Beijing is investigating the EU for potentially adopting unfair trade practices as part of the bloc’s process for awarding projects to Chinese suppliers of wind power, photovoltaics, security equipment and electric trains destined for Europe, China’s Ministry of Commerce said July 10. The ministry plans to complete its probe by Jan. 10, although it could be extended to April 10, according to an unofficial translation. The announcement comes after the EU in April began an investigation on Chinese government subsidies awarded to suppliers of wind turbines destined for Europe (see 2404090038).
The Philippines last month updated import duty rates for a range of commodities, including a lower tariff rate for rice, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a recent report. The country lowered its rice duty from 35% to 15%, USDA said, adding that the tariff changes are meant to “augment supply, manage prices, and temper inflationary pressure of various commodities.”
Exporters of dairy products to India will on Sept. 1 be required to appear on a list of approved establishments eligible to export to the country, the FDA said in an emailed news release last week. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India “will include establishments on these lists that have been found to comply with applicable food safety requirements by the competent authority of the exporting country,” the FDA said. The agency will keep a list of establishments that have “expressed interest in exporting dairy to India” and that the FDA has found to meet U.S. requirements, and the agency will “transmit an initial list of such firms to FSSAI” by Sept. 1, it said. Establishments that want to be included on the initial list should request to be added by Aug. 23 using the FDA’s Export Listing Module, the FDA said.
The free trade agreement between China and Serbia will take effect July 1, China's Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said the deal will scrap tariffs on 90% of goods, of which over 60% will be eliminated July 1. The deal also includes chapters on "rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, dispute settlement, intellectual property protection, investment cooperation, competition, etc.," the ministry said.
China this week launched an antidumping duty investigation on imports of pork and pork byproducts from the EU after receiving a request for the probe by the China Animal Husbandry Association, according to an unofficial translation of a Chinese Ministry of Commerce notice. The investigation will cover the period Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023, and is scheduled to be completed by June 17, 2025, but may be extended. China said it will carry out the investigation “in accordance with the law, fully protect the rights of all stakeholders, and make an objective and fair ruling based on the investigation results.” The announcement came days after the EU said it would set new countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles (see 2406120008).
South Korea dropped trade barriers on French and Irish beef, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade announced June 13. The commission said the decision follows "consistent representations made by the Commission." The Korean market closed for beef from 15 EU member nations due to outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. In 2019, the market reopened for beef from Denmark and the Netherlands.
Ahead of a possible EU decision this week on tariffs for Chinese electric vehicle imports (see 2310040012 and 2403150047), Beijing warned Europe about imposing increased duties, saying it won’t “sit idly by.” China “urges the EU to end the investigation as soon as possible to avoid undermining China-EU economic and trade cooperation and the stability of industrial and supply chains,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters June 11. If it doesn’t, “we will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard our lawful rights and interests.”
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs announced June 3 that starting June 14, the export of nitrocellulose to Russia and Belarus will be banned, according to an unofficial translation. The move comes after the island banned the export of 77 "machine tools" to the two nations earlier this year, the ministry said. Nitrocellulose is a "key component of smokeless gunpowder" and has already been designated as a controlled item in the U.S. and the EU. The ministry also reminded traders that the fine for first-time illegal exports to Russia and Belarus "has been significantly increased" to about $138,000.
The Taiwan Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) is requiring companies that export seafood products for human consumption into Taiwan to be on TFDA’s list of approved establishments, according to an emailed FDA news release June 3.
A new national single window launched last month by Cambodia will allow traders to submit all their export and import documents through one portal, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported last week. It also will simplify application procedures for licenses, permits, certificates and other legal documents, the report said, and is linked to the single window for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Single Window “to allow data exchange with other ASEAN member states.” The window “also demonstrates Cambodia's commitment to meeting its trade facilitation agreement with the World Trade Organization,” HKTDC said.