South Korea and New Zealand plan to strengthen economic cooperation, including in trade, South Korea’s foreign affairs ministry said in an Oct. 29 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The announcement came after ministers from the two countries met in South Korea, which also featured talks on sanctions. New Zealand said it is working to “implement [United Nations] sanctions” toward North Korea and both sides agreed to continue implementing measures by the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council.

India’s Ministry of Defense recently issued two open general export licenses for exports of certain parts and components and exports of intra-company transfer of technology. Both licenses authorize exports to Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Britain, the U.S., Canada, Italy, Poland and Mexico.

Macau, a special administrative region of China, will ease import restrictions on certain Japanese food products, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Oct. 28, according to an unofficial translation. The move will lift restrictions from certain vegetables, fruits and dairy products, Japan said.

A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson suggested that the U.S. and the United Nations should remove sanctions from North Korea because they are not solving the problem.

Japan Trade Minister Isshu Sugawara resigned Oct. 25 following allegations that he violated election law, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, according to an unofficial translation. Sugawara’s duties involved filling a “key post” in Japan’s ongoing trade dispute with South Korea (see 1910240032), according to Reuters. Abe asked Hiroshi Kajiyama, a former member of Abe’s Cabinet, to fill the role. Abe hopes to quickly fill the role to avoid “delay in the important administrative and policy-making fields such as industrial policy, trade policy, and energy policy,” he said.

India said many traders are “not doing due diligence” while entering Harmonized System codes in bills of entry and shipping bills, and warned that violators will be subject to penalties, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in an Oct. 22 notice. The country said “many importers” are not entering “the correct HS codes at 8 digit level,” creating “avoidable errors in India's import data.” Traders should “indicate the specific HS codes of items at 8 digit [level] where they exist, instead of using the ‘Others’ category in a loose and inaccurate manner,” the notice said.

China recently combined its foreign trade operator and place of origin certificates, shifting customs responsibilities among government agencies, according to an Oct. 25 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The country’s commerce regulators will now be responsible for “record-maintenance, data collection and all relevant notifications,” while customs officers “will receive and input any required records” relating to the certificates, the report said.

Indonesia’s president instructed officials to increase the country's exports in new and revised trade agreements, the government’s Ministry of Trade said Oct. 25, according to an unofficial translation. Indonesia wants to increase commodity exports that lack “opportunity” in foreign markets, the notice said. "For example, the products we export to the United States, but other countries with similar goods come in better. It means cheaper, deals with tariffs and so on," an Indonesian official said. As part of its plans, Indonesia said it plans to cut regulations that impede exports, the notice said.

Australia’s customs agency recently reissued a guidance on the “voluntary disclosure of post-importation adjustments,” reminding importers they must disclose any goods-related transfer pricing adjustments “as soon as the importer becomes aware of them,” according to an Oct. 24 post from KPMG. Importers must also disclose certain other payments and costs “not included in the customs value of the goods at the time of importation,” KPMG said, including royalties, license fees, research and development costs, certain commissions, proceeds from selling the goods and “any other goods-related payments.” Under Australia’s “customs self-assessment regime,” importers are required to determine what payments must be included in the customs value, the post said, and non-disclosures are subject to infringement notices and penalties.

Indonesia and Australia expect to ratify their signed trade agreement by the end of the year, Indonesia’s trade ministry said Oct. 22, according to an unofficial translation. The agreement will increase export opportunities for Indonesian businesses and covers several non-tariff issues, including rules of origin, customs procedures, technical trade barriers, phytosanitary measures and more, Indonesia said. The deal “is expected to help businesses penetrate the Australian market and develop economic powerhouses so that Indonesian businesses can compete in other third country markets," Indonesia’s director general of national export development said in a statement.