China’s General Administration of Customs announced 17 measures to improve Qingdao Customs, including port upgrades, “a long-term service docking mechanism” and other updates to create a “smart customs” port, China said in an Aug. 15 press release, according to an unofficial translation. Changes include improvements to Qingdao’s customs clearance process for “bonded and delivered goods” and a reform of customs tax “collection and management.” The changes will also expand the port’s “capacity … and shipping” and is aimed at “promoting the transformation and upgrading of the port,” the press release said.
Exports to China
China is banning imports of pigs and pig-related products from Slovakia, China’s General Administration of Customs said in an Aug. 6 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The ban is in response to the recent outbreak of African swine fever in Slovakia, the press release said.
China’s General Administration of Customs announced plans to start a two-step import declaration pilot program at 10 ports starting Aug. 24, according to Chinese Customs press release and a post from KPMG. The program allows importers to submit declarations in less steps before the goods are released by customs, KPMG said. The cities involved in the program include Huangpu, Shenzhen and Qingdao.
China approved two locations as “quarantine assessment and acceptance centres” for imports of “chilled aquatic products,” according to an Aug. 15 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The locations are Sunan Shuofang International Airport (Jiangsu) and Yiwu (Zhejiang), the report said. HKTDC said both will operate under China’s General Administration of Customs.
China will take “necessary countermeasures” if the U.S. imposes an additional 10 percent duty on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, the Chinese State Council’s Customs Tariff Commission said Aug. 15, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The move “seriously violated the consensus” reached by the two countries and “deviated from the right track of settling differences through consultations,” the official said, according to Xinhua. The statement was in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would be increasing tariffs on Chinese goods on Sept. 1. Trump later said the tariffs would be postponed until December.
The State Department announced sanctions on Zhuhai Zhenrong, China’s state-owned oil company, for buying petroleum from Iran, according to a notice in the Aug. 15 Federal Register. The sanctions -- which target the company and Youmin Li, its executive director and general manager -- take effect Sept. 16.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 5-9 in case they were missed.
China’s expansion of its Shanghai Free Trade Zone could serve as a model for similar schemes in other zones across the country if it is successful, according to an Aug. 13 post from Dezan Shira & Associates. The recently approved plan includes "pioneering" policies in the newly incorporated Lingang area that are more than just a “simple expansion,” the post said. The expansion will double the size of the original Shanghai zone and will “facilitate freer activities in trade, investment, finance, talents, and information” in the new area of the zone, according to the post.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security made several changes to its Entity List, adding, removing and modifying entries for companies in China, Canada, Malaysia, Russia, The United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and more. The changes add 17 entities to the list, modify 23 existing entries for China, Hong Kong and Russia, and remove three entities located in China and the UAE, BIS said in a notice. The changes take effect Aug. 14.
The recent U.S. decision to designate China as a currency manipulator is said by some analysis to have decreased the chances of a trade deal and increased the likelihood of escalation that could have major economic consequences, according to an Aug. 9 report by the Congressional Research Service. “Many analysts have argued that the currency manipulation designation has complicated negotiations and reduced the likelihood of an agreement in the short-term,” the CRS said, “and in turn have argued that the escalation could begin having significant economic repercussions.” The report also noted skepticism among some analysts that China is trying to unfairly manipulate its currency, saying “many analysts” have argued that China’s decision to allow the yuan to depreciate “is not clearly an effort to gain an ‘unfair’ trade advantage.” The report pointed to one analyst who said there will be no “practical consequences” to the designation, which has been called a “political exercise” by other analysts.