China will revise its inspection and supervision procedures for crude oil imports to increase efficiency, the country’s customs authority said in a Sept. 21 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The procedures will allow oil importers to begin offloading shipments before all customs procedures are finalized if they provide certain information and an oil sample from the load being delivered. But China said imports of crude oil benefiting from these procedures may be sold only after they have passed the full customs inspection and issued a certificate. The new procedures will take effect Oct. 1.
U.S. pecan exporters may see an expanding market in Taiwan due to a spike in demand for pecan imports, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report issued Sept. 18 said. Taiwan pecan imports rose by 74% in 2019, and room for pecans to expand in the market, specifically in the snacking sector, is “strong,” USDA said. The agency said Taiwan is the second-largest Asian market for U.S. shelled pecan exports.
New customs codes and procedures for trade in China's Yangpu Bonded Port Area went into effect Sept. 20, the General Administration of Customs said in a notice that day, according to an unofficial translation. The notice details new codes for indicating the port area in import and export declarations and methods for collecting statistics on trade to and from the port.
Singapore Customs is urging fruit and vegetable importers to evaluate whether they underpaid their Goods and Services Taxes and to submit voluntary disclosures for any unpaid duties, according to a Sept. 18 notice. The agency said unpaid duties may have been caused by a “difference between the quantity and value” of imports declared to customs in the permit and the actual quantity and value of the fruits and vegetables imported. Importers who submit incorrect declarations can face a one-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000 or the “equivalent amount of duty and GST payable, whichever is higher.”
India will begin random sampling of certain imported LED products to make sure they are complying with the country’s standards, according to a Sept. 17 notice from India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The country’s customs will randomly select certain LED products and “control gear” for those products to be sent to labs for testing, the notice said, and imports that fail to meet Indian standards will be “sent back” or destroyed “at the cost of the importer.”
Singapore will update its Strategic Goods Control List to bring it up to date with the latest export control changes made at the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement and by the 2019 European Union List of Dual-Use Items, the country said in a Sept. 15 notice. The changes, to take effect Nov. 16, include new controls on dual-use items and “editorial changes for consistency.”
Japan announced the launch of a government-sponsored export control program for small and medium-sized companies, which includes “briefing sessions” and guidance from export control experts on complying with regulations surrounding sensitive technologies. The program, a collaboration of the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the chambers of commerce in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, will create a “security trade control system … to prevent the outflow of sensitive technologies” by smaller companies, the ministry said Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. It will feature a free “specialized consultation desk” for export control issues, Japan said, and company visits by export control experts to help with in-house compliance programs. It said the resources will be available to companies operating in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, but the program may expand to other regions.
China’s General Administration of Customs will allow imports of French “breeding eggs,” a Sept. 14 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The notice contains quarantine and sanitation requirements for the egg imports. The two countries have an arrangement and protocol in place, and the guidelines will ensure proper enforcement. The notice says “breeding eggs” are defined as “poultry and fertilized poultry eggs used for breeding and breeding young poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and other breeding poultry birds.”
China will continue to exempt 16 U.S. items from retaliatory tariffs for another year, Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, reported Sept. 15. The exemptions, first announced in September 2019 (see 1909110051) and scheduled to end Sept. 16, 2020, will now end Sept. 16, 2021, the report said.
China’s General Administration of Customs announced new procedures aimed at simplifying and streamlining its electronic data declaration requirements for air and water transport, it said Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. The notice includes information on when declarations are not required, declarations for “empty containers [dispatched] … in domestic coastal ports,” procedures related to electronic customs clearances, and customs declaration requirements for ships on “short-distance scheduled passenger routes.” The new procedures take effect Dec. 1.