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.
Sri Lanka recently lifted import bans on another set of goods, including agricultural items, food, construction products, perfumes, leather goods, wood products, garments, home furnishings, washing machines and toys, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 15. The move will affect goods that fall under 328 Harmonized System codes. The country has gradually lifted import restrictions on a variety of goods in recent months (see 2210030012, 2212050010, 2212160012, 2301040013 and 2301230004).
India this week reminded companies that after Dec. 31 applications of non-preferential certificates of origin must be submitted through a new digital single window. The country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade, which earlier this year had delayed the implementation date (see 2303290017), said in an Aug. 16 notice that a “few enlisted Agencies/chambers have still not started the process of on-boarding which defeats the purpose of initiating the online system.” The country is giving those agencies and chambers until Aug. 31 to “on-board” the new electronic platform, but companies can still submit paper certificates of origin through the end of the year.
China’s commerce minister held a “business roundtable” with his United Arab Emirates counterpart and several UAE industry officials this week, where the two sides discussed increasing market access and trade. The meeting, held in Dubai, included executives from Emirates Airlines, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and logistics company DP World. The Chinese minister said “UAE companies are welcome to actively seize opportunities and continue to expand their business relationship with China,” according to an unofficial translation.
China’s recently imposed export controls on gallium and germanium (see 2307050018) -- two metals used to produce semiconductors -- were for legitimate national security reasons, Beijing said this week, rebuking comments from U.S. officials and lawmakers who have said the restrictions have no justification (see 2307060053). In an Aug. 9 post on Chinese social media site Weixin, the National Security Ministry said the country's national security concerns stem from an incident in 2009, when an employee working for a global mining company in China tried to access “detailed technical analysis of dozens of Chinese iron and steel enterprises and accurate parameters of each production process.”
Australia launched a new inquiry last week to study its approach to negotiating trade agreements. The country’s Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth is accepting submissions on issues related to Australian trade issues through Sept. 22. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell, who asked for the inquiry, said the country has “worked so hard in the last year to advance our trade diversification agenda,” pointing to trade deals with India, the U.K. “and hopefully soon, the European Union.”
China this week criticized the recent U.S. restrictions on outbound investment in three advanced technology sectors in China (see 2308090066).
China will rescind its antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of Australian barley, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced Aug. 4, according to an unofficial translation. The duties had “effectively blocked” Australian shipments of barley since the measures were first announced in 2020, Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement welcoming the news. “The removal of duties is the result of work by government and industry to resolve this matter,” Farrell said. China said the duties were officially removed Aug. 5.
India this week imposed import licensing requirements on certain electronics, including laptops, tablets, certain computers and other “automatic data processing machines” and “processing units,” the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said. Certain exemptions are available, including for certain shipments sent via post or courier and for imports intended for research and development, repair and reexport, and other reasons. The restrictions took effect Aug. 3.
Japan expanded its export ban on Russia to cover a wider array of goods, including luxury cars, electric vehicles and yachts, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said the move was made to "contribute to international efforts" to resolve the war in Ukraine and will take effect Aug. 9.