Japan’s foreign minister touted the U.S.-Japan trade deal (see 1912040008) as one of the main successes of 2019 in his year-end remarks, saying the negotiations were “extremely difficult” and the deal’s implications were “deep,” according to an unofficial translation of a transcript. “This significance is so great,” the minister said during a Dec. 27 press conference. The minister said Japan plans to “build” on the agreement in 2020 and “stably develop Japan-U.S. economic relations, one of the important pillars of the Japan-U.S. alliance.” Trade groups have urged both countries to continue negotiating toward a more comprehensive deal (see 1912050058).
New tariff rates between China and Pakistan will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, as part of the two countries’ recently signed free trade agreement, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a Dec. 24 press release, according to an unofficial translation. As part of the agreement, China and Pakistan will “gradually increase” the elimination of tariffs, going from waivers on 35 percent of tariff lines to 75 percent, China said. The countries will also implement a 20 percent tariff reduction “on other products that account for 5% of their respective tax items,” China said.
The National People's Congress Standing Committee of China will consider a draft law on export controls, Xinhua reported on Dec. 24. The draft would add new limits on “the export of special items including nuclear and biological materials as well as weapons, aiming to fulfill the country's international obligations of non-proliferation and protect the nation's security and development interests,” the state-run news outlet said. The law would also require “the supervision of the entire export process including transit and transshipment as well as re-export,” according to the report.
China will continue to take steps to expand imports, including further reducing tariffs, the China Ministry of Commerce said during a Dec. 26 press conference. “Expanding imports is one of the important connotations of promoting the high-quality development of trade,” a ministry spokesman said, according to an unofficial translation. “The reduction of import tariffs will help to form a new pattern of balanced, coordinated and sustainable trade development, and will promote the coordinated development of trade and industry. We will continue to take active measures to promote the orderly and free flow of international and domestic factors, the efficient allocation of resources, and the deep integration of domestic and foreign markets.” China recently said it would reduce tariffs on more than 850 items in 2020 (see 1912230051).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India recently published a notification on revised standards for milk and milk products, potentially impacting imports, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Dec. 26. The revised standards are scheduled to take effect July 1, 2020, USDA said. The changes revise several standards, including the total sodium content allowed in goat or sheep milk products and packaging methods for low fat milk products.
Singapore Customs is “decommissioning” its Singapore Customs Academy website now that customs courses will be provided by two of the country’s technology schools (see 1911290011), the agency said in a Dec. 23 press release. The website will be decommissioned Dec. 30, and the academy's existing suite of courses will transfer to the schools for participants to register for instruction on those schools' websites.
Indonesia aims to export between 100,000 and 500,000 metric tons of “premium” rice in 2020, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Dec. 23. Indonesia had been a net importer of rice in recent years, USDA said, due to local supplies struggling to meet demand. USDA said it “remains unclear” how the country will meet the proposed export volumes and how it will compete with less expensive rice from Thailand and Vietnam. The country’s media outlets reported the “main destination” for the exports may be Saudi Arabia, as Indonesians prepare for pilgrimages to Mecca in 2020, the report said.
The effects of African swine fever on feed demand in the Philippines may not be “as severe as initially forecast,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Dec. 19. Estimates predict a decline of 100,000 metric tons in feed wheat consumption, down from a decline of 300,000 metric tons forecast earlier, USDA said, potentially reducing the need for feed imports. USDA also said the Philippines is facing low rice production due to a recent typhoon, which will likely lead to an increase in 200,000 metric tons of rice imports.
Singapore Customs issued a Dec. 19 circular about its upgraded free trade agreement with China (see 1910210033) and the deal’s rules of origin provisions, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2020. The circular outlines “key changes” to the rules for Singapore’s exports to China, including an expansion to the list of “Product Specific Rules,” updated criteria for determining the origin of products, information on submissions of manufacturing cost statements to qualify certain products for the Product Specific Rules and more.
Singapore Customs’ TradeNet will undergo system maintenance from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. local time on Dec. 29, Singapore said in a Dec. 17 notice. The agency is advising users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This is in addition to usual maintenance on Sundays from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.