Russia imposed retaliatory sanctions on Japanese politicians, businesspeople and members of the media, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, banning their travel to Russia, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced May 5, according to an unofficial translation. The 63 individuals subject to the reciprocity also include Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Foreign Affairs Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.
The Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department issued a circular May 3 listing the latest version of signatures of agency officers authorized to sign and issue Delivery Verification Certificates and import and export licenses covering strategic commodities.
Fiji's High Court in a May 3 order gave the U.S. and local authorities permission to seize the Amadea, a $325 million mega-yacht whose ownership is in dispute. The U.S. said sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov owns the yacht. A lawyer representing the company that the vessel is registered under told Bloomberg the yacht is owned by another businessman not on any sanctions lists. The High Court further gave lawyers representing this second businessman until May 4 to file a stay order, Bloomberg reported. The U.K. and the EU in March sanctioned Kerimov for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. sanctioned him in 2018.
Taiwan recently modified its import restrictions on poultry and poultry products from the U.S. and Canada that are affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in an April 29 report. The temporary change will allow imports of poultry from banned U.S. states or Canadian provinces if the slaughter date is 14 days or more before HPAI detection occurred. USDA said the shipments may be subject to additional packing and transportation requirements.
Kazakhstan recently imposed export restrictions on wheat and wheat flour to ensure domestic “food security” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in an April 28 report. The restrictions, in place until June 15, will limit the country’s grain exporters to a total of 1 million metric tons of wheat exports and 300,000 MT of wheat flour exports. Many in Kazakhstan don’t view the restrictions as “overly burdensome,” USDA said, adding that the limits are “in line” with the country’s monthly April to June wheat and wheat flour exports over the previous five years. Other grain exporters objected to the restrictions because the measures could force them to renegotiate contracts, USDA said.
Japan adjusted the scope of its antidumping duty investigation on hot-dipped galvanized steel wire from China and South Korea and extended the period of the investigation to receive comments on the expanded scope, the Ministry of Finance announced April 28. Since June, the Finance and the Economy, Trade and Industry ministries have been conducting the AD investigation but recently determined the scope needs to be expanded to cover hot-dip galvanized iron wire containing a small amount of boron, according to an unofficial translation. With the expanded scope, the extension until Dec. 13 provides opportunities for interested parties to submit additional evidence with regard to that scope adjustment.
Singapore announced it will block all transfers of goods to Myanmar for items deemed to have potential military applications, Singapore Customs said April 25. The measures come as Singapore attempts to "ensure regional peace and security" and block the transfer of military products to places in the region "where there is a serious risk that the items may be used for violence against unarmed civilians."
China’s commerce ministry recently released draft implementing regulations for its dual-use export control law (see 2105180023). The regulations outline how the agency will administer export licensing, enforcement and penalties, according to an unofficial translation of the regulations. They also include more information on an upcoming dual-use product list. China is accepting public comments on the draft regulations until May 22.
India launched a new online module for filing applications for recognition as a Pre-Shipment Inspection Agency, electronic issuance of Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificates and electronic verification of authenticity of the PSICs, starting from May 1, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced April 26. All existing PSIAs are required to register online, the notice said. All PSICs will be mandatorily generated online through the DGFT's website, effective July 1.
The Singapore Customs TradeNet will undergo extended system maintenance May 8 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, it said April 22. 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.