Sri Lanka revised a range of import duties and updated a duty that affects U.S. fruit exports, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released June 10. While the changes “mainly affect U.S. fruit exports” through an increased “special commodity levy,” other U.S. agricultural goods also are affected, including categories of dried and shelled peas, chickpeas, yogurt and maize, USDA said. The information was retrieved from a Ministry of Finance, Sri Lanka website notification, USDA said, and not independently verified. The notice became effective May 22 for six months.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.