China’s General Administration of Customs released guidance and more information about China’s plans to reduce import tariffs on more than 850 items in 2020 (see 1912230051), according to a notice released Dec. 30. The agency said it will soon issue a 2020 edition of the “Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China,” and has published on its customs “portal” a “Catalogue for the Declaration of Customs Import and Export Commodities” regarding the tariff reductions, according to an unofficial translation. The customs administration also said it has adjusted “relevant customs commodity numbers” to “effectively implement the tentative tax rates.”
Exports to China
China is banning pigs, boars and related products from Indonesia after reports of an African swine fever outbreak in the country, China’s General Administration of Customs said in a notice released Dec. 30, according to an unofficial translation. All illegally imported pigs or boars will be “destroyed” by Chinese customs, the notice said, and violators will be subject to penalties.
The U.S., China and Germany are the largest beneficiaries of the World Trade Organization, according to a report released Dec. 30 by the Bertelsmann Foundation. The three countries, also the world’s biggest exporters, saw the largest amount of income gains due to the WTO’s rules-based trading system, the report said. The report also finds a direct correlation between WTO membership and a sharp rise in exports, saying both the WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have led to a “significant increase” in global exports.
China saw fewer imports of solid waste in 2019 after increasing enforcement of waste smuggling, according to a Dec. 31 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. China said its total waste imports from January to mid-December increased by nearly 40 percent from the previous year, and the country’s customs authority investigated 21 percent fewer trash smuggling cases.
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru recently agreed to unified labeling requirements for certain apparel, textiles, footwear, leather and travel goods to ease compliance with labeling regulations for exporters in Hong Kong, China and elsewhere, according to a Dec. 31 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The new labeling requirements will take effect for footwear, leather and travel goods in November and for apparel in May 2021, the report said. The apparel labeling regulations require “product composition, care instructions and country of origin” to be placed on a “permanent label.” The labels for footwear, leather and travel goods must also contain certain materials disclosures, the report said.
President Donald Trump tweeted that he will sign “our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15” at the White House. "High level representatives of China will be present" and Trump is planning to go to Beijing "at a later date" to begin talks around Phase Two, he said. An administration official previously said the signing would be done between the U.S. trade representative and China's vice premier, and would happen in the first week of January (see 1912130035).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 23-27 in case you missed them.
Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows:
More than half of the sanctions-related enforcement actions issued by the Treasury Department in 2019 involved supply chain violations, signaling that supply chain compliance is one of the most important factors in avoiding violations, according to a December report released by Kharon, a sanctions advisory firm. The penalties are mostly due to deficiencies in three main areas of supply chain compliance, Kharon said: companies that operated in “heightened-risk jurisdictions,” companies that operated “existing and newly acquired” foreign subsidiaries, and companies that showed deficiencies while monitoring actors in its supply chain.
China’s Commerce Ministry released information about the State Council’s efforts to establish a “comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zone” in 24 cities, according to an unofficial translation of a Dec. 27 notice. The ministry said the zones will “promote international trade liberalization,” “promote the healthy development of cross-border e-commerce across the country” and will feature value-added taxes on e-commerce retail exports and certain tax exemptions.