The Korea Customs Service signed a memo of understanding with Korean e-commerce company Coupang to develop an efficient e-commerce customs clearance and logistics mechanism at the customs office in Seoul, the customs agency announced in a June 7 news release, according to an unofficial translation. The intent is to create computerized systems and laws for the rapidly developing e-commerce market. The mechanism includes the expansion of a public-private consultative forum and a pilot project for sharing customs information. For instance, when an e-commerce company shares transaction data with the Korea Customs Service, that data will be used for pre-verification and data collaboration to ensure expedited customs clearance.

A law designed to counteract foreign sanctions has been submitted to China's legislature for a second reading, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported June 7. The draft was submitted to China's top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress. The law would strengthen China's “legal toolkit with focus on moves against sanctions and interference and countering long-arm jurisdiction to cope with challenges and risks,” the report said. It said the law responds to an uptick in Western sanctions used as “part of their pretexts to spread rumors on and smear, contain and suppress China.” China recently issued regulations for its unreliable entity list (see 2009210017) and an export control regime (see 2010190033). Former U.S. officials say more trade restrictions laws are likely on the way (see 2012170041)

Bangladesh recently waived import duties on “emergency products and raw materials” used to produce test kits and COVID-related medical items, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 8. All “approved” importers will be exempt from import duties as well as “supplementary duty, regulatory duty,” value-added taxes and other taxes associated with 46 emergency products and 16 raw material items used to produce the medical goods. The exemptions, along with the country’s existing import duty waiver on personal protective equipment, will last until June 30, 2022, HKTDC said.

An economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics says there was no embargo on COVID-19 vaccine ingredients that led to slowed production of vaccines in India, as was argued by the CEO of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, which is in India. "That would be a scandal if it were true. But it is not. Access to new, firm-level supply-chain data reveals there has never been a US export 'embargo' on materials needed to manufacture vaccines. In recent months, in fact, the Serum Institute and other Indian companies have significantly increased imports of vaccine materials from key suppliers in the United States, including Merck Millipore, Thermo Fisher, Cytiva, Pall, ABEC, Sartorius," and others, the paper said.

Pakistan will seek to lower some taxes on imports of raw materials to give a boon to manufacturing and economic growth, Prime Minister Imran Khan's trade adviser Abdul Razak Dawood told Bloomberg. Taxes would drop 3% to 10% on key inputs for pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering and food processing industries, Bloomberg reported June 6. Any decrease in import taxes would be a drastic policy shift for Pakistan because more than 40% of the nation's total tax revenue stems from duties on imports. Khan wants to shed Pakistan's reliance on foreign loans and bailouts and build up the country's productivity and share of exports, Bloomberg said. Having averaged $23 billion annually in exports over the past decade, Khan's government is shooting for a new export figure north of $25 billion for the next financial year.

Sri Lanka officially implemented its import restrictions over fertilizers and agrochemicals (see 2104260022), which caused “widespread concern” among the country’s farmers and agricultural professionals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released June 3. The restrictions, which affect insecticides and herbicides and apply to all imported goods with bills of lading or airway bills issued on or after May 6, require traders to secure a license before importing those goods. USDA said Sri Lanka may see a rise in food insecurity because of the country’s lack of “organic fertilizer productive capacity” and the “absence of a formalized plan to import organic fertilizers in lieu of chemical fertilizers.”

Bangladesh will soon require all customs fee payments to be made electronically, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 2. The ruling will apply to all fees greater than $23,500 as of July 1 and “regardless of amount” starting Jan. 1 The requirement will apply to fees associated with all the country’s air, sea and land ingress points, HKTDC said. Previously, only larger multinational and domestic companies were required to make electronic payments, which resulted in a mostly cash payment system that led to longer clearance times and added congestion at Bangladesh’s storage depots, the report said.

The Shanghai-based Xin Bai law firm released a May report on sanctions in China (see 2101110042), providing an overview and “practical information” on China’s evolving sanctions regime. The report lays out the framework of China’s sanctions legislation, including what types of sanctions it can impose, the scope of those restrictions, potential penalties, compliance requirements for businesses, and the export licensing and reporting process.

Current geopolitical issues, deteriorating relations and COVID-19 are making it “impossible” to continue relying on China, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, a new report from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry detailed. The group surveyed 189 Australian exporters and businesses, finding the difficulties with Chinese trade especially pronounced for small wine exporters. The problems stemming from the raising of tariff and non-tariff barriers by the Chinese government has made customer relationships incredibly difficult and “resulted in a complete cessation of trade.”

China is “firmly opposed” to President Joe Biden’s executive order bolstering prohibitions on U.S. investments in China’s military-industrial complex (see 2106030067), a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said June 4. “The U.S. government uses the catch-all concept of national security and abuses state power to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises in all possible means,” he said during a regular press conference, according to a Ministry-provided transcript. Presidential EOs have “harmed not only the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also the interests of global investors, including U.S. investors,” the spokesperson said. The White House didn’t comment. Biden’s EO prohibits U.S. “persons” from trading in the securities of 59 Chinese entities, effective Aug. 2 at 12:01 a.m. EDT.