China announced changes to its inspections and supervision procedures for imported cotton, according to an April 3 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The measures, which were scheduled to take effect April 5, aim to improve the “business environment” at ports by carrying out inspections “upon application by enterprises” instead of a “sampling inspection by customs officials batch by batch.” If the consignee or agent of the imported cotton does not require a quality certificate, the cotton will be released “directly” after “passing the on-site inspection and quarantine.”
China is blocking imports transported by truck drivers from five of Vietnam’s cities and provinces, including the country’s capital, according to an April 3 report from CustomsNews, the mouthpiece for Vietnam Customs. China informed Vietnam that it will bar drivers delivering goods from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Da Nang and Binh Thuan, saying those regions have “recorded many new and complex cases of coronavirus” COVID-19. Vietnam Customs is telling agricultural companies to “plan for the consumption of agricultural goods in the domestic market” and to remain in communication with the customs agency to minimize the “backlog of goods and economic losses.”
India amended conditions for importing certain iron and steel goods, according to a March 31 notice from the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. India is extending the validation of automatic registration numbers, which are required by certain steel and iron importers to import the goods into the country. The registration numbers generated until March 31 will remain valid for 135 days, the notice said.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade may propose strict limits on the amount of monthly rice exports, according to an April 1 report from CustomsNews, the mouthpiece for Vietnam Customs. The country previously temporarily suspended rice exports due to a domestic rice shortage after a global spike in rice demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2003270010). The exports would be allowed only through border gates where there is “sufficient network equipment” for the country’s customs authority to monitor the exports in “real time” to maintain domestic rice supplies.
India amended several provisions in its Foreign Trade Policy, according to a March 31 notice from the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The changes include six-month extensions for certain duty-free import authorizations as well as “various other changes … extending the date of exemptions” for imports by one year, the notice said.
Huawei’s chairman said the U.S. may face retaliation from China if it follows through on plans to increase restrictions on foreign exports to the Chinese tech giant (see 2003260036), according to a March 31 report in The Wall Street Journal. Chairman Eric Xu, speaking during a March 31 press conference, said China may respond with restrictions on U.S. companies operating in China. “I think the Chinese government will not just stand by, watching Huawei be slaughtered,” Xu said, according to the report. “I believe the Chinese government may also take some countermeasures.” A Huawei spokesperson confirmed the comments.
Indian agencies responsible for issuing certificates of origin under India’s free trade agreements are temporarily closed and unable to issue the certificates, due to a “lockdown” stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a March 28 notice. Certificates will be issued “retrospectively” after the agencies reopen, India said. In the interim, the country is urging its trading partners to “kindly allow the eligible imports under preferences on a retrospective basis subject to the subsequent production of the certificates of origin by the Indian exporters.” India said it will “stand ready to honour its preferential trade agreement imports” if it receives a similar request from trading partners.
As China begins to rebound from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak (see 2003170043), it is preparing for sustained negative impacts on its supply chains due to the pandemic’s spread across the rest of the world, officials said during a March 30 press conference held by the State Council Information Office. China said its imports and exports fell by nearly 10 percent in January and February compared with the same period last year, and expects that trend to continue due to the fact that its supply chains are “deeply integrated” in regions being hit hard by the pandemic, such as Europe and the U.S.
India imposed new restrictions on exports of certain “animal by-products” to the European Union, India’s Department of Commerce said in a March 30 notice. The conditions, which apply to bone and bone products for human consumption and “gelatine,” require a certain “shipment clearance certificate” with the name and address of the exporter, address of the “registered plant,” the “nature of the export product,” the port of loading and more, the notice said. The conditions also require the exporter to provide a “health certificate” to the buyer with the harmonized system code, origin, destination, vessel name and more.
Vietnam will “temporarily suspend rice exports” due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, according to a March 25 report from CustomsNews, the mouthpiece for Vietnam Customs. The virus has caused a spike in global demand for food reserves, including rice, which has dwindled Vietnam’s domestic rice supply as exports have increased, the report said. If rice exports continue at their current rate, Vietnam “may face a shortage of rice for domestic consumption,” the report said. Under the measure, Vietnam will not sign new rice export contracts until it stabilizes its domestic supply, according to a March 25 report in the Bangkok Post.