Indonesia and South Korea are drawing closer to signing an economic partnership agreement that will grant Indonesia better market access for its industrial, fishery and agricultural exports to South Korea, Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade said in a release Nov. 26, according to an unofficial translation. Negotiations were completed in October on the deal, which will also grant South Korea market access to the Indonesian “raw materials” sector, the agency said. The two countries signed a “Joint Declaration on Completion of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” on Nov. 25, saying they are now “one step closer” to ratifying the deal.
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China on Nov. 22 released its Nanjing Position Paper for 2019-2020, laying out concerns and recommendations of Chamber members doing business in the region, which it says has a particularly high exposure to the U.S.-China trade war. The paper aims to improve conditions for traders and small and medium-sized businesses operating with Nanjing. The paper said that companies operating in and with Nanjing “suffered some of the greatest exposure to the negative effects of the US-China trade war.”
Singapore Customs is urging traders to update their primary contact, secondary contact and “Trade Notification Contact” details in their “Customs Account,” the agency said in a Nov. 25 notice. In addition, Singapore will “terminate” certain inactive accounts after March 1, 2020, for “security reasons,” the agency said. If a company registered with Singapore Customs “does not have any import, export or tran[s]shipment activities” within the last five years and “does not have any existing registration(s) with Customs,” such as a “Declaring Agent (DA), Claimant, Cargo Agent Import Authorisation (CAIA), manifest submission, licensed premises” or manufacturer registration, the company’s account will be terminated, Singapore said.
Singapore Customs’ TradeNet will undergo system maintenance from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 8, Singapore said in a Nov. 21 notice. The agency is advising users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This schedule includes extended down time beyond the normal system maintenance that ordinarily ends at 8 a.m. on Sundays.
China and Cambodia will begin trade negotiations on Dec. 3 in Beijing, according to a Nov. 22 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The deal is expected to “extend beyond the benefits” in the countries’ existing trade agreement and to feature new preferential benefits associated with agricultural exports, the report said. The deal is also expected to provide an extra “boost” to companies looking to relocate production lines to Cambodia amid the U.S.-China trade war, HKTDC said.
China and Israel made “positive progress” during its seventh round of trade negotiations this week, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a Nov. 21 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The two sides discussed issues surrounding rules of origin, customs procedures, trade facilitation, phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights and more.
China is eliminating antidumping duties on products from India, Japan and Taiwan, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Nov. 20. China said it is eliminating antidumping duties on “methyl ethyl ketone” imported from Japan and Taiwan and “pyridine” imported from India and Japan. The changes will take effect Nov. 21.
The lower house of the Japan's National Diet approved the country’s trade deal with the U.S., sending the deal to the upper house for approval, according to a Nov. 19 report from The Japan Times. Japan hopes to ratify the deal before the current Diet session ends Dec. 9, the report said. The deal, signed in October (see 1910070074), is expected to take effect Jan. 1.
Vietnam is developing a list of imports to be banned from bonded warehouses, Vietnam Customs said in a Nov. 19 report from Customs News, the agency’s mouthpiece. The country previously considered banning certain imports of foreign cigarettes and liquor from entering bonded warehouses due to smuggling issues (see 1911050025). The country is now examining “other items which have a high risk of taking advantage” of Vietnam’s bonded warehouse system, the report said.
Japan is revising its export controls for certain technologies and machine parts, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Nov. 19. The controls will impact certain “detonation” engines, “control devices of gear machine tools,” “optical sensors” and “microwave equipment,” Japan said, according to an unofficial translation.