Singapore recently implemented its national standards for e-commerce transactions, requiring businesses to list certain product information for goods sold online, a June 24 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report said. Product information must include the name, description, quantity, availability, details of the product and any associated taxes or import and export fees, the report said. The standards also extend post-purchase coverage through deliveries and include “product handling payment on delivery, self‑collection, proof of delivery and failed delivery protocols.”
India amended restrictions for certain exports of personal protective equipment, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said June 29. The measure sets a monthly export quota of 5,000,000 (50 lakh) for shipments of “medical coveralls for COVID-19.” The notice contains a list of Harmonized System codes for which the export quota applies. The amendment moved the coveralls from prohibited to restricted under the export policy.
China will apply most favored nation tariffs on all trade with Kiribati, China’s General Administration of Customs said June 30, according to an unofficial translation. The new tariffs take effect July 1. Kiribati is a country in the Pacific Ocean.
Japan is considering imposing antidumping duties on imports of South Korean potassium carbonate, the country said in a June 29 notice, according to an unofficial translation. Japan said it plans to complete its investigation in one year. The move came after a Japanese industry group requested that antidumping duties be imposed, arguing low-priced imports of certain South Korean chemicals are damaging Japanese producers, which have been forced to lower their prices, a June 29 report in the Nikkei Asian Review said. Potassium carbonate is used to produce glass for liquid crystal panels, the report said.
China announced suspensions of meat imports from facilities in the United Kingdom and Brazil, the country’s General Administration of Customs said this week, according to an unofficial translation. The country also suspended meat imports from plants in Canada and Germany, a June 29 Bloomberg report said, adding to previous import suspensions from four Australian exporters (see 2005130013) and a U.S.-based Tyson Foods plant (see 2006220023). The restrictions come amid growing Chinese fears of virus-contaminated agricultural imports (see 2006230012 and 2006290009).
China will retaliate for the U.S. decision to ban defense exports and suspend license exceptions for shipments to Hong Kong (see 2006290063), a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a June 30 news conference. The spokesperson said the U.S. restrictions will “never succeed,” adding that China will “take necessary retaliatory measures to resolutely safeguard its national interests.” He did not say how China will retaliate.
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the Senate’s passage of a bill that would sanction Chinese officials, companies and foreign banks for interfering in Hong Kong’s autonomy (see 2006250043), threatening to impose countermeasures. China “will react firmly” if the bill is signed into law, a ministry spokesperson said during a June 29 news conference, “and the U.S. shall bear all the consequences.” The spokesperson also said the sanctions will not stop any Chinese actions in Hong Kong. “Their attempts are doomed to fail,” the spokesperson said. “This act will be nothing more than a piece of paper.”
China will eliminate tariffs on 97% of taxable imports from Bangladesh, a June 26 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report said. The measure, to take effect July 1, will eliminate tariffs on more than 8,000 items, the report said, and is part of China’s commitment “to the least developed countries with whom it has established diplomatic ties.”
India amended its Foreign Trade Policy to change the time frame for which certain exporters benefit from duty-free treatment, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a June 26 notice. The change extends for an additional three months the current three months from the date of export for certain duty-free exports and reimports of cut and polished diamonds, in cases in which the “re-import period is expiring” between Feb. 1 and July 31, 2020, the notice said. India made the change to help mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the notice said.
China extended until Dec. 31 an exemption on port construction fees for incoming and outgoing cargo, according to an unofficial translation of a June 4 Ministry of Finance notice. The measure comes as part of Beijing’s effort to help companies resume business and bolster exports during the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters said in a June 24 report. The exemption was to expire June 30.