China’s customs agencies have been ordered to increase port restrictions but to streamline certain disease-fighting imports as the country battles the spread of the coronavirus, according to an unofficial translation of a Jan. 27 notice from China’s General Administration of Customs. Customs officials have been told to “strengthen the control” of their ports but set up “special acceptance windows” and “rapid inspection and release” for certain imports, including “imported epidemic prevention and control materials.” Certain imported items, including goods donated to fight pneumonia caused by the virus, will get a “fast-track clearance” at customs gates and ports, according to a Jan. 26 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. Other items benefiting from “fast clearance” include imported medicines, disinfectant products, protective equipment and medical devices, Xinhua said.

Thailand issued a draft of proposed value-added tax regulations that would impact foreign e-commerce operators and “electronic platforms” in the Thai market, according to a Jan. 23 KPMG post. The regulations clarify the term for “goods” would exclude any “intangible assets” transferred over a network, and specify definitions for “electronic services” and “electronic platforms.” The regulations would also make changes to the country’s “self-assessed VAT regime” and introduce an electronic VAT registration system.

China recently removed tax-free quotas for imports of “key technology equipment,” according to a Jan. 24 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Under the changes, issued Jan. 13, certain “crucial components and raw materials” for imports used by qualified Chinese companies whose development is supported by the government will be exempt from import duty and import VAT, the report said. The exemptions will also apply to imports of crucial components and raw materials needed by “nuclear power project managers,” HKTDC said.

Vietnam is planning to reform its inspection procedures for certain imports and exports in what will be a “key project” in the first months of 2020, according to a Jan. 14 report from Customs News, the mouthpiece for Vietnam Customs. The effort aims to “strongly reform customs procedures in digitization … in accordance with international standards,” the report said. The agency hopes to “substantively” improve the quality of its inspections while reducing costs assessed to traders. Vietnam’s current customs inspection process “faces shortcomings that raise administrative procedures, costs and time for traders,” the report said, and Vietnam hopes the effort helps “clarify” the responsibilities of “state agencies and organizations” in charge of customs inspections.

Not only are the purchase requirements in the new China trade deal unrealistic, other developments in China's economy and the trading relationship make them even further out of reach, according to an analysis by economist Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Bown notes that the rate of growth needed to meet the targets is higher than when China's economy was growing at 10 percent a year, and China's economy is growing more slowly now. Additionally, the tariffs on Chinese goods that remain in place after phase one are a further drag on the economy.

China held its first round of trade negotiations with Cambodia in Beijing, Jan. 20-21, China’s commerce ministry said Jan. 21, according to an unofficial translation. The two countries discussed trade in goods, rules of origin, improving customs procedures, reducing “technical barriers” to trade and improving phytosanitary measures. The two sides recently completed a “joint feasibility study” for the free trade negotiation, China said.

Australia’s trade agreements with Hong Kong, Peru and Indonesia will provide significant benefits for Australian importers, including a series of reduced tariffs on a “broad range” of goods, according to a Jan. 20 KPMG post. Deals with Hong Kong, which took effect Jan. 17; Peru, which takes effect Feb. 11; and Indonesia, which is expected to take effect during the first half of 2020, will “deepen economic cooperation” and “increase certainty in trading” with all three countries, KPMG said.

Taiwan’s customs authority recently issued guidance about determining dutiable value “stemming from a one-time transfer pricing adjustment,” according to a Jan. 21 post from KPMG. The change, which took effect at the beginning of the 2020 fiscal year, allows certain companies to make a one-time transfer pricing adjustment when conducting transactions with “related parties.” Taiwan released guidance on assessing the one-time transfer pricing adjustment to determine the dutiable value to “assist companies that have imported goods from related parties” and would like to apply the adjustment, KPMG said.

A Singapore woman was fined $52,000 for making false declarations, breaching permit conditions and other customs violations, Singapore Customs said in a Jan. 20 press release. The woman also failed to deposit dutiable goods in a licensed warehouse and gave the customs agency “false supporting documents” in violation of the country’s Customs Act. The woman, Heng Sok Tian, is the manager of Tania Asia Logistics Pte Ltd and Free Trade Zone Logistics & Transportation, Singapore said.

China announced plans to substantially reduce its use of plastic by 2025, which will include curbs on plastic waste imports, according to a Jan. 19 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. China said it will “gradually ban or restrict the production, sales and use of certain plastics” over the next five years, including introducing “prohibitions on … imports of plastic waste.”