China recently announced procedures for returns of cross-border exported and imported e-commerce goods, according to an April 3 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Traders seeking to return goods must apply to China’s customs authority to “engage in return business,” the report said. Any returns must come with a “guarantee” that the returns are the original goods, the report said, and must be completed within a certain time frame. The measures for returns of exports took effect March 27, and for returns of imports, on March 28.
Exports to China
China is blocking imports transported by truck drivers from five of Vietnam’s cities and provinces, including the country’s capital, according to an April 3 report from CustomsNews, the mouthpiece for Vietnam Customs. China informed Vietnam that it will bar drivers delivering goods from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Da Nang and Binh Thuan, saying those regions have “recorded many new and complex cases of coronavirus” COVID-19. Vietnam Customs is telling agricultural companies to “plan for the consumption of agricultural goods in the domestic market” and to remain in communication with the customs agency to minimize the “backlog of goods and economic losses.”
China announced changes to its inspections and supervision procedures for imported cotton, according to an April 3 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The measures, which were scheduled to take effect April 5, aim to improve the “business environment” at ports by carrying out inspections “upon application by enterprises” instead of a “sampling inspection by customs officials batch by batch.” If the consignee or agent of the imported cotton does not require a quality certificate, the cotton will be released “directly” after “passing the on-site inspection and quarantine.”
Senior Trump administration officials agreed to three measures that will tighten restrictions on China’s ability to obtain advanced U.S. technology, according to an April 1 Reuters report. The measures, agreed to during a March 25 meeting (see 2003260036), will “introduce hurdles” to block Chinese companies from buying U.S. optical materials, radar equipment and semiconductors, the report said. It is unclear if President Donald Trump will sign off on the new rules, Reuters said. It is also unclear how these measures relate to potential changes to the Direct Product Rule and the de minimis rule that administration officials have been considering for months (see 2003050041, 2003130037 and 1912100033).
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of March 30 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service issued a March 31 report detailing changes to the procedures for exporting U.S. beef to China. The report can serve as a “general guide” for U.S. beef exporters navigating the new regulations, the agency said. The changes, which came as part of the phase one trade agreement (see 2003240041), include an expanded scope of beef products that are eligible for export, the removal of certain age limits for cattle, new maximum residue limit standards and an updated procedure for transmitting export documents, USDA said. In addition, almost all U.S. “beef muscle cuts” are included in China’s most recent tariff exclusions process (see 2002180039), USDA said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released the 2020 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, detailing foreign trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters, it said in a March 31 notice. The notice includes a fact sheet on the USTR’s efforts to remove foreign trade barriers -- including recent trade deals with China (see 2001150073) and Japan (see 1912050058) -- and details on agricultural and digital trade barriers.
Huawei’s chairman said the U.S. may face retaliation from China if it follows through on plans to increase restrictions on foreign exports to the Chinese tech giant (see 2003260036), according to a March 31 report in The Wall Street Journal. Chairman Eric Xu, speaking during a March 31 press conference, said China may respond with restrictions on U.S. companies operating in China. “I think the Chinese government will not just stand by, watching Huawei be slaughtered,” Xu said, according to the report. “I believe the Chinese government may also take some countermeasures.” A Huawei spokesperson confirmed the comments.
After 47,000 stores in the U.S. closed in a week, Flexport says that so many companies can't take shipments arriving at East Coast ports that those ports are now shopping for more warehouse space. Because importing companies' warehouses are either full or closed, they tell the ports they'll pay demurrage charges for the goods to stay there. “The ports are actually worried now they won’t have enough space,” said Chandrakant Kanoria, Flexport's head of network operations, during a webinar March 31. He said Savannah is hoping to almost double its warehouse space, and the New York and New Jersey terminals are talking with warehouse providers to try to make room, as well. There are problems in the warehouse logistics ecosystem, as well, because Amazon warehouses stopped accepting any goods other than essentials.
As China begins to rebound from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak (see 2003170043), it is preparing for sustained negative impacts on its supply chains due to the pandemic’s spread across the rest of the world, officials said during a March 30 press conference held by the State Council Information Office. China said its imports and exports fell by nearly 10 percent in January and February compared with the same period last year, and expects that trend to continue due to the fact that its supply chains are “deeply integrated” in regions being hit hard by the pandemic, such as Europe and the U.S.