Taiwan is requiring a certificate of origin and customs approval before certain Chinese-origin chipmaking equipment can be shipped to the U.S. The requirement will apply to shipments of certain “machine tools operated by laser processes, of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed circuits, printed circuit assemblies, parts” or “parts of automatic data processing machines,” Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade announced this month.

China will suspend all imports of aquatic products from Japan starting Aug. 24 in response to Japan's release of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean (see 2308220022), the General Administration of Customs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The customs administration said the move, which also covers edible aquatic animals, is meant to shield the health of Chinese consumers and ensure the safety of food imports.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, responding to a question from Express Association of America Executive Director Mike Mullen, said he was exactly right when he said that while there's a long list of problems with China, the government also has to keep in mind "how important China is to our economy, and maintaining that into the future."

China fined Mintz Group, an American due diligence services firm, $1.5 million for allegedly conducting "unapproved statistical work," The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 21. This comes after China raided Mintz Group's office in March and detained five officials, the report said (see 2305260054).

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit Beijing and Shanghai Aug. 27-30 to meet with senior Chinese officials and business leaders, the agency announced Aug. 22. Raimondo looks “forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation.” China's Ministry of Commerce, according to an unofficial translation, said Raimondo's planned visit is "at the invitation of Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao." Ahead of the trip, the U.S. Commerce Department said, Raimondo met with Chinese ambassador Xie Feng and had a "productive discussion."

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China "welcomes" the Bureau of Industry and Security's recent move to drop 33 entities from its Unverified List after the agency carried out end-use checks (see 2308210015). The move, which included Chinese companies, shows that both countries can address "specific concerns through communication based on mutual respect," the spokesperson said. In a separate release, the country's Ministry of Commerce said the BIS decision is "conducive to the normal trade between Chinese and American companies and is in line with the common interests of both parties," according to an unofficial translation. BIS made the move after an agency policy change that lets it move companies from the UVL to the Entity List if BIS is unable to conduct an end-use check on those companies within 60 days.

Hong Kong is set to impose import restrictions on seafood from Japan in response to the Japanese government's plan to discharge Fukushima nuclear sewage, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) announced, according to an unofficial translation. Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee Kar-chiu made the move in response to the Japanese government's 30-year plan to release sewage discharge from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which was flooded and destroyed by a tsunami in 2011, into the Pacific Ocean. "If there is any problem with the discharge of nuclear sewage in Fukushima, the ecological environment and food safety will inevitably be seriously damaged," Hong Kong said.

India's Ministry of Finance on Aug. 19 imposed a 40% export duty on onions effective immediately, according to an unofficial translation. Onions, traded under tariff item subheading 0703 10, will be hit with the duty, which is set to expire Dec. 31. The Indian government said it was "necessary in the public interest" to levy the tax.

Sri Lanka recently relaxed import restrictions on certain genetically engineered food, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report last week. The country will require traders to secure import approvals for all GE foods or materials that contain more than 0.9% genetically modified organisms, the report said. Sri Lanka had previously required import approvals for foods containing more than 0.5% genetically modified organisms. The change is expected to help “facilitate exports of U.S.-origin non-GE soybean and non-GE corn (maize) or any other agricultural or food product, as they can now be imported without prior approval,” the report said.

China announced a host of changes for its comprehensive bonded zones this week that it said will optimize customs inspections, improve cargo release procedures, reduce on-site investigations and other measures to cut red-tape. China expects the "reform measures" to slash “import and export customs clearance time” and “operating costs” and improve “logistics efficiency,” according to an unofficial translation of an Aug. 16 announcement by China’s General Administration of Customs. The agency also said it wants to “promote the construction of smart” bonded zones that use technology to expedite customs procedures. The announcement includes a set of questions and answers on the changes.