support domestic coal mining, the report said.
State-controlled and private Chinese buyers continue to purchase U.S. soybeans, despite growing tensions between the two countries (see 2005290047), Bloomberg reported June 10. Chinese companies purchased at least 10 cargoes of soybeans this month, Bloomberg said, which came after earlier reports that China was halting certain agricultural imports from the U.S., including soybeans, pork, corn and cotton (see 2006010044).
India revised its export restrictions for certain “diagnostic kits,” the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a June 10 notice. The notice revised the description for an April notification that restricted exports of the kits (see 2004060016). It also added export restrictions on several related items, including “diagnostic instruments/apparatus/reagents." Those items include certain falcon tubes and sterile swabs, silicon columns, and other chemicals, acids and substances.
China will continue to reduce logistics and transportation costs for traders to accelerate the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a June 3 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The measures, introduced in part by the Ministry of Transport, emphasize the use of electronic certificates and call for “facilitation of customs clearance” in the railway sector, the report said. China will also continue to lower fees and taxes related to logistics. China previously lowered transportation costs for traders (see 2003190039).
Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department is asking industry to report activities involving certain chemicals controlled by the Chemical Weapons Convention by July 23, the agency said June 2. Hong Kong requires operators of certain facilities that work with the chemicals to submit annual reports, which are then submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The annual reports must contain details about past and “anticipated activities” involving controlled chemicals.
Vietnam will exempt auto parts from import duties if those parts are not also available from domestic suppliers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a June 8 report. The measure, effective July 10, will cover “all automotive parts” imported for domestic assembly and manufacturing, including “input material” imported for production of “automotive components,” the report said. To qualify for the exemption, parts must have been assembled without having undergone a “manufacturing process” before they were imported, the report said. The measure will apply to all auto parts imported before 2025. Manufacturers will only be eligible to access such benefits for six months of the year, January through June, or July through December.
Laos recently clarified its law on antidumping and countervailing measures to specify procedures for determining whether dumping is taking place, a June 5 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report said. The revised guidance clarifies “two methods for the determination of the ‘normal’ price of imported goods” if those goods are suspected of violating antidumping measures. Laos issued the guidance to ensure it's complying with World Trade Organization requirements.
While the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 gives the president clear authority to terminate Hong Kong's special status if China violates the island's autonomy, the fact that Hong Kong has its own membership in the World Trade Organization could complicate the matter, the Congressional Research Service says. In a June 5 “legal sidebar,” CRS said that not only is it not clear when the administration would end Hong Kong's special trade status, it's also not clear whether the U.S. would say it no longer acknowledges Hong Kong's membership in the WTO.