Ethiopia recently revised its tariff manual to update import duty rates for more than 8,000 items, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 30. The manual, which previously provided rates for categories of products, now includes duties for “specific products,” HKTDC said. The rate changes particularly affected manufacturing and agricultural goods, the report said, because Ethiopia hopes to replace imported finished goods with locally made items. The country eliminated or lowered tariffs on a range of industrial inputs, including ores, slag, fuels, oils, some spare parts for domestically assembled products and other raw materials, HKTDC said.
Pakistan recently amended its Foreign Exchange Manual to simplify its cross-border commercial payment process, which has implications for logistics-related payments, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 26. The changes include new “arrangements” for paying container detention charges, port demurrage charges and charter costs to the owner of a ship or aircraft, the report said.
Iran recently resumed fuel exports to Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover, Reuters reported Aug. 23. The new Afghan government reportedly asked Iran to resume the fuel shipments because it feels it can openly buy sanctioned Iranian oil now that the U.S. military has withdrawn from the region. In response, Iran lifted a ban on fuel exports to Afghanistan that had been in place since Aug. 6, which stemmed from “concerns about the safety of trading in the country,” the report said. The Taliban also reportedly agreed to cut tariffs on imports of fuel from Iran and other neighboring countries.
Kenya recently published customs regulations that provide new guidance on a recordal system related to anti-counterfeit efforts, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 19. The Anti-Counterfeit Regulations, released late last month, revise previous regulations and require intellectual property rights holders of any imported goods to “have such goods officially recorded,” HKTDC said. IPR holders must also fill out forms for various “status changes” that may affect the imported goods, such as ownership transfers, name changes registration or “if recordation is to be terminated.”
Dubai Customs recently issued guidance regarding imports of goods via e-commerce channels and the benefits available to traders, KPMG said Aug. 17. The guidance, effective Nov. 14, applies to commercial companies, including free zone companies and customs warehouses, and outlines certain exemptions. The guidance also said logistics companies may clear goods on behalf of businesses registered under the Dubai Customs customer registration system, and that electronic documents will be accepted for customs clearance, KPMG said. Customs declarations for goods valued at less than about $8,000 will be exempt from customs service charges.
A cyberattack “crippled” the flow of goods at South African ports just days after the country’s Port of Durban resumed operations following a period of civil unrest (see 2107150007), the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said Aug. 11. USDA said Transnet, South Africa’s state-owned port, rail and pipeline authority, again declared force majeure after a July 22 cyberattack forced port workers to use paper-based clearance methods to move cargo at the ports of Durban, Cape Town, Ngqura and Gqeberha. The processing time of imported cargo slowed “dramatically,” USDA said, adding that port workers were able to process about three containers per hour. While systems at the Durban port came back online July 29, other ports still worked manually, and the slowdown has had lingering effects on South African imports and exports. USDA said poultry and beef shipments have been “severely disrupted.”
Ghana recently began implementing its economic partnership agreement with the European Union, which is expected to liberalize trade between the two countries, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 11. The agreement includes benefits for 80% of the EU’s export volume to Ghana and includes “cumulative tariff cuts” by Ghana for about 22% of tariff lines this year, 50% by the end of 2024 and 100% by the end of 2029, HKTDC said. Ghana-made products will also benefit from duty-free, quota-free access to the EU in exchange for “progressive liberalisation of tariffs for EU exports to Ghana,” the report said.
A new Egyptian rule will require importers to pay only 30% of their customs fees before the arrival of their shipment at an Egyptian port, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 9. The change, announced by Egyptian Customs Aug. 1, is meant to “fast‑track customs procedures” by allowing importers to pay the remaining 70% of their fees after the shipment arrives, HKTDC said. Companies will also “get a refund in cases where cargo is banned from entering the country, destroyed or disposed of,” the report said. The change is part of the country’s new Advanced Cargo Information system, or Nafeza, which is expected to be fully implemented in most seaports by October.
Bahrain recently updated its electronic payment process for customs fees and taxes to allow all payments to be submitted in a single transaction, KPMG said Aug. 4. The process is expected to speed up the payment process for customs charges and should see all payment submissions in a transaction completed in “less than 30 seconds,” KPMG said.
South Africa recently lifted some restrictions on the domestic transportation and sale of alcohol after a nationwide ban earlier this year (see 2102110016), but traders are uncertain about how the government may handle future alcohol bans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Aug. 3. USDA said the ban significantly affected liquor supply chains and damaged South African alcohol imports. The “uncertainty created by the ad-hoc prohibitions by South Africa has caused some alcohol brands to struggle to regain lost market share,” USDA said.