Japan plans to greenlight exports of fighter jets, missiles and other defense items to 12 countries, including India, Australia, other nations in Southeast Asia and some European nations, Nikkei reported May 27. The exports, which could be authorized by regulatory changes by March 2023, would be aimed at increasing deterrence against China, the report said, and would represent a reversal of a Japanese ban on lethal weapons exports.
Pakistan recently announced an import ban on “many categories” of agricultural goods, including red meat, fruits and certain seafood, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said May 25 in a report. The agency said nontariff barriers already restrict imports of many of the products added to the banned list, so the new restrictions will affect only a “small percentage” of U.S. exports. Pakistan implemented the ban due to “severe deterioration in the value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar,” which “has exacerbated rising import costs.”
China’s Foreign Ministry this week criticized the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, saying it “will only undermine regional peace and stability and is doomed to fail.” During a May 24 news conference, a ministry spokesperson said the U.S. “concocted” the strategy, which will soon lead to the start of negotiations with several other countries on a new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (see 2205230003), and “created political and military confrontation by ganging up with some countries.” China’s Ministry of Commerce said the framework “should be open and inclusive rather than discriminatory and exclusive,” according to an unofficial translation of a May 24 statement.
China's customs agency recently imposed an import ban on cloven-hoofed animals and their related products from Indonesia due to reported cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the country, according to an unofficial translation of a notice released last week. All banned animals and animal products imported from Indonesia will be destroyed, China said, and violators could face customs penalties.
India recently announced a ban on wheat exports due to a spike in global prices and the “resulting food security risks,” the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 19 report. India is applying exemptions to export contracts with a customs registration or an “irrevocable letter of credit on or before” May 13, 2022, USDA said, as well as exports to other countries to “meet their food security requirements.” USDA said that more than half of the wheat at or near ports may be eligible for an exemption, and said traders are “seeking exemptions for additional quantities on various grounds like advance partial payment, etc.”
China imposed quarantine requirements on imported fresh longan from Cambodia, according to an unofficial translation of a May 19 notice from the General Administration of Customs. The restrictions require longan exporters to implement Good Agricultural Practices, including maintaining hygienic conditions and implementing pest management practices. The longan from Cambodia shall be imported only from ports that allow the imports of fruits in China, and if any violations of the quarantine requirements are detected, the batch of longan won't be allowed to enter the country, the notice said.
State Courts of Singapore sentenced Tan Tong Meng, a Singaporean national, to 18 months in prison for storing cigarettes for which duties had not been paid and for evading duty and Goods and Services Tax, Singapore Customs said. Tan submitted false export quantity data of the amount of cigarettes in his export permits, leading to the duty evasion, the agency said May 18.
The Singapore Trade Classification, Customs and Excise Duties (STCCED) 2022 will replace the 2018 version on June 19, Singapore Customs announced May 18. The STCCED 2022 uses the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature 2022 in which the HS codes are harmonized at the eight-digit level to be used by all ASEAN countries. The tariff amendments also include the creation, deletion and merging of various subheadings. For example, new codes now exist for chassis fitted with engine for vehicles specially designed for traveling on snow and for bodies for vehicles specially designed for traveling on snow. Singapore Customs advises traders and declaring agents to check the units of quantity under the ASEAN tariff nomenclature and declare them in their permit applications.
Pakistan will lift its antidumping duties on certain polyester filament yarn imports from China and Malaysia, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported May 16. The duties will be lifted Aug. 25 unless a sunset review is conducted before then, HKTDC said. Imports of the yarn produced in or exported from either China or Malaysia are currently subject to duties of “from 2.87% to 6.82% of cost and freight value,” the report said.
Singapore State Courts sentenced Foong Zhong Wen, a Singaporean national, to pay $63,834.90 (in Singapore dollars) for evading Goods and Services Tax on shipments of miscellaneous goods in 2019, Singapore Customs said May 14. Foong was the manager of a freight forwarding company, Swiftfox Pte, and pleaded guilty to 15 charges of GST evasion. Singapore Customs started an investigation into Swiftfox under suspicions stemming from discrepancies in its Cargo Clearance Permits (CCPs) that the company was under-declaring the value of goods.