The Philippines extended a moratorium on its “strict implementation” of minimum labeling requirements for imported meat and poultry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said Nov. 8. The country extended the moratorium "indefinitely" until it can review and revise its regulations, which have come under criticism from “multiple stakeholders,” USDA said. Those stakeholders "raised concerns with both the additional labeling requirement included in Memo Circular No. 10-2021-038 [issued Oct. 26] and the upcoming expiry of labeling flexibilities on January 1, 2022."
India updated the item description for peptones to include collagen peptides of marine, bovine or poultry origin, the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade said. The Nov. 8 notification applies to HS Code 35040010 at Serial No. 173. The full item description now reads "Peptones including Collagen Peptides of marine or bovine or Poultry origin (also referred to as Collagen, Collagen Hydrolysate, Hydrolysed Collagen or Hydrolysed Gelatin) and Fish Protein."
India added a Canadian entity to its list of entities that may issue pre-shipment inspection certificates, the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade said. Starting Nov. 10, Hamilton Steel Logistics in Hamilton, Ontario, may issue the certificates.
Vietnam's Hai Phong Customs Department fined a company over $7,000 for importing goods labeled with false country of origin information, the state-run publication CustomsNews said. The goods were declared as glass door accessories originating in China. After physical inspection, the local customs department found 1,000 locks used in glass doors, which the company had declared as glass door lock clamps. The customs department forced the company to reexport the goods.
Taiwan logged more than $40 billion in exports in a month for the first time, capitalizing on surging demand for semiconductors and metals, data from the Ministry of Finance showed, Bloomberg reported Nov. 8. In October, overseas shipments jumped 24.6% year on year, while imports rose 37.2% to $34 billion, narrowing the trade balance to $6.1 billion. The finance ministry pegged strong demand for new technologies, the start of the peak holiday buying season and boosted raw material prices as the main factors behind the export surge, Bloomberg said. The ministry predicts momentum will continue through the end of the year.
Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department reminded entities that trade certain controlled chemicals of upcoming deadlines to apply for licenses and report certain activities. Entities and facilities that trade in chemicals controlled by the Chemical Weapons Convention must submit their “permit applications” for 2022 by Nov. 30 and report by Dec. 21 “whether they were engaged in the specified activities,” the agency said in a Nov. 5 notice. The notice includes information on the permit and reporting requirements.
China imposed new inspection and quarantine requirements for fresh passion fruit imported from Laos, the General Administration of Customs said, according to an unofficial translation. Beginning Nov. 5, the requirements apply to all imports of this type. Failure to meet these phytosanitary requirements will result in the passion fruit either being turned away or destroyed.
China and Thailand will allow fruits being shipped between the two countries to pass through third countries in transit, China's General Administration of Customs said, according to an unofficial translation. The move comes with the application of China's inspection and quarantine requirements, the agency said. Fruits will be allowed to enter and exit 10 Chinese ports and six Thai ports, with the lists subject to change. Both countries shall provide a list of orchards and packaging factories registered with the relevant agencies for which the new rules apply.
Chinese researchers are developing a way to produce livestock feed from factory exhaust gas in a bid to reduce the country’s reliance on imported soybeans, according to a Ministry of Science and Technology newspaper, Caixin reported Nov. 3. The process would synthesize animal feed protein from “simple carbon and nitrogen sources,” the report said, and could decrease U.S. leverage in a trade war by reducing Chinese dependency on U.S. soybeans. The report added that China is the world’s largest importer of soybeans at about 100 million tons per year.
China released a new list of animals, plants and their products that are banned from entering the country, the General Administration of Customs said, according to an unofficial translation. The updated list is meant to comply with a host of Chinese public health laws, and is applicable to inbound passengers, inbound traffic and transportation personnel, personnel entering border markets or special customs supervision areas, and personnel with diplomatic privileges.