Vietnam Customs issued a decision to improve customs regulations and procedures, focusing on 2019-2021 with a plan for implementation of measures, according to a June 6 report from the General Department of Vietnam Customs’ mouthpiece CustomsNews website. The report said customs wants to “improve efficiency” by continuing with certain reforms and reducing the time and cost of loading and unloading goods at warehouses, yard and ports. The decision took effect May 27, the report said.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the status of enforcement procedures for the Basel Convention Act, which controls the export and import of “specified hazardous wastes,” the METI said in a May 28 notice. Among several requirements, the act requires that exporters or importers of hazardous waste obtain approval from the METI for “disposal or recycling” and requires traders to “carry a movement document” for the waste.

Taiwan customs is cracking down on illegal imports of industrial waste at the Port of Taichung, it said in a press release. China’s ban on the importation of solid waste, including plastics waste and metals, has caused an increase in imports of the goods into the Taichung Port Free Trade Zone since November 2018, the release said. Imports of industrial waste require a permit, and industrial waste that enters without a permit is subject to seizure and return to the exporting country, as well as a fine of over $300,000 (U.S. dollars). “If all the import requirements are fulfilled, and importers are compliant with relevant law and regulations, imposition of penalties or fines will not be needed,” the release said.

Thailand’s recently passed Weapons of Mass Destruction Related Items Act will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, according to a June 4 notice from Baker McKenzie, regulating all goods related to the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Products include “armaments,” dual-use items and “tangible and intangible items that could have commercial interest, technology or even software,” the notice said. The act would control exports, re-exports, transshipments, transits, brokering and other actions related to the weapons.

India customs will introduce paperless processing of exports in its Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) at the port of Visakhapatnam “along with other facilities across the country,” according to a report in the New Indian Express. The decision follows the successful implementation of electronic filing of supporting documents for exports under a pilot project in New Delhi and Chennai, the report said. The “shipping bill” and supporting documents such as the invoice, purchase order, license, certificate of analysis are to be submitted online by the exporter or customs broker, and the India customs officer will be able to view the documents for processing, the report said. "It is now mandatory to upload digitally signed supporting documents on ESANCHIT at the time of filing of shipping bills," Visakhapatnam customs said in a May 27 circular. "The exports/Customs Brokers should not be allowed to submit the supporting documents in hard copies, henceforth."

India customs is more closely scrutinizing transfer pricing methodologies of several multinationals that could lead to challenges to the valuation of their related party imports and exports, according to a report in the Economic Times. Under an initiative first launched in 2016, India’s customs and income tax authorities are now finally beginning to share trade and tax data, respectively, the report said. Previously, the two agencies didn’t share data, so companies could get away with “information arbitrage” in some cases, it said. No “notices” have been issued yet to multinationals, but they could come in the coming months in some cases, the report said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service released a translation of China’s food safety standard for the maximum residue limits of pesticides in foods, which sets 302 MRLs for 43 pesticides, USDA said in a May 22 report. The limits were issued by China's National Health Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, and took effect in December.

India is adding about 100 electronic licenses, permits, certificates and authorizations from 23 participating government agencies (PGAs) to the eSANCHIT application, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said in a June 3 circular. The new forms bring the total number of PGAs using eSANCHIT to 27, with only four previously having been set up in eSANCHIT since electronic filing capabilities for the system were launched in April 2018.

Singapore Customs outlined rules of origin requirements and certification procedures under the new ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement that is slated to take effect June 11, in a recent circular. Beginning on that date, preferential treatment for Singapore-originating goods can be claimed under the agreement in Hong Kong, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. AHKFTA treatment is not available in other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states because they have not yet ratified the agreement, the circular said. The agency also outlined procedures for claiming preferential treatment in a separate circular.

China bought about 13 million metric tons of American soybeans since December, when President Donald Trump decided to hold tariffs at 10 percent on List 3 of the Section 301 actions. But according to a new report from Bloomberg, those purchases have stopped. Officials told Bloomberg reporters that previously contracted sales will be honored. China may need fewer soybeans from any source because of the African swine flu epidemic crimping demand for livestock feed, the report noted.