Bangladesh’s import and export license approval and renewal system is now online, allowing traders to “fast-track the approval process” and streamline export-import procedures, according to a July 24 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The system allows traders to apply for Bangladesh's Ministry of Commerce’s Export Registration Certificates and Import Registration Certificates. The move is part of the ministry's commitment under the World Trade Organization to digitize trade procedures and “cut costs for companies,” the report said. The move is expected to reduce paperwork, processing times and corruption “by ensuring traders do not have to make informal payments to secure permits,” the report said.

Australia is putting in place “strengthened” seasonal measures to prevent the introduction of brown marmorated stink bug into the country, the Australian Department of Agriculture said on its website. Certain goods from 33 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan and countries throughout Europe, will require treatment while the measures in effect, and roll-on, roll-off vessels that berth, load or transship in those 33 countries will face inspection requirements, Australia said. The seasonal measures will apply for goods shipped from Sept. 1, 2019, that arrive in Australian territory by May 31, 2020.

An American Enterprise Institute trade scholar says "Japan has chosen a dangerous and destructive mode of retaliation, one that is likely to greatly disrupt global electronic supply chains and bolster China’s push for dominance of 5G wireless," and it's not justified, even if South Korea has been provoking its former occupier.

India Customs is updating regulations for filing sea cargo manifests for imports, exports and transshipments, requiring traders and shippers to adhere to new “defined timelines,” according to an alert by C.H. Robinson. The changes will take effect Aug. 1.

India announced several changes in duty rates as part of its 2019 budget, including tariff cuts to certain electrical-related imports and tariff increases on certain auto parts and metals, according to a July 22 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. India announced exemptions on import tariffs for certain electrical “components,” including “e-drive assemblies, on-board chargers, e-compressors and charging guns,” the report said. The items will not be subject to the 10 percent customs duty in an effort to spur electric vehicle production in India, the report said. The country also increases tariff rates on certain auto-related goods, including rear-view mirrors, car locks, oil filters and air conditioner units, the report said. Those changes were made to “curtail the level of non-essential imports and boost domestic production” in India, the report said. The changes took effect July 6.

Cambodia’s new trade portal is expected to “streamline export procedures and curb corruption,” according to a July 18 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The portal, called the country’s National Single Window system, is expected to allow traders to file import and export documents and pay fees and taxes online, the report said. The system will also help speed up “cargo clearance procedures,” and manage export and import licenses and “permits for the transit/Import of goods for re-export,” the report said. Businesses will only be required to submit “key information” once because the information will be shared with the country’s other relevant agencies.

China is reducing restrictions on foreign market access in certain sectors, including in the “services,” agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors, according to a July 17 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. China is reducing the number of sectors with restrictions from “48 to 40 on a national basis and from 45 to 37 in the case of businesses operating within one of the mainland’s Pilot Free Trade Zones,” the report said. The changes were outlined in regulations issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce.

Laos adopted a “legal framework” through new legislation that will allow it in the future to impose antidumping or countervailing penalties on imports, according to a July 17 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Previously, any “punitive recourse” for product dumping had “not been legally deliverable.” No product list has been developed.

Australia recently updated excise duty rates on beer that may provide benefits for small beer manufacturers, according to a July 19 report from KPMG. Beer packaged in kegs that hold between 8 and 48 liters will now be subject to the same duty rate as beer packaged in “the standard keg size” of 48 liters, the report said. Previously, kegs that held more than 48 liters of beer were subject to lower tariff rates than smaller kegs. Australia hopes the change will “provide small and microbrewers of beer a greater chance of remaining competitive against their global and sector-dominating counterparts, due to the fact that craft and microbrewers generally use smaller kegs in their production,” KPMG said. The change also makes certain alcohol manufacturers eligible to claim a refund of “60 percent of excise duty paid within a twelve month period to a maximum of $100,000,” the report said. KPMG said the previous cap was $30,000. The changes took effect July 1.

Singapore Customs said a man was sentenced to 42 months in prison and penalized with a more than $10 million fine for “dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes,” in a July 17 press release. Because the man did not pay the fine, Singapore said an extra 28 months was added to his sentence. Singapore Customs said the man and five others were arrested for evading about $350,000 in duties on cigarettes in 2017. The man coordinated the delivery of the cigarettes, which were loaded onto two Malaysian-registered cars “for distribution to various locations in Singapore,” according to the notice. The man is a repeat offender, previously convicted of similar offenses in 2006, and also in 2014, for being caught in 2012 and 2013 importing or delivering duty-unpaid cigarettes.