In an annual report about China's compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments, the U.S. trade representative repeated complaints from last year's report (see 1902050024) about how U.S. imports are treated by Chinese customs authorities.

Cambodia recently issued guidance about its online portal for registering investment projects, including information for import clearances, according to a March 5 KPMG post. The guidance provides information on the launch of “master list” applications in the portal and clarified that the portal will “facilitate the clearance of imports of construction materials, production machinery and equipment, spare parts, and raw materials” used for certain investment projects, KPMG said.

Japan updated its measures aimed at easing export and import procedures (see 2002140012) to help traders affected by the coronavirus, the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a March 5 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The notice updates time frames for the extension of certain customs certificates and more. Japan said exports and imports continue to be delayed and urged traders to use “mail and electronic application as much as possible.”

Japan recently revised the country’s maximum residue levels for eight agricultural chemicals, including carbosulfan, carbofuran, benfuracarb, cyclaniliprole, diquat, tebuconazole, broflanilide and benzpyrimozan, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released March 3. U.S. companies can submit comments about the changes to plantdivision@usda.gov by March 9. Japan is expected to notify the World Trade Organization, which will provide another opportunity to comment.

Hundreds of vessels dredged sand in North Korea’s Haeju Bay before illegally exporting it to China, according to a March report from C4ADS, a nonprofit data analysis organization. The operation, which took place in May 2019, violated United Nations Security Council resolutions and demonstrates “a level of sophistication unlike other known cases of North Korean sanctions evasion at sea,” the report said, shedding light on North Korea’s ability to “execute complex operations” to export goods. The sand was dredged by a “large fleet” that sailed from Chinese waters to North Korea, spiking traffic in Automatic Identification System traffic in the waters, the report said. The traffic was unusual because vessels rarely transmit their AIS numbers, in order “to avoid scrutiny from sanctions monitors.” The sand can be used to construct concrete, glass and silicon chips used on electronic devices, the report said.

The coronavirus outbreak has had “severe” impacts on European Union companies operating in China, according to a Feb. 27 report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. The report, which surveyed more than 550 companies, said that almost 90% reported a “medium to high impact” and about half forecasted a double-digit drop in revenue for the first half of 2020. Companies routinely face “unpredictable rules, highly restrictive quarantine demands and extensive pre-conditions to restart operations,” the report said, and often experience “multiple onerous restrictions” while passing through provinces, delaying deliveries. “The patchwork of conflicting rules that emerged from the fight against COVID-19 has produced hundreds of fiefdoms, making it next to impossible to move goods … across China,” Jorg Wuttke, European Chamber president, said in a statement.

India recently announced that goods procured from its Special Economic Zones will qualify as fulfilling the country’s “mandatory domestic sourcing requirements,” according to a March 4 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The SEZs normally serve as “export-processing zones” and are deemed overseas territories for purposes of “applying the country’s customs regulations,” the report said. Goods produced in facilities in those zones are normally considered overseas and liable for customs duties. The change means that SEZ goods “actually produced” in India qualify for its domestic sourcing requirements, but goods “containing overseas-manufactured input material” are “specifically excluded.”

Cambodia recently introduced a measure to allow certain value-added taxes on certain food supplies as a “state-charge,” according to a March alert from KPMG. The VATs cover certain meat (including cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, pork, chicken and ducks), eggs, fresh and saltwater fish, sugar, salt, fish sauce and soy sauce. VATs on those products will be “treated as a state-charge” as of Jan. 1, 2020, until Dec. 31, 2021.

Cambodia is scheduled to lose preferential tariff status on about $1 billion worth of its exports to the European Union on Aug. 12 unless vetoed by the European Parliament or an EU member state, according to a March 2 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The loss of preferential tariffs, provided to Cambodia under the EU’s Everything But Arms program, will impact about 20% of Cambodia’s “preferential tariff entitlement” under the deal, the report said. The Cambodian exports will instead be subject to the EU’s standard Most Favored Nation tariff. The move stems from EU concerns about human rights violations in Cambodia, the HKTDC said.

Applicants for the most recent Chinese tariff exclusion process should expect to spend less time justifying their requests and instead benefit from a less costly and lengthy application process, according to a Feb. 28 report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. China’s announcement last month to accept exemption applications for retaliatory tariffs on nearly 700 U.S. products (see 2002180039), which officially began March 2, reduces the “cost and difficulty” in applying for exclusions compared with previous procedures, the report said. Applicants only need to submit “basic information,” such as Harmonized System codes and planned purchase amounts. Applicants should expect to spend less time justifying their requests with no need to explain the impact of Chinese retaliatory tariffs on their business or whether there is “alternative sourcing in the market, the major impacts of additional tariffs on industries and society, etc.,” PwC said. The report details the requirements applicants must meet, the scope of the products affected and more.