India recently announced new restrictions on sugar exports, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report May 26. The change, which took effect June 1, moved Indian exports of raw, refined and white sugar into the country’s “restricted” category, the agency said. The products now require “special permission” from the government before they can be exported, USDA said, but added that the restrictions don’t apply to exports to the U.S. or the EU “falling under CXL and tariff-rate quotas.”
China imposed inspection and quarantine requirements on imports of Cambodian aquaculture products, the General Administration of Customs announced May 30, according to an unofficial translation. The new protocols, which apply to artificially farmed aquatic animal products for human consumption and algae and other marine plant products, require that imports be farmed in Cambodia's own waters and not contain any drugs or additives banned by China.
China banned the import of pigs, wild boars and their products from Nepal, in a May 27 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The General Administration of Customs announced the decision after Nepal reported cases of African swine fever on six farms in its Bagmati province during March and April to the World Organization for Animal Health. China customs said it will return or destroy any pigs, wild boars or their products that are found.
Singapore Customs updated procedures for receiving duty exemptions and Goods and Services Tax relief for up to three bottles of wine per label per day for wine exhibitions and conference events. The qualified exhibitor now must be registered with Singapore Customs, and the Place of Receipt to be declared is "EXEMPTW" instead of "EXEMPT." Also, claimants must register their information with Singapore Customs and secure an import license from the Singapore Food Agency. The list of approved wines also has been updated.
Japan plans to greenlight exports of fighter jets, missiles and other defense items to 12 countries, including India, Australia, other nations in Southeast Asia and some European nations, Nikkei reported May 27. The exports, which could be authorized by regulatory changes by March 2023, would be aimed at increasing deterrence against China, the report said, and would represent a reversal of a Japanese ban on lethal weapons exports.
Pakistan recently announced an import ban on “many categories” of agricultural goods, including red meat, fruits and certain seafood, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said May 25 in a report. The agency said nontariff barriers already restrict imports of many of the products added to the banned list, so the new restrictions will affect only a “small percentage” of U.S. exports. Pakistan implemented the ban due to “severe deterioration in the value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar,” which “has exacerbated rising import costs.”
China’s Foreign Ministry this week criticized the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, saying it “will only undermine regional peace and stability and is doomed to fail.” During a May 24 news conference, a ministry spokesperson said the U.S. “concocted” the strategy, which will soon lead to the start of negotiations with several other countries on a new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (see 2205230003), and “created political and military confrontation by ganging up with some countries.” China’s Ministry of Commerce said the framework “should be open and inclusive rather than discriminatory and exclusive,” according to an unofficial translation of a May 24 statement.
China's customs agency recently imposed an import ban on cloven-hoofed animals and their related products from Indonesia due to reported cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the country, according to an unofficial translation of a notice released last week. All banned animals and animal products imported from Indonesia will be destroyed, China said, and violators could face customs penalties.
India recently announced a ban on wheat exports due to a spike in global prices and the “resulting food security risks,” the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 19 report. India is applying exemptions to export contracts with a customs registration or an “irrevocable letter of credit on or before” May 13, 2022, USDA said, as well as exports to other countries to “meet their food security requirements.” USDA said that more than half of the wheat at or near ports may be eligible for an exemption, and said traders are “seeking exemptions for additional quantities on various grounds like advance partial payment, etc.”
China imposed quarantine requirements on imported fresh longan from Cambodia, according to an unofficial translation of a May 19 notice from the General Administration of Customs. The restrictions require longan exporters to implement Good Agricultural Practices, including maintaining hygienic conditions and implementing pest management practices. The longan from Cambodia shall be imported only from ports that allow the imports of fruits in China, and if any violations of the quarantine requirements are detected, the batch of longan won't be allowed to enter the country, the notice said.