Up to 50%! Mexico imposes temporary tariffs on 544 products!

 

The latest news from CCTV News: April 22, local time,Mexican President Lopez signed a decree to impose temporary import tariffs ranging from 5% to 50% on 544 items including steel, aluminum, textiles, clothing, footwear, wood, plastics and their products.

 

The decree came into effect on April 23 and will be valid for two years.According to the decree, textiles, clothing, footwear and other products will be subject to a temporary import tariff of 35%; round steel with a diameter of less than 14 mm will be subject to a temporary import tariff of 50%.Goods imported from regions and countries that have signed trade agreements with Mexico will enjoy preferential tariff treatment if they meet the relevant provisions of the agreement.

Gabriela Cillier, director of economic analysis at Mexico's BASE Financial Group, believes that tariff measures may lead to increased inflationary pressure in Mexico and that "protectionism does not work anywhere."

 

According to Chinese statistics, the bilateral trade volume between China and Mexico in 2023 was US$100.225 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.03%. In the first two months of this year, the bilateral trade volume increased by 18% year-on-year. In the past few years, my country's exports to Mexico have been showing a continuous upward trend.

 

 

Please visit the official account for specific items and tax rates covered by the law!

 

 

 

The Japanese yen has depreciated sharply, hitting a 34-year low!

 

CCTV Finance reported: local time on the 24th,The yen-dollar exchange rate fell below 155 yen to the dollar, a 34-year low。What are the reasons and impacts of the continued depreciation of the Japanese yen?

 

A special correspondent for the financial channel said：The yen's decline is partly due to the significant differences in monetary policy between the United States and Japan. Although the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy last month, the interest rate is still close to zero after the rate hike; at the same time, the market's expectations for a rate cut in the United States this year have weakened, and the interest rate gap between the United States and Japan has remained at a large level, causing the yen exchange rate to continue to fall.

 

On the other hand, Japan's foreign trade deficit and sluggish domestic demand have resulted in a lack of motivation for Japanese companies to repatriate their overseas investment earnings. These structural problems are also important reasons for the depreciation of the yen.

 

A weaker yen is good for Japan's exporters such as automakers and semiconductorsIn addition, it is also a positive for the Japanese tourism market. However, due to Japan's high dependence on overseas energy and raw materials, the depreciation of the yen has made Japanese companiesFurther pressure on production costs，Imported inflation continues and consumers' purchasing power continues to decline.

 

The yen exchange rate fell below 155 yen to the dollar, a level that many investors see as a defense line for the Japanese government to intervene in the market. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has recently said that he will not rule out any options to deal with excessive fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. In addition, the governor of the Bank of Japan also said last weekend that if prices continue to rise, interest rates may be further raised.

 

Starting from the 25th, the Bank of Japan will hold a two-day monetary policy meeting. Will it decide to raise interest rates again? Will the Japanese government intervene in the market?

 

 

How long will the yen continue to fall?

 

This round of depreciation of the yen is not entirely caused by the aggressive interest rate hikes in the United States. Some long-standing structural problems in the Japanese economy have also become factors driving the depreciation of the yen.
First, Japan relies heavily on imports for important resources such as energy, food, and raw materials, and its demand for the U.S. dollar continues to increase. After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011, nuclear power plants in Japan were shut down one after another. Nuclear power originally accounted for about a quarter of Japan's annual power generation, but it dropped to zero in 2014. The restart of nuclear power has been slow, and the demand for energy imports has further increased. Second, Japan's trade in goods and services continues to run a deficit. The latest data shows that Japan's trade in goods has shown a trade deficit for three consecutive fiscal years from 2021 to 2023; although the situation in 2023 has eased significantly compared with the previous year, the deficit in goods and services is still 9.8 trillion yen in total.

Many experts pointed out that although inbound tourism is in a good situation against the backdrop of the depreciation of the yen, with the in-depth development of AI technology, the service fees paid by Japan to overseas will increase significantly, and the problem of trade deficit in services will become more obvious.
Third, although overseas investment returns are high, the amount of funds flowing back is decreasing. There is a saying in Japan that "there is another Japan overseas", but due to sluggish domestic demand and labor shortages, Japanese companies continue to expand their overseas investment, and after bringing in huge profits, they lack the motivation to invest back home and choose to keep their profits overseas.
Regarding the future trend of the yen exchange rate, experts analyzed that although the yen is currently in an extremely weak state, the trend of major central banks such as the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and the Bank of Japan to slowly raise interest rates will not change in the future. "One drop and one rise" is conducive to the appreciation of the yen. Ding Ke, chief researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies of the Japan External Trade Organization, believes that the appreciation of the yen is inevitable in the future, but the continued rise of the Tokyo stock market may face resistance. Although Japan's position in certain links of the supply chain is still irreplaceable, due to the difficulty in reversing the low birth rate and aging population, the general trend of Japan's economic contraction in the long run is difficult to change.

 

 

 

Houthis claim to have attacked multiple targets in the Red Sea!

 

Houthis claim to have attacked multiple US and Israeli targets in the Red Sea

 

Yahya Saraiya, spokesman for the Yemeni Houthi armed forces, issued a statement on April 24 saying that the Houthi armed forces attacked US and Israeli ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Houthis attack US ship in Gulf of Aden, says SareaMaersk Yorktown,Israeli ships sailing in the Indian OceanMSC Veracruzand a U.S. destroyer sailing in the Gulf of Aden.

 

Saraya said:The Houthi armed forces attacked the above-mentioned ships using missiles and drones and "successfully caused direct damage."But he did not disclose the specific time of the three attacks and the name of the attacked US destroyer.

 

The U.S. Central Command later issued a statement saying that at 11:51 a.m. Sanaa time on April 24, Yemen, a coalition ship successfully intercepted an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from the area controlled by the Yemeni Houthi armed forces over the Gulf of Aden.

 

The statement also said that the target of the anti-ship ballistic missile was likely a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated vessel with 18 American and four Greek crew members on board.There were no reports of injuries or damage to vessels by U.S., coalition or commercial vessels.

 

 

 

 

The United States launches 337 investigation

On April 22, 2024, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to initiate a 337 investigation into certain fiber-optic connectors, adapters, jumper cables, patch cords, and downstream products and components (Certain Fiber-Optic Connectors, Adapters, Jump Cables, Patch Cords, Products Containing the Same, and Components Thereof) (Investigation Code: 337-TA-1399).

 

On March 22, 2024, US Conec, Ltd. of Hickory, North Carolina filed a 337 investigation application with the US ITC, claiming that the product exported to, imported into, and sold in the United States violated Section 337 of the United States (infringing US registered patent numbers 11,733,466, 11,808,994, 11,906,794, 11,880,075, 11,385,415, and 10,495,823), and requested the US ITC to issue a general exclusion order or a limited exclusion order or a cease and desist order.A total of 19 companies from the United States, China, Japan, Ireland and Germany were named as defendants.

 

 

 

 

UK suspends import duties on over 100 products

 

Recently, the British government announced that it would suspend import tariffs on more than 100 commodities until June 2026. Greg Hands, British Secretary of State for Trade and Investment, said that the government made the decision after receiving 245 applications for suspension of tariffs, which responded to the needs of businesses.

 

"From auto parts to food and drink, we are helping companies reduce import costs and remain competitive," Hands said in an interview. He said the British government took into account existing free trade agreements as well as consumer interests in its review.Other products where import duties have been eliminated include chemicals, metals, flowers and leather.

 

An industry organization analyzed that the removal of tariffs on these goods will reduce the inflation rate by 0.6% and the nominal import cost will be reduced by nearly 7 billion pounds (about 8.77 billion U.S. dollars). This tariff suspension policy follows the principle of most-favored-nation treatment of the World Trade Organization, and the suspension of tariffs applies to goods from all countries.

 

 

 

India makes preliminary anti-dumping ruling on Chinese telescopic drawer slides

 

On April 19, 2024, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued an announcement, making a preliminary anti-dumping ruling on telescopic channel drawer sliders originating in or imported from China, and recommended imposing a temporary anti-dumping duty of US$614 per ton on the products involved in the case. The Indian customs codes of the products involved are 83024110, 83024190, 83024200 and 83024900.

 

 

India allows import of 50 types of second-hand medical devices

 

Recently, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) of India announced a list of 50 categories of high-end and high-value second-hand medical equipment other than critical care medical equipment that are allowed to be imported with the permission of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change of India in accordance with the Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Cross-Border Movement) (Second Amendment) Ordinance (2022) (see the official account for details of the table).

 

 

India plans to implement compulsory certification for personal hygiene products from October 1

 

According to The Hindu, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) plans to include sanitary napkins and baby diapers in the scope of mandatory certification from October 1. At present, the Bureau of Indian Standards has revised the quality parameters of the relevant standards (IS 5405, IS 17509 and IS 17514) for disposable and reusable sanitary napkins and baby diapers. The revisions include materials, hygienic testing requirements for testing the presence of bacteria and fungi, hygiene assurance production practice guidelines, and antimicrobial activity testing requirements in baby diaper standards.

 

 

 

Chile modifies preliminary anti-dumping ruling on steel grinding balls from China

 

On April 20, 2024, the Ministry of Finance of Chile published an announcement in the official daily newspaper, deciding to modify the preliminary anti-dumping ruling on steel grinding balls with a diameter of less than 4 inches originating in China (Spanish: Bolas de acero forjadas para molienda convencional de diámetro inferior a 4 pulgadas), and adjust the temporary anti-dumping duty to 33.5%. The temporary measure will take effect from the date of issuance until the final measure is issued, and the validity period will be calculated from March 27, 2024, and shall not exceed 6 months. The Chilean tariff number of the product involved is 7326.1111.

 

 

 

New Zealand removes barriers to using foreign building products

 

New Zealand will remove barriers for construction companies to use overseas building products, Prime Minister Christopher Laxon said recently, Reuters reported, hoping the move would reduce construction costs. Construction costs in New Zealand have risen 41% since 2019, partly due to rising costs of building materials.

 

In 2022, home building was constrained by a shortage of plasterboard produced by Fletcher Building, which at the time made more than 90 per cent of domestic use but was unable to keep up with demand.

 

“We expect to see more competition across a range of products,” Lacson told a news conference. The government said it will recognize building products from trusted overseas jurisdictions, allow bodies that certify new buildings to accept the use of products that meet specific overseas standards and approve building products that have passed reputable overseas certifications.

 

 

 

Saudi Arabia releases technical regulations on energy consumption of electronic products

 

On April 1, 2024, Saudi Arabia officially implemented the technical regulations on standby and shutdown power consumption of electrical and electronic equipment. Previously, the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) had published the technical regulations on energy consumption of such electronic display products in the official gazette.

 

1. Product Range

Applicable products: electronic display products (including TVs and monitors)

Exempt products: display products with a visible area of less than 100cm2, projectors, conference display systems/conference screens, medical displays, VR products, and control displays

 

II. Regulatory requirements

Saudi Arabia's energy efficiency reference for electronic and electrical products refers to the EU Lot6+Lot26 shutdown directive and the (EU) 2019/2021 directive for electronic display products.

For electronic display products, the Technical content can be divided into: general requirements (Lot6+Lot26) + special requirements for this product category (EU) 2019/2021. If there are any conflicts, the special requirements shall prevail.

 

 

 

Iraq implements new labeling requirements for incoming products

 

Recently, the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control (COSQC) of Iraq implemented new labeling requirements for products entering the Iraqi market.

 

Arabic labels are required:From May 14, 2024, all products sold in Iraq must use Arabic labeling, either alone or in conjunction with English.

 

Applicable to all product types:This requirement covers all products seeking access to the Iraqi market, regardless of product category.

 

Phased implementation:The new labeling rules apply to revisions to national and factory standards, laboratory specifications and technical regulations published before May 21, 2023.

 

 

Myanmar import and export license becomes a necessary document before goods arrive at the port

 

The Department of Trade of the Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar announced on April 5 that all import and export activities must obtain a license before the goods arrive at the port, otherwise they will be fined and sentenced according to current laws. This regulation applies to all modes of transportation, including air, sea and land.

 

 

Source: Focus, One Shipping, Shipping Today, etc.

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