Taiwan removed all U.S. goods from its list of imports that will require “enhanced” customs inspection for 2023, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a Jan. 5 report. U.S. apples, avocados and paper plates were on the list in 2022. Those products will return to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration’s “normal border inspection rate for importers in good standing, which is two to ten percent,” USDA said.

Japan and the U.S. need to coordinate investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotechnology at the same time they cooperate on export controls, according to Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry. He spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Jan. 5.

Singapore Customs on Jan. 4 introduced a new permit clearance inquiry service on its networked trade platform. Since Aug. 1, Singapore no longer manually endorses cargo clearance permits (CCPs) at cargo checkpoints. Under the new system, created to help companies that still require these endorsements, "traders will only require the permit number and a Unique Entity Number (UEN) of the trader or any party involved in the shipment to perform the query" to find the clearance status of their CCPs, Singapore Customs said. The service takes effect Jan. 6.

Sri Lanka recently lifted import restrictions on 10 types of goods, the latest in a series of moves to ease controls since the country announced a host of restrictions last year (see 2212160012 and 2210030012), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Jan. 3. The latest action will remove restrictions on imports related to tourism, sports and broadcasting, including energy drinks; radio, video and television cameras and broadcast equipment; sports equipment such as golf clubs; and “medium density fibreboard” for furniture production.

Chinese officials are considering the resumption of coal imports from Australia following a two-year ban on the goods, Bloomberg reported Jan. 3. China's National Development and Reform Commission had talks Jan. 3 on allowing four importers -- China Baowu Steel, China Datang, China Huaneng Group and China Energy Investment -- to import Australian coal this year, with the first shipment coming as early as April 1.

The Singapore Customs TradeNet will undergo system maintenance Jan. 15 from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, it said Dec. 30. Singapore Customs advises users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This is in addition to the usual 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday maintenance.

Customs officers at Singapore's Changi International Airport will no longer manually endorse export permits presented with goods for inspection under the Hand-Carried Exports Scheme, Singapore Customs announced. Starting Jan. 3, the electronic copy of the goods' clearance status that can be retrieved through the Networked Trade Platform will serve as the endorsement of the permit under the exports scheme. Singapore Customs will give businesses a three-month adjustment period, ending April 2, during which businesses can set up an NTP account.

China raised its first tranche of 2023 export quotas for refined oil products by nearly half compared with the same time a year ago, Reuters reported Jan. 3. The 18.99 million tons of quotas to cover mostly gasoline, diesel and jet fuel exports is an increase of 46% from the 13 million tons allotted last year, the report said, which could be meant to "spur refinery output, capture strong export margins and adapt to slow domestic demand."

Local commercial authorities in China stopped registering foreign trade operators Dec. 30, the Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. The relevant departments will no longer require foreign trade operator filing and registration materials for entities that apply for import and export licenses, technology import and export contract registration certificates, quotas, state trade qualifications and other relevant certificates and qualifications, the ministry said. The move is meant to boost trade liberalization and facilitation.

China imposed national food safety standard inspection requirements for imports of infant formula food, processed cheese and other dairy products, the General Administration of Customs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The move comes after China imposed a new national standard for these products. The customs agency said that goods made and imported before the implementation date of the new national standard but that comply with the original standard can continue to be imported and sold within the warranty period. The domestic consignee of the imported goods must fill in the "production date" when declaring the affected products.