Suez Canal tolls increased! 90% of China-Serbia goods trade is tariff-free! Focus on the 134th Canton Fair | Foreign Trade News Express

The 134th Canton Fair

 

The first phase of the 134th Canton Fair came to a close on October 19. As a landmark event for observing China's foreign trade situation, both the industry and the public have turned their attention to Guangzhou, the thousand-year-old commercial capital.

 

Inside the exhibition hall, merchants came in an endless stream and the crowds were bustling. Outside the exhibition hall, it was hard to find a room in the surrounding hotels.Over the past five days, more than 100,000 overseas buyers have attended the Canton Fair.

 

Behind the Canton Fair is the warmth of China's strong economic recovery and China's sincerity in sharing opportunities with the world. In the context of the continued downturn in global trade and the complex and ever-changing foreign trade situation, how can the Canton Fair, which has gone through 67 years of ups and downs, adapt to changes and attract thousands of merchants?

 

 

Xu Bing, spokesperson for the Canton Fair and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center, said that the scale of this year's Canton Fair has reached a new high, with the total exhibition area expanding to 1.55 million square meters, an increase of 50,000 square meters over the previous session. The total number of booths is 74,000, an increase of nearly 4,600 over the previous session. According to the statistics of each period and exhibition area without duplication, there are 28,533 exhibitors, an increase of 3,135 over the previous session. Among them, there are 27,883 exhibitors in the export exhibition and 650 exhibitors in the import exhibition.

 

This Canton FairIndustrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, new energy vehicles and smart travel, maternity and baby products, new energy, pet productsBrand exhibition areas were set up in 5 exhibition areas for the first time. The number of brand enterprises in the electromechanical industry increased significantly compared with the previous session, with the increase of electronic and home appliance enterprises exceeding 120%, the increase of industrial manufacturing enterprises exceeding 100%, and the increase of lighting and electrical, vehicle and two-wheeled vehicles, and hardware tools enterprises exceeding 50%.

 

The online platform of this Canton Fair has been further improved to enhance its intelligence and convenience. A total of 28,653 exhibitors participated in the online platform, an increase of 2,115 from the previous session. So far, companies have uploaded about 2.72 million products, including about 700,000 new products.

 

 

It is reported that at this Canton Fair, buyers from the “Belt and Road” and emerging markets poured in explosively, while buyers from Europe and the United States declined slightly. The number of small and medium-sized booths increased, while the number of special-purpose booths decreased.

 

In the ten years since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, the level of economic and trade cooperation between China and the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative has continued to deepen. From 2013 to 2022, the total import and export volume between China and the participating countries reached 19.1 trillion US dollars, with an average annual growth of 6.4%. In the first three quarters of this year, imports and exports with the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 3.1%, accounting for 46.5% of the total import and export volume.

 

One of the key points of this year's Canton Fair was to attract the participation of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. The organizers actively "matched" buyers and sellers, and many companies that have already laid out the markets of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative also actively sought business opportunities at the exhibition.

 

In addition, the import exhibition, which aims to provide more opportunities for foreign exhibitors to enter the Chinese market, has attracted more than 2,800 enterprises from the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, accounting for more than 60%. At this year's Canton Fair import exhibition, exhibitors from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative also accounted for 60%.

 

 

90% of goods trade has zero tariffs!

 

On October 17, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Serbian Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade Momilovic signed the "Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Serbia" on behalf of their respective governments. It took only five months from the launch to the completion of the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The two sides will cancel tariffs on 90% of the tariff items respectively, and Serbia will include automobiles, photovoltaic components, lithium batteries and other items that China focuses on into zero tariffs.

 

 

The China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement focuses on making arrangements for trade in goods, with the following main features:

 

First, the level of liberalization is high:

 

The two sides will mutually eliminate tariffs on 90% of tariff items, of which more than 60% will be eliminated immediately after the agreement takes effect. The final import volume of zero-tariff items on both sides will reach about 95%.

 

Second, the product coverage is wide:

 

According to reports, Serbia will include automobiles, photovoltaic modules, lithium batteries, communication equipment, mechanical equipment, refractory materials, and some agricultural and aquatic products that China is focusing on into zero-tariff products, and the tariffs on relevant products will be gradually reduced from the current 5%-20% to zero. China will include generators, electric motors, tires, beef, wine, nuts, etc. that Serbia is focusing on into zero-tariff products, and the tariffs on relevant products will also be gradually reduced from the current 5%-20% to zero.

 

The third is the implementation of facilitation measures:

 

The two sides will deepen customs cooperation, strengthen information exchange and communication and coordination, and make specific provisions on simplifying trade procedures, risk management, transparency, advance rulings, the "certified economic operator" system, cooperation and consultation, etc. In particular, the introduction of independent declaration of origin will facilitate enterprises to enjoy preferential treatment.

The promotion of trade liberalization and facilitation by China and Serbia will not only help expand bilateral trade, but also promote investment cooperation and industrial chain integration, better leverage their respective comparative advantages, and jointly enhance international competitiveness.

 

 

The China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement mainly stipulates two aspects of origin:

 

For example, in terms of the implementation of origin, the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement allows approved exporters to submit declarations of origin independently without applying for certificates of origin, which will greatly facilitate companies to enjoy preferential treatment.

 

Specifically:

 

First, the rules of origin provide detailed regulations on the rules of origin, cumulative and regional value content, minor content, minor processing and treatment, neutral components, packaging materials and containers, spare parts and tools, complete sets of goods, direct transportation, etc. The agreement is based on the 40% regional value content as the main rule, supplemented by brief product-specific rules of origin to address the concerns of both parties on the origin standards of key products.

 

The second is the origin implementation procedure, which makes specific requirements on the format, issuance and preservation of origin documents, importer obligations, origin verification, electronic exchange of origin data, etc. The two sides agree to accept the declaration of origin submitted by the approved exporter as the evidence of origin document, which will greatly simplify the procedure for obtaining evidence of origin documents and facilitate the benefit of enterprises in both countries.

 

What other provisions does the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement make in other areas of rules besides trade in goods?

 

In the field of investment and services, the two sides agreed to cooperate in investment promotion and investment facilitation, including sharing and exchanging investment information, improving the transparency of the investment environment, simplifying the application approval procedures, etc. At the same time, the two sides will strive to achieve the gradual liberalization of trade in services and market opening in accordance with the provisions of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services, with a view to reaching a liberalization agreement on trade in services between the two sides.

 

In the field of intellectual property protection, the two sides will abide by the principles and provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and strengthen cooperation in the field of intellectual property protection through coordination and consultation.

In the field of competition, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of health and traditional Chinese medicine, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of competition and traditional Chinese medicine.

 

 

Suez Canal tolls raised for container ships

 

The Suez Canal Authority issued a statement on October 16 saying that from January 15 next year, it will increase tolls for some ships passing through the Suez Canal.

 

According to the new charging standards, tolls for crude oil tankers, product tankers, liquefied petroleum gas tankers, liquefied natural gas tankers, chemical tankers and other liquid bulk carriers, container ships, vehicle carriers, large cruise ships, etc. will increase by 15%;

 

Tolls for dry bulk carriers, general cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off ships and other vessels will increase by 5%.

 

However, container ships sailing directly from ports in Northern and Western Europe to ports in the Far East are not affected by this round of price increases.

 

 

In January this year, the Suez Canal Authority raised a round of ship tolls, with tolls for large cruise ships and dry bulk carriers increased by 10%, and tolls for other ships, including container ships, increased by 15%.

 

Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said at the time that the toll increase was "inevitable and necessary" because of high global inflation, which increased the cost of operating, maintaining and servicing the Suez Canal.

 

The Suez Canal expects to generate an additional $700 million in revenue each year after the toll increase.

 

According to data released in June this year, the Suez Canal's revenue reached US$9.4 billion in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, higher than US$7 billion in the previous fiscal year.

 

The Suez Canal is located at a strategic point where Europe, Asia and Africa meet, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Its income is one of the main sources of Egypt's national fiscal revenue and foreign exchange reserves.

 

 

 

Australian ports hit by strike action

 

Recently, Maersk announced in a customer update that ports company DP World’s ports in Australia are affected by strike action, which will last until October 30.

 

 

According to the notice, port operator DP World has informed Maersk that its Australian ports will be affected by strike action organized by the Australian Maritime Union (CFMMEU). Operations at ports such as Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Fremantle will be affected in the next two weeks.

Therefore, Maersk said,Receipts and deliveries of reefer and dry cargo to and from Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney will be suspended for a limited period.

 

In addition, Maersk also stated in the notice that the MAERSK BOGOR 337S/342N originally scheduled to call at Melbourne Port was also affected by the strike.

 

The affected ports are as follows:

 

 

There have been several strikes in Australia recently related to collective bargaining, the most recent of which was a strike by gas workers, with the two sides eventually reaching a wage agreement in September.

 

 

Source｜Shipping Network, One Shipping, Today's Shipping, Shipping Information, etc.

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