The New Rules Abroad

New Rules and Policies in Asia

New Export Regulations for Korean K-reach Customs

On June 17, Korean K-reach If a product is found to have entered the south Korean market without pre-registration, the importer and downstream processing user will be fined 50 million won and imprisoned for up to seven years, with an additional fine of 5 percent of the income from the south Korean market.

Saudi Arabia Issues New Rules for Freight Forwarders

According to Saudi Port Authority article 26, all Saudi consignees or notifiers, if acting as local freight forwarders, must obtain a freight forwarding license issued by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), or incur fines or risk of failure to clear customs at the customer's own risk.

According to the latest regulations of the Saudi port Authority (Mawani), if the consignee or notifier on the bill of lading is a local Saudi freight forwarder, shipping companies must obtain a copy of the freight forwarder license issued by the Saudi Public Transport Authority (PTA) for record. Otherwise, the resulting fine or all other risks will be solely borne by the client, which will be 50,000 Saudi riyals (SR50,000) per ticket, approximately $13,500.The rules take effect immediately and will be strictly enforced for all imports into Saudi Arabia after June 27, 2019.In lieu of a copy of the license, the relevant guarantee may be accepted during the interim period prior to strict enforcement. As of June 28, cosco will only accept goods from licensed freight forwarders.

India Has Delayed Imposing Tariffs on the US Again

India has once again extended the deadline to impose counter-tariffs on US products by a month, hoping to resolve the trade dispute with Washington once general elections conclude and a new government is formed. Implementation of import duties on 29 American products, including almonds, walnuts and pulses, will not be considered until June 16, a notification from the finance ministry said. “This is being done taking into account the fact that the US has not yet withdrawn the Generalized System of Preferences schemes for India,” a government official told BusinessLine.

The US and India have been engaged in trade talks for nearly a year after Washington imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum last June. India prepared its own retaliatory measures against the US but kept on deferring their introduction pending an outcome of trade negotiations with Washington.

New Rules for Iraq

Iraq Customs has issued new rules on imports: Bill of Lading should read the actual name of the commodity; accordingly “General Cargo” as a commodity-description is not acceptable. Exact cargo/commodity should be mentioned on the Bill of Lading. The consignee and notify party on the Bill of Lading should be Iraq parties only and no foreign parties are allowed. The consignee should have a valid import license in Iraq. Upon berthing of vessel at Umm Qasr Port, amendments to the manifest is prohibited by customs.

New Rules on Indian Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulation Come into Effect.

the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has confirmed has confirmed to postpone the effective date of the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations by three months until June 1, 2019.

Requirements for import shipments, export shipments, arrival manifest and Departure manifest are as follows:

Import Shipment

Import Manifest will now be known as the Arrival Manifest and shipping Lines will be required to submit details of all import, transshipment & onboard containers prior to departure India ports.

Export Shipment

Export manifests will now be known as Departure Manifest and shipping Lines will be required to submit details of all export containers to Indian customs prior to departure or sailing of the vessel.

Arrival Manifest Requirement

Submit the IGM relevant information, House Bill of Lading, preferred CFS details, etc. to Hapag-Lloyd at least 72 hours prior to vessel sailing form last port of call before calling the Indian ports.

Departure Manifest Required

You are requested to submit Shipping Instructions & Shipping Bill to Hapag-Lloyd at least 48 hours prior vessel departure from India Port of loading .

Failure to provide information in accordance with the new regulations may result in serious consequences such as inability to unload the container or fines.

New Rules for the Philippines

On May 22, Philippine customs authorities changed the original "customs clearance within 15 days" to "required clearance within seven days". The new rules require that goods must be cleared within seven days after unloading, or they may be disposed of as abandoned goods.

On May 24, the customs issued a document to suspend the new regulation because the owner and the customs declaration bank protested through many relations. The regulation still requires that the declaration documents of customs clearance, such as bill of lading, packing list, certificate of origin, etc. should be prepared within 15 days, or the declaration documents of non-abandoned goods should be provided, otherwise it will be treated as abandoned goods.

Last week, Turkey announced that it would impose import duties on all e-commerce products ordered from abroad, except for books. Turkey will impose tariffs of 18 percent on goods directly from the EU and 20 percent on products from other countries. The value of imported goods is capped at 500 euros. Books worth up to 150 euros are duty-free and free to enter Turkey.

Next up is America

The United States Has Initiated an Exclusion Process of Its $200 billion Tariff List

On May 21, the United States trade representative (USTR) issued a federal register notice to the Office of Management and Budget requesting public comment on the exclusion process for China's $200 billion tariff list.

According to the announcement, the USTR is expected to start an exclusion process on June 30 for products subject to 301 additional tariffs starting on September 21, 2018, and May 10, 2019.

The $200 Billion 25% Tariff was Extended until June 15.

On June 1, the office of the United States trade representative (USTR) announced that the USTR will issue a notice in the federal register next week extending the time certain goods from China enter the United States until June 15, after which tariffs on those goods will be raised from 10 percent to 25 percent.

According to the announcement, products exported from China to the United States before May 10, 2019, will still be subject to an additional 10 percent tariff upon entering the United States. The 25 percent tariff was originally scheduled for June 1, 2019, but USTR extended the final date to June 15, 2019.

The U.S. Has Released a List of Exclusion Measures for the Fourth and Fifth Batches of Additional Tariffs.

The U.S. trade representative's office (USTR) approved 515 exemptions on May 14, 2019.The applications are for products on the us $3.4 billion list under section 301.The exclusion involves 21 10-digit us tax codes, of which 5 products with 10-digit us tax codes are completely excluded, and 16 specific products with 10-digit us tax codes are excluded. The exclusion is retroactive, meaning it will take effect on July 6, 2018. The 301 tax already paid can be claimed back. The effect of the exclusion shall be counted from the date of announcement of this decision (14 May) for a period of one year.

The U.S. trade representative's office (USTR) approved 464 exemptions on May 30, 2019.The applications are for products on the us $3.4 billion list under section 301.The exclusion involves 44 10-digit us tax codes, among which 1 10-digit products are completely excluded and 43 10-digit 88 specific products are excluded. The exclusion is retroactive, meaning it will take effect on July 6, 2018. The 301 tax already paid can be claimed back. The effect of the exclusion shall be counted from the date of announcement of this decision (14 May) for a period of one year.

The Mail Items Which Do Not Contain Electronic Customs Information Will Not be Posted to the USA.

Hong Kong post issued a notice recently ：According to the requirement of the Government of the United States of America (USA), all mail items, except Small and Large letters, sent to the USA must contain electronic customs information at the time of posting as from 1 June 2019. The mail items which do not contain electronic customs information will not be posted to the USA.

Customers shall provide the electronic customs data through Hong kong Post’s various online platforms and relevant facilities before posting any mail items from Hong Kong to the USA. Items without the electronic customs information shall be requested to supplement with the required information, or will be returned to the senders. If there is no return address or the sender cannot be contacted, the item will be destroyed and the postage will not be refunded.

* Including the overseas territories of the USA (Caroline Islands, Guam, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Marina Islands (Northern), Palau, Puerto Rico, Samoa (the USA Territory), Virgin Islands of the USA and Wake Island.).

The mails items which shall contain the electronic customs data cover all mail items, except Small and Large letters, including:

1、Speedpost item (including document and non-document item)

2、Parcel (including Air and Surface mail)

3、Registered and Ordinary Packets# (including Air and Surface mail)

4、e-Express and iMail

* Only applicable to packets exceeding the size limit of Large Letter (i.e. 381mm in length, 305mm in width and 20mm in thickness), or packets or international periodicals exceeding the weight limit of Large Letter (i.e. 500 grams).

The required customs information includes:

1、Sender information (e.g. address, telephone no. etc.)

2、Addressee information (e.g. address, telephone no. etc..)

3、Content information (e.g. category, description, quantity, value, etc. The information of Country of Origin and HS code shall also be submitted as well if available).

The United States Will Lift Tariffs on Canada and Mexico

US President Donald trump has said the United States will lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico to encourage lawmakers to approve the us-mexico trade agreement. In a joint statement, Canada said it would also lift retaliatory tariffs on American goods as part of the deal. In a tweet, Mexico's deputy foreign minister welcomed Mr. Trump's decision to lift tariffs, saying it would clear the way for Mexican lawmakers to approve the us-mexico trade deal.

Argentina Raises Import Statistics Tax

The government of Argentina announced through executive order 332/2019 that the tasa DE estadistica will be increased from 0.5% to 2.5% from May 7, 2019 to eliminate the deficit and achieve fiscal balance in 2019, which is a temporary measure and will only be implemented until December 31, 2019.This applies to all imports, including mercosur imports, as well as terminal consumer goods and temporary imports.

The Mail Items Which Do Not Contain Electronic Customs Information Will Not be Posted to the USA.

Hong Kong post issued a notice recently ：According to the requirement of the Government of the United States of America (USA), all mail items, except Small and Large letters, sent to the USA must contain electronic customs information at the time of posting as from 1 June 2019. The mail items which do not contain electronic customs information will not be posted to the USA.

Customers shall provide the electronic customs data through Hong kong Post’s various online platforms and relevant facilities before posting any mail items from Hong Kong to the USA. Items without the electronic customs information shall be requested to supplement with the required information, or will be returned to the senders. If there is no return address or the sender cannot be contacted, the item will be destroyed and the postage will not be refunded.

* Including the overseas territories of the USA (Caroline Islands, Guam, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Marina Islands (Northern), Palau, Puerto Rico, Samoa (the USA Territory), Virgin Islands of the USA and Wake Island.).

The mails items which shall contain the electronic customs data cover all mail items, except Small and Large letters, including:

1、Speedpost item (including document and non-document item)

2、Parcel (including Air and Surface mail)

3、Registered and Ordinary Packets# (including Air and Surface mail)

4、e-Express and iMail

* Only applicable to packets exceeding the size limit of Large Letter (i.e. 381mm in length, 305mm in width and 20mm in thickness), or packets or international periodicals exceeding the weight limit of Large Letter (i.e. 500 grams).

The required customs information includes:

1、Sender information (e.g. address, telephone no. etc.)

2、Addressee information (e.g. address, telephone no. etc..)

3、Content information (e.g. category, description, quantity, value, etc. The information of Country of Origin and HS code shall also be submitted as well if available).

The United States Will Lift Tariffs on Canada and Mexico

US President Donald trump has said the United States will lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico to encourage lawmakers to approve the us-mexico trade agreement. In a joint statement, Canada said it would also lift retaliatory tariffs on American goods as part of the deal. In a tweet, Mexico's deputy foreign minister welcomed Mr. Trump's decision to lift tariffs, saying it would clear the way for Mexican lawmakers to approve the us-mexico trade deal.

Argentina Raises Import Statistics Tax

The government of Argentina announced through executive order 332/2019 that the tasa DE estadistica will be increased from 0.5% to 2.5% from May 7, 2019 to eliminate the deficit and achieve fiscal balance in 2019, which is a temporary measure and will only be implemented until December 31, 2019.This applies to all imports, including mercosur imports, as well as terminal consumer goods

Argentina's New Rules Will Ban the Use of Mercury in Production

As of January 1, 2020, the government of Argentina will ban the use of mercury in production. The new regulations for mercury use in Argentina mainly involve eight categories of goods, including batteries, fluorescent lamps, pesticides and measuring tools. Batteries, for example, are exempt if they contain less than 2% mercury, or zinc oxide button batteries. Electrical switches are also exempt if they are high frequency and high emission switches, or relays used for monitoring, or bridge controls with mercury levels below 20 mg.

Special exemptions are available if the following circumstances apply. It generally includes 5 categories: civil and defense security purposes, scientific research or experimental purposes, some special light pipes, religious purposes and vaccines.

and temporary imports.

Next up is Europe

The European Union Has Introduced New Rules on Trans Fats

The European Union has issued new rules to amend the rules on the use of trans fats in food products. It clearly states that a maximum limit of trans fat, other than trans fat naturally occurring in fat of animal origin, in food which is intended for the final consumer and food intended for supply to retail, of 2 grams per 100 grams of fat.

The rule will take effect on May 15, 2019, with the final implementation date being April 2, 2021. In order to adapt food traders to the requirements of this rule, appropriate transitional measures are provided: Food which does not comply with this Regulation may continue to be placed on the market until 1 April 2021.

FBA Products in Europe Must Have Five-country Specifications

FBA products shipped to Europe now must have a five-country manual, and the package must have five languages, five countries refers to: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian.

The necessary information on the instructions and packaging of FBA products sent to Europe:

1. After-sales address;

2. Manufacturer information;

3. Production batch number (product number);

4. Description of five countries;

5. The package should also have five languages on it.

Switzerland Suspended Tariffs on Textile Materials and Semi-finished Goods

Switzerland will suspend tariffs on imported textile materials and semi-finished products from July 1, according to the Swiss federal government. The decision, based on an application by the Textilverband Schweiz, is expected to result in a 3 million Swiss franc reduction in tariff revenue, but is expected to have a positive impact on the Swiss economy as a whole, the statement said.

Finally, the continent of Africa

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement Will Take Effect on May 30

The economic and financial news agency reported on May 3 that the African union announced in a communique that the free trade agreement on the African continent would take effect on May 30.When it takes effect, it could create a single market of 1.2 billion consumers. The operational phase of the agreement will be formally launched at a special African union summit in Niamey, Niger's capital, in July.

Senegal's New Rules

Please note that ECTN is now mandatory for all cargo entering SENEGAL. The arrival time from March.1st a fine(including the shipping company's fines) will be applied to each cargo arriving to Dakar port and that did not subscribe to a valid ECTN.

Domestic new rules

MOFCOM: the Anti-dumping Investigation Against Imports of PPS

MOFCOM announcement No. 23 of 2019 announcement on May 30 .As of the issue date hereof, the MOFCOM conducted the anti-dumping investigation against imports of PPS originating in Japan, the United States, South Korea and Malaysia. The product's name in English is Polyphenylene sulfide, PPS for short. The product is listed under tariff number of 39119000 in the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China. This investigation starts on May 30, 2019, however, the investigation can be extended to November 30, 2020 under special circumstances.

The Transition Period for Adjusting Export Tax Rebate Rate Enters Its Last Month

Goods services exported on or before June 30, 2019:

If the original tax rate and refund rate are 16%, then if the special invoice of 16% tax rate is obtained, continue to apply for tax refund at the rate of 16%;If a special invoice of 13% tax rate is obtained, the tax refund shall be applied for at the 13% tax refund rate;

If the original tax rate is 10% and the tax refund rate is 10% for goods services, if the special invoice of 10% tax rate is obtained, the tax refund rate shall continue to be 10%.If a special invoice of 9% tax rate is obtained, the tax refund shall be applied at the 9% tax refund rate.

If the purchase of goods services with a simple tax method or as a small-scale taxpayer to obtain a special invoice of 3%, the tax refund shall be applied at the 3% tax refund rate.

Goods services exported on and after July 1, 2019:

The original tax rate and the tax refund rate are both 16% of the goods and services. No matter you get the special invoice of the tax rate of 16% or 13%, you will apply for the tax refund at the same rate of 13%.

For goods services with the original tax rate of 10% and the tax refund rate of 10%, no matter the special invoice with the tax refund rate of 10% or 9% is obtained, the tax refund rate of 9% shall be applied for uniformly.

If the purchase of goods services with a simple tax method or as a small-scale taxpayer to obtain a special invoice of 3%, the tax refund shall be applied at the 3% tax refund rate.

China and Japan Have Implemented the AEO Mutual Recognition Arrangement

China and Japan formally implemented the AEO mutual recognition arrangement on June 1, 2019.The customs of the two countries shall provide each other with customs clearance facilities for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) when importing goods pass through. Among them, the advanced certification enterprise recognized by Japanese customs is AEO of China. China customs recognizes the "certified operator" of Japanese customs as AEO in Japan.

Full Implementation of the TIR Convention

In order to promote the implementation of the international road transport convention (TIR), the general administration of customs (GAC) has decided to fully implement the TIR convention on the basis of previous pilot projects, a notice said on May 15.The contents of this announcement shall go into effect on June 25.

Consignment Declaration Agreement

On April 28, the China Customs BroKers Association issued a new version of proxy declaration/proxy declaration agreement, which went into effect on on April 28.The old version will expire on June 1, 2019.

China Has Raised Tariffs on Some American Imports

In accordance with the foreign trade law of the People's Republic of China, the regulations of the People's Republic of China on import and export tariffs, and other laws and regulations as well as basic principles of international law, the tariff commission of the state council has decided to raise the tariff rate on some imported goods originating in the United States from 0 a.m. on June 1, 2019.