China announced changes to electronic manifest submissions for inbound and outbound cargo on freight trains, according to an unofficial translation of a May 29 notice from China’s General Administration of Customs. The measures impact filing procedures, time limits for submissions of documents, declaration requirements, merging manifests and more. The changes will take effect July 1, China said.

China is considering additional import restrictions on Australian goods that would target Australia’s wine and dairy sector, according to a May 20 Bloomberg report. China recently placed restrictions on imports of Australian barley (see 2005180016) and beef (see 2005130013), but officials have composed a list of additional Australian goods they may target, which may also include seafood, oatmeal and fruit. Those products could become subject to stricter quality checks, antidumping investigations, tariffs or customs delays, the report said.

China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S.’s May 19 decision to sanction a Chinese company for providing logistics services to an Iranian airline. A ministry spokesperson said “mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation” with Iran should be “respected” and urged the U.S. to revoke the sanctions. “I want to stress that at the crucial moment when the international community is mounting a joint fight against COVID-19, the U.S. practice of unilateralism and maximum pressure runs counter to the concerted international efforts against the pandemic and seriously violates humanitarianism.” the spokesperson said. The U.S. sanctioned China-based Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited for acting as a general sales agent for Mahan Air (see 2005190020).

Correction: Huawei's rotating chairman, who criticized the Commerce Department's increased export restrictions released last week, is Guo Ping (see 2005180032).

China will impose a 6.9% duty on imports of Australian barley after finalizing an antidumping and countervailing duty investigation, China said in a May 18 notice, according to an unofficial translation. China said its domestic industry “suffered substantial damage” due to dumping of imported barley originating in Australia. The move was expected by Australian grain groups (see 2005110010).

China will allow imports of fresh citrus products from Chile, China said in a May 14 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The notice provides quarantine requirements for importing “Chilean fresh citrus plants,” including grapefruit, orange and lemon.

India announced restrictions on exports of certain masks, according to a May 16 notice from the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The restrictions apply to “all masks except non-surgical/non-medical masks of all types (cotton, silk, wool, knitted).” The notice provides Harmonized System codes for the affected products.

China recently cleared more destinations for self-service printing of certificates of origin, according to a May 18 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The changes add self-service printing certificates for exports to Indonesia, Singapore and India under certain trade agreements. The changes took effect May 11.

China said it respects World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo’s decision to resign (see 2005140053) and urged members to keep their markets open and “oppose unilateralism” as the body searches for a new leader. China promised to work with other members to ensure the WTO continues operating after Azevedo’s departure in August, a Commerce Ministry official said during a May 18 press conference, adding that members should “enhance coordination in economic and trade policies to unblock international transport and logistics.” China also said members should focus more on increasing trade of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.

Burma's demand for U.S. soybean meal and dried distiller is expected to drop as the country’s livestock sector struggles to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released May 13. Farmers are seeing losses due to travel restrictions and decreasing demand, which has led to an oversupply of soybean meal, the USDA said. Soybean meal is the “top” U.S. agricultural export to Burma, the report said.