Mexico cracks down on low-price customs declarations, Ecuador cancels visa exemption for Chinese citizens | New foreign trade regulations in July
New foreign trade regulations in July
Overview
Nine departments: Support cross-border e-commerce enterprises to "exhibit overseas"
The Ministry of Commerce and three other departments issued an announcement on the implementation of export controls on relevant items
The United States enforces FDA registration of cosmetics
The United States requires comprehensive declaration of wooden furniture and wood imports
Türkiye imposes 40% tariff on Chinese-made vehicles
India imposes temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese PVC paste resin
South Korea makes preliminary anti-dumping ruling on Chinese PET resin
Colombia makes preliminary anti-dumping ruling on Chinese manganese sulfate
Thailand FDA issues medical device quality system regulations
Thailand to impose VAT on imported goods worth less than 1,500 baht
Indonesia removes import permit (PI) requirement for cosmetics
Mexico cracks down on low-price customs declarations
Europe and the United States impose sanctions on Russia
China to exempt Australia and New Zealand from visas
Ecuador cancels visa exemption for Chinese citizens
Brazil announces new import tax plan for cross-border parcels
Nine departments: Support cross-border e-commerce enterprises to "exhibit overseas"
According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Commerce and nine other departments issued opinions on expanding cross-border e-commerce exports and promoting the construction of overseas warehouses (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions").
The opinions mentioned that cross-border e-commerce enterprises should be supported to "exhibit overseas". Cross-border e-commerce platforms, export, payment, logistics, overseas warehouses and other enterprises should be supported to participate in key exhibitions such as the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) and the Global Digital Trade Expo. Support should be provided to improve the level of existing local cross-border e-commerce exhibitions in accordance with market principles, and hold overseas special promotion and docking activities for key products and key markets. Localities with conditions are encouraged to organize enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions to provide more display and docking platforms for cross-border e-commerce enterprises.
Details of comments:
http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/zwgk/gkzcfb/202406/20240603515722.shtml
The Ministry of Commerce and three other departments issued an announcement on the implementation of export controls on relevant items
The Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, and the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission issued Announcement No. 21 of 2024 on the implementation of export controls on relevant items. The announcement pointed out that export controls will be implemented on equipment, software, and technology related to the manufacture of aerospace structures and engines, equipment, software, and technology related to the manufacture of gas turbine engines/gas turbines, equipment, software, and technology related to space suit windows, and items related to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.
Original announcement:
http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zfxxgk/article/gkml/202405/20240503513396.shtml
The United States enforces FDA registration of cosmetics
On December 29, 2022, US President Biden signed and passed the Cosmetic Regulation Modernization Act of 2022 (MoCRA). The Act made major revisions to the previous Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The new regulations require cosmetic companies to register factories and product lists.
According to the bill, all domestic or foreign cosmetics manufacturers and processors exporting to the United States must complete company registration and the responsible person must complete product listing before July 1, 2024. Companies that fail to complete the registration by the deadline may face risks such as goods being detained and refused entry.
The United States requires comprehensive declaration of wooden furniture and wood imports
Recently, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the official implementation of Phase VII of the Lacey Act. The full implementation of Phase VII of the Lacey Act not only means that the United States will strengthen its supervision of imported plant products, but also means that all wooden furniture and timber imported into the United States, whether for furniture manufacturing, construction or other purposes, must be declared.
The update will cover a wider range of plant products, including wooden furniture and wood, requiring all imported products to be declared unless they are made entirely of composite materials. The declaration includes the plant's scientific name, import value, quantity and the name of the plant in the country of harvest.
Türkiye imposes 40% tariff on Chinese-made vehicles
On June 8, Turkey announced the release of Presidential Decree No. 8639, stipulating that an additional 40% import tariff will be imposed on fuel and hybrid passenger cars originating from China and under the customs code 8703, and will be implemented 30 days after the release date (July 7). According to the regulations announced in the communiqué, the minimum tariff per car is US$7,000 (about RMB 50,000). So far, all passenger cars exported from China to Turkey are within the scope of the tax increase.
In March 2023, Turkey imposed an additional 40% tariff on electric vehicles imported from China, raising the tariff to 50%. In November 2023, Turkey took action again against Chinese cars, imposing import "licenses" and other restrictive measures on Chinese electric vehicles.
It is reported that some Chinese electric vehicles are still stranded at Turkish customs and unable to clear customs due to the implementation of electric passenger car import licenses in November last year, causing losses to Chinese export companies.
India imposes temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese PVC paste resin
On June 13, the Taxation Bureau of the Indian Ministry of Finance issued Notification No. 09/2024-Customs (ADD), stating that it accepted the preliminary anti-dumping ruling recommendation made by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry on April 26, 2024 on polyvinyl chloride paste resin (Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin) originating in or imported from mainland China, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Thailand and Taiwan, and decided to impose a temporary anti-dumping duty on the products involved in the above-mentioned countries and regions for a period of 6 months, as follows: Mainland China is US$115-600/ton, South Korea is US$0-41/ton, Malaysia is US$317-375/ton, Taiwan is US$118-168/ton, Thailand is US$195-252/ton, and Norway is US$328/ton.
The Indian customs codes of the products involved are 39041010, 39041020, 39041090, 39042100, 39042200, 39043010, 39043090, 39049000, 39044000 and 39049090. The products involved do not include the following products: polyvinyl chloride paste resin with a K value below 60K, PVC blended resin, copolymers of PVC paste resin, battery separator resin, polyvinyl chloride paste resin with the brand name "Biovyn" produced by Innovyn Europe Ltd. The measure will take effect from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette.
South Korea makes preliminary anti-dumping ruling on Chinese PET resin
The Korea Trade Commission issued Announcement No. 2024-12 (Case No. 23-2024-1), making an affirmative preliminary anti-dumping ruling on PET resin or polyethylene terephthalate resin originating in China, and recommended that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of South Korea impose provisional anti-dumping duties on the companies involved. Among them, the tax rates for Chinese manufacturers Hainan Yisheng Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Yisheng Dahua Petrochemical Co., Ltd. and their affiliated companies and exporters are 6.62%, the tax rates for China Resources Chemical Materials Technology Co., Ltd., Zhuhai China Resources Chemical Materials Technology Co., Ltd. and their affiliated companies and exporters are 7.83%, and the tax rates for other suppliers are 7.12%.
The products involved include terephthalic acid (TPA) and monools, made from polymerized ethylene glycol (MEG) with a viscosity value greater than or equal to 78 ml/g; renewable PET resin is also within the scope of investigation in this case. The Korean tax number of the products involved is 3907.61.0000.
Colombia makes preliminary anti-dumping ruling on Chinese manganese sulfate
On June 17, 2024, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia published Announcement No. 157 of June 6, 2024 and its correction announcement (Announcement No. 175 of June 14, 2024) on its official website, making a preliminary anti-dumping ruling on manganese sulfate originating from China, and preliminarily ruling to impose a 33.41% provisional anti-dumping duty on the products involved, with a validity period of six months. The Colombian tax number of the products involved is 2833.29.90.00. The announcement will take effect from the day after it is published.
Thailand FDA issues medical device quality system regulations
The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the Ministry of Public Health Notification BE 2566 on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP Notification) and the Ministry of Public Health Notification BE 2566 on Good Importation and Distribution Practice (GISP Notification) to regulate the quality systems of medical device manufacturing facilities as well as medical device importers and distributors.
From July 2024, new manufacturers of medium- to high-risk medical devices must comply with the standards set out in the GMP notification (which includes the obligation to obtain a GMP certificate, a Thai Conformity Assessment Standard TCAS 13485 certificate, or an ISO 13485 certificate). Manufacturers of low-risk medical devices and animal medical devices will also be required to improve their production facilities to comply with the quality systems required by the GMP notification (although they will not be required to obtain a GMP certificate, a TCAS 13485 certificate, or an ISO 13485 certificate).
According to the GMP Notification, manufacturers of medium- to high-risk medical devices that obtained a GMP certificate for the previous standard before July 2024 can continue to operate without obtaining a new certificate, but they still need to comply with the new standards set out in the GMP Notification. However, the new required certificates must be obtained within the given grace period.
According to the GISP notification, medical device importers and sellers must begin preparing their quality systems for importing and selling medical devices. By January 2029, all medical device importers and sellers must fully comply with the GISP notification.
Thailand to impose VAT on imported goods worth less than 1,500 baht
On June 24, officials from the Thai Ministry of Finance announced that the Minister of Finance has signed a notice approving the imposition of a 7% value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods priced at no more than 1,500 baht from July 5, 2024. Currently, Thailand is exempt from VAT on such goods. The announcement pointed out that the fee will be collected by customs from July 5 to December 31, 2024, and then taken over by the tax department. The cabinet approved the plan in principle on June 4 to prevent cheap imports, especially from China, from flooding the domestic market.
Indonesia removes import permit (PI) requirement for cosmetics
Indonesia's Trade Minister's Decree No. 8 of 2024 (Permendag 8/2024) was issued urgently and took effect immediately. The emergency issuance of the Trade Minister's Decree No. 8 of 2024 is seen as a remedy for the large number of containers stranded at ports in Indonesia caused by the issuance of the Trade Minister's Decree No. 36 of 2023 (Permendag 36/2023).
The following are the customs clearance requirements for imported cosmetics products after the implementation of the new policy:
- March 10, 2024
Basis: Import policies and regulations in Ministerial Order No. 20 of 2021 and Ministerial Order No. 25 of 2022
Customs clearance document requirements:
Import Loading Supervision Report (LS)
Import declaration (SKI)
- March 10 - May 17, 2024 (detained goods)
Based on: Permendag 8/2024
Goods listed in Appendix I and Appendix II (including cosmetics, 136 HS electronic products, traditional medicines, 37 HS footwear, etc.) only require an import supervision report (LS) for customs clearance
Customs clearance document requirements:
Import Permit (PI) (not required)
Import Supervision Report (LS)
Import Declaration (SKI)
- After May 17, 2024
Basis: Import policies and regulations of Permendag 8/2024
Customs clearance document requirements:
Import Supervision Report (LS)
Import Declaration (SKI)
After the introduction of Permendag 8/2024, cosmetics arriving at Indonesian ports after March 10, 2024 will be exempted from submitting an import license (PI) and only need to submit an import loading supervision report (LS) and an import customs declaration (SKI) to go through customs clearance procedures.
This is good news for cosmetics companies exporting to Indonesia. Please note that two documents need to be completed before the goods arrive at the Indonesian port.
Mexico cracks down on low-price customs declarations
The Mexican National Tax Service (SAT) announced that it will revise its foreign trade rules to define the low-price customs declaration and tax evasion behaviors of e-commerce platforms and express delivery companies in the process of importing clothing, electronic products, toys and other goods as smuggling and tax fraud. It is understood that some companies will take advantage of Mexico's tariff loopholes to evade general import taxes and value-added taxes. These sellers will divide the goods into multiple small packages and reduce their value to within the tax-free limit.
In this regard, SAT stated, "Failure to pay taxes and non-tariff regulations and restrictions may lead to smuggling and tax fraud." At the same time, SAT also pointed out that some logistics companies may not be subjectively aware, but they have in fact become accomplices in tax evasion and are therefore also responsible for cross-border trade tax evasion.
Europe and the United States impose sanctions on Russia
On June 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of State and the Treasury Department’s OFAC issued an announcement to impose sanctions on more than 300 individuals and entities involving overseas branches of Russian financial institutions, including VTB Shanghai and VTB Hong Kong. Due to this executive order, banks in third countries will be reluctant to deal with high-risk Russian customers. This is actually a significant expansion of the secondary sanctions plan against Russia.
About two-thirds of the new sanctions list are entities, including companies related to information technology and aviation, vehicle manufacturers and machinery manufacturers, etc., in order to prevent foreign companies from helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions. After several rounds of sanctions, the number of Russian sanctioned entities has increased to more than 4,500.
On June 24, local time, the EU Council issued a statement on its official website, officially announcing the 14th round of sanctions against Russia. In this round of sanctions, the EU will prohibit reloading services for Russian liquefied natural gas transferred to third countries within the EU, including ship-to-ship transfer and ship-to-shore transfer and reloading operations. The EU will also prohibit new investment in Russia, as well as the provision of goods, technology and services for liquefied natural gas projects under construction (such as the Arctic LNG 2 project and the Murmansk LNG project). The EU prohibits operators from using the SPFS financial information service system developed by Russia both at home and abroad.
China to exempt Australia and New Zealand from visas
On June 13, China announced that it would include New Zealand in the scope of unilateral visa-free countries. On June 17, China announced that it would include Australia in the scope of unilateral visa-free countries. People holding ordinary Australian passports can enter China for business, tourism and transit without a visa for 15 days. In addition, China and Australia also jointly announced that in order to promote business exchanges, encourage tourism experience and promote family reunion, they will provide each other's citizens with multiple-entry visas with a validity period of three to five years.
Since last year, China has been expanding the scope of unilateral visa-free countries. So far, China has implemented unilateral visa-free policies for France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and other countries; at the same time, China has also achieved mutual visa-free policies with Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Georgia and other countries.
Ecuador cancels visa exemption for Chinese citizens
On June 18, Ecuador announced the suspension of a visa-free agreement signed with China for Chinese citizens. From July 1, Chinese citizens will not be able to enter Ecuador visa-free.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that since the China-Ecuador visa exemption agreement came into effect in August 2016, it has played an important and positive role in bilateral personnel exchanges and practical cooperation in various fields. The Chinese government firmly opposes any form of smuggling activities. In recent years, China's law enforcement agencies have cracked down on crimes that hinder national (border) management, and have maintained a high-pressure crackdown on various smuggling organizations and criminals engaged in smuggling activities, achieving remarkable results. At the same time, China's law enforcement agencies are cooperating with relevant countries to jointly combat cross-border smuggling activities, repatriate smuggled people, and jointly maintain the order of international personnel exchanges.
Brazil announces new import tax plan for cross-border parcels
On June 25th local time, the Brazilian Federal Tax Bureau announced in a public letter on its official website the specific plan and details of a new round of import taxes on cross-border packages.
Specific content includes:
A 20% import tax will be imposed on all imported e-commerce packages below US$50.This move provides a fair competition opportunity for e-commerce platforms that have not been approved to join the PRC program;
A 60% import tax will be imposed on imported e-commerce packages worth $50-3,000, but each package will be exempted by $20, which will benefit the sales of home appliances, household goods and electronic products;
E-commerce platforms that join the compliant tax payment program can enjoy the convenience of advance pre-declaration and fast customs clearance.
Although the new policy has not yet completed the final approval process, the Brazilian government has quickly announced the specific implementation details, showing the tremendous pressure it faces in cross-border tax reform.
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