Guangdong ranks first in foreign trade in 2023, and Zhejiang's exports exceed Jiangsu

 

The foreign trade performance reports of various provinces in 2023 have been released one after another. Among them, Guangdong's foreign trade achieved positive growth, and its scale hit a new historical high, continuing to be the country's largest foreign trade province; Zhejiang surpassed Jiangsu in export volume for the first time and jumped to second place in the country, ranking after Guangdong.

 

In 2023, Guangdong's total foreign trade import and export value will be 8.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.3%. Among them, exports will be 5.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.5%. The proportion of emerging markets has increased, and trade with developed economies has rebounded; the proportion of mechanical and electrical product exports has increased, and the export momentum of green products and agricultural products is strong.

 

In 2023, Zhejiang's imports and exports will reach 4.90 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%; among them, exports will reach 3.57 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. In 2023, Zhejiang fully demonstrated the characteristics of a major private foreign trade province, and private enterprises played a "ballast stone" role. Data shows that the number of private enterprises with actual import and export performance in the province has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, and the number of private export enterprises ranks first in the country.

 

In 2023, Jiangsu's foreign trade showed a trend of "low at the beginning and high at the end, recovering quarter by quarter", with a total import and export value of 5.25 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.2%; of which exports were 3.37 trillion yuan, a decrease of 2.5%. In 2023, Jiangsu's "new three items" export scale and RECP visa export value ranked first in the country.

 

It is reported that the top ten provinces in China's export trade in 2023 are:Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, Sichuan, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan.

 

 

 

African ports face growing pressure

 

Recently, affected by the continued escalation of tensions in the Red Sea, many international shipping companies have chosen to avoid traditional Red Sea routes and instead go around Africa, which has put many African ports under increasing pressure.

 

As the ship's voyage has increased significantly due to the detour around Africa, the demand for marine fuel oil has surged in many ports in South Africa, Mauritius and the Canary Islands of Spain. Recently, the price of marine fuel oil in Cape Town, South Africa has risen by 15%. Some ships on the Asia-Europe route even need to add more fuel in Singapore in advance just in case. At the same time, as many African port infrastructures are unable to meet the sudden increase in shipping demand, some ports have also experienced congestion.

 

The US Freight News Network reported that in the future more and more ships will choose to bypass Africa, which will have an impact on the global supply chain and bring uncertainty to the economies of many countries.

 

 

 

US launches anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation on Chinese glass wine bottles

 

On January 19, 2024, in response to an application submitted by the US Glass Producers Coalition on December 29, 2023, the US Department of Commerce announced an anti-dumping investigation on glass wine bottles imported from Chile, China and Mexico, and an anti-subsidy investigation on glass wine bottles imported from China.

 

This case involves products under the U.S. customs code 7010.90.5019. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is expected to make a preliminary ruling on industry damage by February 12, 2024 at the latest. If the ITC determines that the import of the products involved has caused substantial damage or a threat of substantial damage to the U.S. domestic industry, the U.S. Department of Commerce will continue to investigate the case and is expected to make a preliminary anti-subsidy ruling on March 25, 2024 and a preliminary anti-dumping ruling on June 6, 2024.

 

 

 

UAE bans import and trade of single-use plastic bags in Dubai

 

On December 31, 2023 local time, Crown Prince Hamdan of the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, issued a decree banning the import and trading of disposable plastic bags in Dubai from January 1, 2024.

 

The ban excludes the following: thin fresh-keeping bags used to package meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, grains, bread, etc., garbage bags, plastic bag products for export or re-export, etc.

 

It is understood that the Dubai government requires businesses to reduce the use of plastic products and disposable items and provide customers with reasonably priced, recyclable alternatives to disposable plastic bags. Practitioners who violate the ban will face a fine of 200 dirhams (about RMB 386).

 

 

USB-C becomes universal standard for electronic devices in the EU

 

The European Commission recently announced that USB-C will become the universal standard for electronic devices in the EU from 2024. USB-C will serve as a universal port in the EU, allowing consumers to use any USB-C charger to charge any brand of device. The "universal charging" requirement will apply to all handheld mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, portable speakers, handheld electronic game consoles, e-readers, earbuds, keyboards, mice and portable navigation systems. By 2026, these requirements will also apply to laptops.

 

 

 

France plans to cut subsidies for electric cars

 

According to people familiar with the matter, the French government plans to reduce the subsidy for electric vehicle purchases from 5,000 euros to 4,000 euros from January 1, 2024. The 7,000 euro subsidy for low-income families will be retained, and the 1,000 euro subsidy for purchasing used electric vehicles will also be cancelled.

 

This move is mainly to ease the pressure on the fiscal budget. In 2023, France's actual expenditure on electric vehicle subsidies was 1.7 billion euros, exceeding the original plan of 1.4 billion euros. However, only 1.5 billion euros were allocated for this purpose in the 2024 budget. As the proportion of electric vehicle sales continues to increase, the French government is forced to reduce the amount of subsidies per vehicle to maintain a balanced budget. France's approach is more moderate than Germany's. In order to get out of the budget deadlock, the German government canceled all electric vehicle purchase subsidies.

 

 

Indonesia relaxes electric vehicle import tax policy

 

The Jakarta Post reported on December 13, 2023 that President Joko Widodo issued Presidential Decree No. 79 of 2023. The relevant regulations stipulate that the government will provide financial incentives to importers of pure electric vehicles in the form of exemptions from import tariffs and luxury sales taxes. At the same time, the local parts content index (TKDN) of electric vehicles will be adjusted. Among them, the goal of the TKDN index for electric two-wheeled/four-wheeled vehicles to reach at least 40% will be adjusted from the original requirement to be achieved before 2024 to 2026.

 

The specific standards are as follows:

 

① For electric two-wheeled/three-wheeled vehicles: From 2019 to 2026, the TKDN shall reach at least 40%; from 2027 to 2029, the TKDN shall reach at least 60%; and from 2030 onwards, the TKDN shall reach at least 80%.

 

② For electric vehicles with four wheels or more: from 2019 to 2021, the TKDN shall reach at least 35%; from 2022 to 2026, the TKDN shall reach at least 40%; from 2027 to 2029, the TKDN shall reach at least 60%; and in 2030 and thereafter, the TKDN shall reach at least 80%.

 

 

 

The Ministry of Commerce announced the list of import and export license issuing agencies in 2024

 

In accordance with the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, the Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China, the Measures for the Administration of Goods Import Licenses, the Measures for the Administration of the Import of Mechanical and Electrical Products, the Measures for the Administration of the Import of Key Used Mechanical and Electrical Products, and the Measures for the Administration of Goods Export Licenses, the Ministry of Commerce announced the "List of Import and Export License Issuing Agencies in 2024" and related matters.

 

The full text is here:

http://xkzj.mofcom.gov.cn/article/h/fzjg/202401/20240103467624.shtml

 

 

Uzbekistan will strengthen quality inspection of imported photovoltaic panels

 

Uzbekistan spot reported on January 11 that on the same day, the Uzbek cabinet passed the "Decree on Promoting the Development of Renewable Energy and Related Regulatory Measures", which stipulates that imported equipment and materials involving the use of renewable energy will be provided with 120 days of interest-free and deferred payment of customs duties and fees, and the interest-free and deferred payment period will be extended to 6 months for importers with no bad violation records in the past three years; at the same time, the quality control of related imported equipment will be further strengthened, and the import of photovoltaic panels without quality grade indication will be prohibited from March 1, and relevant departments will be required to establish laboratories to evaluate whether imported renewable energy equipment complies with technical regulations.

 

 

 

Source: Focus Vision

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