Foreign trade must be collected! These countries have adjusted their import policies in the past year, which may affect your business!

Source: admin Time: 2023-02-06

In the past year, which countries have introduced new import policies that caught foreign traders and importers off guard? Here is a summary for you. When developing customers in the new year, remember to avoid risks.

1USA

Exempt some Chinese products from additional tariffs.

According to the latest statement released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on December 16, 2022, the tariff exemptions for 352 Chinese products that were originally scheduled to expire at the end of this year will be extended for nine months to September 30, 2023.

The 352 products include industrial parts such as pumps and motors, some auto parts and chemicals, bicycles and vacuum cleaners.
Since 2018, the United States has imposed four rounds of tariffs on Chinese products. During this period, there have been different batches of tariff exemptions and extensions of the original exemption list. Now, many exemptions for the first four rounds of tariff increases have expired.As of now, there are only two exemptions left in the list of goods that are still within the validity period of the exemption.：

• The first is the exemption list of medical and epidemic prevention supplies related to the epidemic;
• The second is this year's 352 exemption list (the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued a statement in March this year saying that it would re-exempt tariffs on 352 items imported from China, applicable to goods imported from China between October 12, 2021 and December 31, 2022).

2Egypt

Cancel the letter of credit system and resume collection.

On February 13, 2022, the Central Bank of Egypt announced that from March, Egyptian importers can only use letters of credit to import goods, and instructed banks to stop processing exporters' collection documents.

 

This new regulation stipulates thatEgyptian importers can only pay by letter of credit, which directly led to a large amount of imported goods being piled up at the port and unable to clear customs.

 

The payment methods of our familiar Egyptian customers are mainly D/P and L/C. The cost of a three-month basic import letter of credit from the Commercial International Bank of Egypt (CIB) is 1.75%, while the import documentary collection system fee is 0.3-1.75%.

 

According to Al-Ahram Online on October 25, Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly said at the closing ceremony of the 2022 National Economic Conference that he would coordinate with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) toEliminate mandatory use of import letters of credit within two months。

 

The latest good news is that according to the Egyptian portal MASRAWY on December 29,The Central Bank of Egypt announced the abolition of the documentary credit system and the resumption of collection of documents for all import business。

 

Here, we would like to remind foreign traders who focus on the Egyptian market to pay attention to this new policy and contact customers in a timely manner!

 

 

3Argentina

Foreign exchange controls have become stricter, making payments a problem.

The Central Bank of Argentina issued Announcement No. A7466 on March 3, 2022, which will intervene in the application process of the Integrated Import Monitoring System (SIMI) and take new foreign exchange measures from March 4 to the end of 2022. This is to control foreign exchange losses caused by the continued growth of imports.

 

On June 27, 2022, the Central Bank of Argentina issued Announcement No. A7532, expanding import foreign exchange control measures to the import financing system for services and non-automatic license products for a period of three months until September 30 this year.

 

On August 4, 2022, the Argentine National News Agency reported that the Argentine Customs has begun to rectify violations in import and export trade. The first round of rectification actions involved 13,640 businesses and 722 companies, with a total FOB value of goods of approximately US$1.25 billion.

 

The report said that the rectification campaign mainly involves the behavior of falsely reporting the prices of goods in import and export trade, such asLow export invoices, high import invoices, triangular trade--That is, the imported goods come from a certain country, but the invoice comes from another country, and the invoice amount far exceeds the value of the goods.

 

 

4India

The increase in tariffs affects Chinese export products.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the new fiscal year (2022-23) to Parliament on February 1, 2022. The new year's budget rationalized the tariff structure of many products and cancelled import tariff exemptions for up to 350 products, aiming to promote the Make in India policy and promote the development of India's domestic manufacturing industry.

 

Among them are umbrellas, headphones, headsets, speakers, smart meters and imitation jewelry.Higher tariffs on daily necessitiesPlease note thatMost of these products are imported from China！

 

The main changes are:

 

• Increase import tariffs on food, minerals and fuels, chemicals, IT electronics and renewable energy, machine tools, solar photovoltaics, etc.;
• Reduce import tariffs on textiles, gems and jewellery, etc.

 

5Bangladesh

The increase in tariffs affects Chinese export products.

 

On February 8, 2022, the Bangladesh Parliament approved the new Import Policy Regulations (2021-24). The regulations stipulate that Bangladeshi retail traders importing goods not exceeding US$500,000 will be exempted from issuing letters of credit and will settle in accordance with contracts and telegraphic transfers.

 

Starting from May 23, 2022, the Bangladeshi government will impose a 20% import regulatory duty (Regulatory Duty, also known as import adjustment tax) on more than 135 HS-coded products to reduce imports, ease foreign exchange reserve pressure and curb foreign exchange market fluctuations.

 

According to the document, these products are mainly divided into four categories, including furniture, cosmetics, fruits and flowers. According to the Bangladesh Customs tariff details,A total of 3,408 products need to pay import supervision tax at the import stage。

 

The main import control measures include:

 

• A 15% VAT is imposed on laptop computer imports, bringing the total tax rate on the product to 31%;
• Substantially increase import taxes on cars;
• A 100% surcharge on imported four-stroke motorcycles and a 250% surcharge on two-stroke motorcycles with an engine capacity of more than 250cc;
• Cancel tariff preferences for imported COVID-19 testing kits, special types of masks and hand sanitizers.

 

 

 

6EU Member States

The collection of carbon border tax has entered a transition period.

On December 13, 2022, the European Council and members of the European Parliament agreed on the establishment of the "EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism" (CEMA) to balance the carbon prices of EU products operating under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the carbon prices of imported goods.

 

The scope of carbon border tax includesIndustries such as cement, fertilizer, aluminum and steel. The transition period will be from 2023 to 2025, and carbon tariffs will be officially levied in full from 2026.

 

Please note that 2023-2025 is the transition period of the EU CBAM, during which importers will only bear declaration obligations and no financial obligations. During the transition period, importers are required to report their imported product quantities, total embodied carbon emissions, total embodied indirect emissions, and the carbon price paid for the imported products in the country of origin every quarter.

 

Starting from 2026, importers will need to collect a corresponding number of CBAM certificates based on the embodied carbon emissions of their imported products.

 

 

7Algeria

Comprehensively adjust import and export rules.

According to the latest edition of the World Tariff Profiles 2021 released by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),Algeria ranks fourth among countries with the highest import barriers in the world with an average tariff of 18.9%.。

 

French financial media Le MOCI quoted Akram Hamouda, compliance director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAF), in an online seminar on January 26, 2022, pointing out that the 2022 Finance Law (LA LOI DE FINANCE POUR 2022) signed and implemented by Algeria on December 30, 2021 specifically adjusted the following aspects:

 

• Algerian import payment rules
• Import Duties
• Importer requirements
• Product Labeling Requirements

 

 

8Myanmar

The 2022 Myanmar Customs Tariff Schedule will be implemented.

Announcement No. 84/2022 of the Office of the Minister of Planning and Finance of Myanmar and Internal Order No. 16/2022 of the Customs Department announced that the 2022 Customs Tariff of Myanmar will be implemented from October 18, 2022.

 

The electronic version of the new Myanmar Customs Tariff for 2022 can be downloaded from the official website of the Customs Bureau:

 

https://www.customs.gov.mm/sites/default/files/UpPDF/Customs%20Tariff%20of%20Myanmar%202022.pdf

 

In addition, the Customs Department issued Notice No. 018/2022 of the MACCS Group on October 13, 2022, stating that those who use the Myanmar Automated Customs Clearance System (MACCS) to apply for declarations must use the tariff rates of the 2022 Myanmar Customs Tariff to apply for declarations starting from October 18, 2022.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk Section at 01-379429.

 

Friends who have connections with the Myanmar market are advised to find out more.

 

 

9Cameroon

Adjust tariffs on some products.

The draft of the Cameroon National Finance Bill 2023 proposesMobile phones, tablet computers and other digital terminal devicesCustoms duties and other taxes are imposed. This policy is mainly aimed at mobile phone operators and does not include short-term travelers in Kazakhstan.

 

According to the draft, mobile phone operators will need to make entry declarations when importing digital terminal devices such as mobile phones and tablets, and pay customs duties and other taxes through authorized payment methods.

 

In addition, under this Act,The consumption tax on imported beverages will be increased from 5.5% to 30%., including malt beer, wine, absinthe, fermented beverages, mineral water, carbonated drinks and non-alcoholic beer.

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