China’s General Administration of Customs issued 83 new industry standards for imported breeding pigs, according to unofficial translation of a Nov. 22 notice. The notice includes specifications for the “construction of designated quarantine sites” for the imported pigs, inspection regulations and more.
China's General Administration of Customs will allow imported “wild aquatic products” from Cuba and lemons from Uzbekistan, the agency said in Nov. 22 notices, according to unofficial translations. The notices include inspection and quarantine requirements for the imports.
Australian exporters faced “extremely tough conditions” during the past year due to the combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly tense geopolitics caused by trade wars, the country said in a business survey released this week. The country said 87% of exporters surveyed said they experienced “more challenging than usual” exporting conditions during 2020-2021, especially in the agriculture, retail, tourism and transport sectors. In addition, nearly one-fourth of exporters were forced to reduce their “export destinations,” and nearly 80% of businesses said entering new export markets will be a “priority” over the next three years.
Exports from South Korea are set to continue a trend of double-digit growth in November, with early data showing 27.6% year-over-year export growth during the first 20 days of the month, data from Korea's Customs Service showed, according to an unofficial translation. The growth numbers were led by expansion of semiconductor chip and marine goods exports, which grew at 32.5% and 252.2%, respectively. Imports also surged year over year to 41.9%, led by a hike in the costs of crude oil, gas and related goods. The same period for October saw 36.4% year-over-year export growth, indicating a continued high-growth trend for November. Exports to China were up 24.2% and to the U.S., 8.9%.
Japan is weighing the release of oil from its strategic stockpiles in a move to tamp down a surge in energy prices, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, Bloomberg reported. Japan would join China and the U.S. in making such a move, as each country has committed to tapping its reserves to bring down oil costs. President Joe Biden has attempted to broker international support for opening up countries' stockpiles after calls to the OPEC+ cartel to produce more oil went unanswered. “We are reviewing what steps we could act on, taking into consideration potential cooperation with related countries including the U.S.,” Kishida said.
China issued new regulations on the administration of filing customs declarations that will take effect Jan. 1, the General Administration of Customs said in a Nov. 19 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The measures include requiring consignees of import and export goods to file customs declarations with the appropriate customs declaration unit, along with more specific rules, including mandating certain entities that engage in non-trade import and export activities to make temporary filings. These entities include state agencies, schools, scientific research institutes and permanent representative offices in China established by overseas news, economic and trade organizations.
China has continued to slow its purchases of U.S. goods under the 2020 phase one trade deal, with October ranking as the “slowest” purchase month in a year, Bloomberg reported Nov. 23. The country bought $9.5 billion worth of U.S. manufactured, agricultural and energy goods last month, bringing China up to 56% of its two-year purchase target of $378.4 billion, the report said. President Joe Biden recently urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to follow through on the commitments in a conversation earlier this month, but U.S. officials also said the sides weren’t expecting a “breakthrough” on any issues, including trade (see 2111160004).
All Indian Importer Exporter Codes that were not updated after Jan. 1, 2014, will be deactivated Dec. 6, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a Nov. 19 notice. However, any deactivated IEC will have the opportunity for automatic reactivation on the DGFT website, the notice said.
India is requiring the importers or exporters of rough diamonds to register with Gems & Jewellery EPC, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a Nov. 22 notice. The G&JEPC is the designated importing and exporting authority of India for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the notice said.
The last date to submit an application for allocation of a tariff rate quota under the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement for the 2021-2022 financial year has been extended from Dec. 31 to Jan. 31, 2022, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said. Other modalities remain the same, the Nov. 22 notice said.