#New Regulations The new foreign trade regulations that will be implemented in February
1. The State Council approved the establishment of two national demonstration parks
2. Chinese Customs and Philippine Customs signed an AEO mutual recognition arrangement
3. The port of Houston in the United States will impose container detention fees on February 1
4. India’s largest port, Navashiva Port, introduces new regulations
5. Germany’s “Supply Chain Law” has officially come into effect
6. The Philippines cuts import tariffs on electric vehicles and their parts
7. Malaysia publishes cosmetics control guidelines
8. Pakistan cancels import restrictions on some commodities and raw materials
9. Egypt cancels the documentary credit system and resumes collection
10. Oman bans import of plastic bags
11. The European Union imposes temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese refillable stainless steel barrels
12. Argentina made the final anti-dumping ruling on Chinese household electric kettles
13. Chile issued regulations on the import and sale of cosmetics
1. The State Council approved the establishment of two national demonstration parks
On January 19, according to the Chinese government website, the State Council issued the “Reply on Approving the Establishment of China-Indonesia Economic and Trade Innovation Development Demonstration Park” and “Reply on Approving the Establishment of China-Philippines Economic and Trade Innovation Development Demonstration Park”, agreeing to set up a demonstration park in Fuzhou, Fujian Province The city established a China-Indonesia Economic and Trade Innovation Development Demonstration Park, and agreed to establish a China-Philippines Economic and Trade Innovation Development Demonstration Park in Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province.
2. Chinese Customs and Philippine Customs signed an AEO mutual recognition arrangement
On January 4, Yu Jianhua, director of the General Administration of Customs of China, and Ruiz, director of the Philippine Customs Bureau, signed the “Arrangement on the Mutual Recognition of “Authorized Operators” between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Bureau of Customs of the Republic of the Philippines.” China Customs Became the first AEO mutual recognition partner of Philippine Customs. The export goods of AEO enterprises in China and the Philippines will enjoy 4 convenient measures, such as lower cargo inspection rate, priority inspection, designated customs liaison service, and priority customs clearance after international trade is interrupted and resumed. The customs clearance time of goods is expected to be significantly shortened. Insurance and logistics costs will also be reduced accordingly.
3. The port of Houston in the United States will levy container detention fees from February 1
Due to the high volume of cargo, the Port of Houston in the United States announced that it will charge overtime detention fees for containers at its container terminals from February 1, 2023. It is reported that starting from the eighth day after the container-free period expires, the port of Houston will charge a fee of 45 US dollars per box per day, which is in addition to the demurrage fee for loading imported containers, and the cost will be borne by the cargo owner.
4. India’s largest port, Navashiva Port, introduces new regulations
With the Indian government and industry stakeholders putting more emphasis on supply chain efficiency, customs authorities at Navashiva Port (also known as Nehru Port, JNPT) in India are taking proactive steps to speed up the movement of goods. The latest measures allow exporters to obtain a “License to Export” (LEO) permit without presenting the usual complicated Form-13 documents when driving laden trucks into a parking area notified by port customs.
5. Germany’s “Supply Chain Law” has officially come into effect
The German “Supply Chain Act” is called the “Supply Chain Enterprise Due Diligence Act”, which will come into effect on January 1, 2023. The act requires German companies meeting the thresholds to continuously analyze and report on their own operations and their entire supply chain’s compliance with specific human rights and environmental standards. Under the requirements of the “Supply Chain Act”, German customers are obliged to conduct due diligence on the entire supply chain (including direct suppliers and indirect suppliers), assess whether the suppliers they cooperate with comply with the requirements of the “Supply Chain Act”, and In case of non-compliance, corresponding remedial measures shall be taken. Bearing the brunt are Chinese suppliers engaged in export trade to Germany.
6. The Philippines lowered import tariffs on electric vehicles and their parts
On January 20 local time, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has approved a temporary modification of the tariff rate on imported electric vehicles and their parts to boost the country’s electric vehicle market.
On November 24, 2022, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board of Directors of the Philippines approved the temporary reduction of the most-favored-nation tariff rate for certain electric vehicles and their parts for a period of five years. Under Executive Order 12, most-favored-nation tariff rates on fully assembled units of certain electric vehicles (such as passenger cars, buses, minibuses, vans, trucks, motorcycles, tricycles, scooters, and bicycles) will be temporarily suspended for five years down to zero. But the tax break does not apply
to hybrid electric vehicles. In addition, the tariff rate on some parts of electric vehicles will also be reduced from 5% to 1% for a period of five years.
7. Malaysia publishes cosmetics control guidelines
Recently, the National Drug Administration of Malaysia released the “Guidelines for the Control of Cosmetics in Malaysia”. The list, the transition period of existing products is until November 21, 2024; the conditions of use of substances such as preservatives salicylic acid and ultraviolet filter titanium dioxide are updated.
8. Pakistan cancels import restrictions on some commodities and raw materials
The State Bank of Pakistan has decided to relax restrictions on basic imports, energy imports, export-oriented industry imports, agricultural input imports, deferred payment/self-financed imports, and export-oriented projects that are about to be completed, starting from January 2, 2023. And strengthen economic and trade exchanges with my country.
Earlier SBP issued a circular stating that authorized foreign trade companies and banks must obtain permission from the foreign exchange business department of SBP before commencing any import transactions. In addition, SBP has also eased imports of several essential items required as raw materials and exporters. Due to the serious shortage of foreign exchange in Pakistan, SBP issued corresponding policies that severely restricted the country’s imports and also affected the country’s economic development. Now that the import restrictions on some commodities have been lifted, SBP requires traders and banks to give priority to importing commodities according to the list provided by SBP. The new notice allows the import of necessities such as food (wheat, cooking oil, etc.), medicines (raw materials, life-saving/essential medicines), surgical instruments (stents, etc.). Importers are also allowed to import with existing foreign exchange and to raise funds from abroad through equity or project loans/import loans, subject to applicable foreign exchange management regulations.
9. Egypt cancels the documentary credit system and resumes collection
On December 29, 2022, the Central Bank of Egypt announced the cancellation of the documentary letter of credit system, and resumed collection of documents to process all import business. The Central Bank of Egypt stated in a notice published on its website that the cancellation decision refers to the notice issued on February 13, 2022, that is, to stop processing collection documents when implementing all import operations, and to process documentary credits only when conducting import operations, and exceptions to subsequent decisions.
Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly said that the government will solve the backlog of cargo at the port as soon as possible, and announce the release of the backlog of cargo every week, including the type and quantity of cargo, to ensure the normal operation of production and the economy.
10. Oman bans import of plastic bags
According to Ministerial Decision No. 519/2022 issued by the Omani Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) on September 13, 2022, from January 1, 2023, Oman will ban companies, institutions and individuals from importing plastic bags. Violators will be fined 1,000 rupees ($2,600) for the first offense and double the fine for subsequent offences. Any other legislation contrary to this decision will be repealed.
11. The European Union imposes temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese refillable stainless steel barrels
On January 12, 2023, the European Commission issued an announcement that refillable stainless steel barrels (
StainlessSteelRefillableKegs) made a preliminary anti-dumping ruling, and initially ruled to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty of 52.9%-91.0% on the products involved.
The product in question is of approximately cylindrical shape, with a wall thickness equal to or greater than 0.5 mm and a capacity equal to or greater than 4.5 liters, regardless of type of finish, size or grade of stainless steel, with or without additional parts (extractors, necks, edges or sides extending from the barrel) or any other part), whether or not painted or coated with other materials, intended to contain materials other than liquefied gas, crude oil and petroleum products.
The EU CN (Combined Nomenclature) codes of the products involved in the case are ex73101000 and ex73102990 (TARIC codes are 7310100010 and 7310299010).
The measures will take effect from the day after the announcement and will be valid for 6 months.
12. Argentina made the final anti-dumping ruling on Chinese household electric kettles
On January 5, 2023, the Argentine Ministry of Economy issued Announcement No. 4 of 2023, making the final anti-dumping ruling on household electric kettles (Spanish: Jarras o pavas electrotérmicas, de uso doméstico) originating in China, and decided to impose an anti-dumping ruling on the products involved. Set a minimum export FOB price (FOB) of US$12.46 per piece, and collect the difference as anti-dumping duties on the products involved in the case whose declared price is lower than the minimum export FOB price.
The measures will take effect from the date of announcement and will be valid for 5 years. The Mercosur customs code of the products involved in the case is 8516.79.90.
13. Chile issued regulations on the import and sale of cosmetics
When cosmetics are imported into Chile, a certificate of quality analysis (Certificate of quality analysis) for each product, or a certificate issued by the competent authority of the origin and an analysis report issued by the production laboratory must be provided.
Administrative procedures for registration of sales of cosmetics and personal cleaning products in Chile:
Registered with the Chilean Public Health Agency (ISP), and according to the Chilean Ministry of Health Regulation No. 239/2002, products are classified according to risk. High-risk products (including cosmetics, body lotion, hand sanitizer, anti-aging care products, insect repellent spray etc.) The average registration fee is about 800 US dollars, and the average registration fee for low-risk products (including light removing water, hair removal cream, shampoo, hair spray, toothpaste, mouthwash, perfume, etc.) is about 55 US dollars, and the time required for registration is at least 5 days , up to 1 month, and if the ingredients of similar products are different, they must be registered separately.
The above-mentioned products can only be sold after undergoing quality management tests in a Chilean laboratory, and the test fee for each product is about 40-300 US dollars.
Post time: Feb-10-2023