Bangladesh this month eliminated a fumigation requirement for imports of U.S. cotton, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a May 23 report. Certain U.S. cotton no longer needs to undergo “fumigation on-arrival” as long as the shipment has a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Japan's export control measures on 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing technology are an abuse of export control measures and departure from international trade rules, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry on May 23 urged Japan to immediately drop the controls, which it says are hindering the normal development of each country's semiconductor industry. Japan imposed the restrictions in late March, aligning with elements of U.S. restrictions on China (see 2303310031). The controls cover six categories of equipment used in chip manufacturing, including cleaning, deposition, lithography and etching.

China's General Administration of Customs and Macau Customs inked a mutual recognition agreement, which comes into effect June 1, China's customs agency announced, according to an unofficial translation. Under the accord, customs agencies of mainland China and Macau will recognize each party's authorized economic operator (AEO) system and allow designated AEOs to clear customs with ease. Both parties will also provide a host of customs clearance facilitation services for the AEO enterprises, the customs administration said.

A limited trade deal announced between the U.S. and Taiwan (see 2305190074) angered the Chinese government. When asked about the deal at a regular press conference in Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that signing a deal with Taiwan "implies sovereignty." He added: "The U.S. move gravely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, and contravenes the U.S.’s own commitment of maintaining only unofficial relations with Taiwan. China deplores and strongly opposes this move."

China this week banned certain Chinese companies from purchasing products from U.S. semiconductor company Micron, saying they are a national security risk and shouldn’t be used in “critical information infrastructure” projects. The country’s cyberspace regulator said its infrastructure operators “should stop purchasing Micron products” after a Chinese government review found they have “relatively serious potential network security issues, which pose a major security risk” to China, according to an unofficial translation of a May 21 notice. “The purpose of this network security review of Micron's products is to prevent product network security issues from endangering the security of the country's key information infrastructure, which is a necessary measure to maintain national security.”

Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department last week issued a notice to update its export and import controls to cover items regulated under the multilateral Arms Trade Treaty. The effective date of the changes, which outlined goods that will require licenses, will be announced at a later date, the notice said.

China will allow exports of timber from Australia to enter the country after over two years of restrictions, said Xiao Qian, China's ambassador to Australia, according to a May 17 Reuters report. China halted trade in timber in 2020 after China said it found pests in some shipments (see 2011120007), but Xiao said these concerns were remedied following a study of materials provided by exporters. The lifting of the restrictions follows Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell's visit to Beijing last week.

The Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department May 16 issued the latest version of signatures of agency officers authorized to sign and issue Delivery Verification Certificates, and import and export licenses covering strategic commodities.

China denounced recent U.S. enforcement actions by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force against various Chinese and Russian individuals for allegedly violating sanctions by conspiring to export technology, trade secrets and aircraft parts 2305160047). A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said May 17 the U.S. "has kept stretching the national security concept to abuse export control regimes and its leading technological advantage," according to a transcript in English of the regular press conference the spokesperson holds with media in Beijing. The spokesperson urged the U.S. to stop suppressing China in the field of technology and using judicial power to target Chinese researchers, adding "China will do what is necessary to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens."

Under a new India trade policy, the import of apples under Harmonized System code 08081000 is "Prohibited" where the cost, insurance and freight import price is less than equal to 50 ruppes per kilogram, a May 8 Directorate General of Foreign Trade notice said. The minimum import price conditions will not be applicable for imports from Bhutan.