Japan and South Korea agreed to hold an export control policy dialogue Dec. 16, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Dec. 5. The two countries will discuss “circumstances and challenges” of “critical technology control,” the implementation of both countries' export control system and other topics yet to be announced. The meeting will feature the director general of Japan’s Trade Control Department and the director general of South Korea’s International Trade Policy. The consensus on a meeting date was the result of a “preparatory” meeting held by the two sides Dec. 4 (see 1912040012). The two countries have been locked in a trade dispute (see 1908120036) since July.
China stood by its position that tariffs must be reduced if it reaches a phase one trade deal with the U.S., despite recent comments from President Donald Trump (see 1911080042) that the U.S. has not agreed to lift any tariffs. “China believes that if the two parties reach a first-phase agreement, tariffs should be reduced accordingly,” a China Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Dec. 5, according to an unofficial translation. The spokesperson said the two sides “have been maintaining close communication.”
Japan’s minister of Economy, Trade and Industry urged World Trade Organization members to find a solution before the dispute settlement body ceases to function Dec. 10, according to an unofficial translation of a Dec. 3 press conference. The minister called the body “one of the pillars … [of] the multilateral free trade system.”
China approved its Wuwei Customs Supervision Area in the Gansu Province for imported timber, according to a Dec. 4 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The facility was approved to import eight varieties of “bark-free boards,” the report said, including white birch, larch, Scots pine, Chinese pine, fir and spruce, which must be transported in sealed containers. Chinese customs may announce additional customs areas approved for imported timber, the report said.
Australia’s Department of Defense’s export controls division will be closed noon on Dec. 20 until Jan. 2, 2020, the agency said in a Dec. 2 notice. Applications will not be processed during that time. Applications received after Dec. 2 may not be completed before the agency closes and will continue to be processed after Jan. 2, the notice said. The agency urges applicants to contact the Defense Export Controls division “should you urgently require a permit” after Dec. 2.
China and El Salvador signed a memorandum of understanding to create a “working group on trade” to ease trade restrictions between the two nations, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a Dec. 3 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The memorandum aims to “further enhance the quality and level of bilateral trade” and strengthen “economic investment,” China said.
China recently issued a draft consultation paper for new value-added tax legislation that aims to “elevate” the treatment of VAT rules to a legislative format and implement internationally recognized VAT guidelines, KPMG said in a Dec. 2 post. The “consultation process” for the VAT legislation is open until Dec. 26, and will eventually be considered and likely approved by China’s National People’s Congress in early 2020, the post said.
Singapore Customs appointed Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic to conduct customs guidance courses for the business community, Singapore said in a Nov. 28 notice. The courses, taught by two Singapore higher-learning technology schools, will help “promote compliance” of the agency’s “regulatory requirements for the import, export, transhipment and transit of goods,” the notice said. The courses will begin in January and will allow Singapore Customs “to better cater to the industry’s demand for more frequent courses and to better respond to the industry’s learning needs.” The courses previously conducted by the Singapore Customs Academy will end in January, the agency said. The notice contains instructions on how to register for the courses and a set of frequently asked questions.
An amended free trade agreement between China and Pakistan took effect Dec. 1, rewriting rules on market access, tariff reduction schedules and more in an effort to increase trade, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Dec. 1, according to an unofficial translation. China hopes the new deal deepens “bilateral economic and trade cooperation” through measures aimed at revamping provisions such as trade remedies and customs cooperation. The deal will “gradually increase” the number of goods that face no tariffs from 35 percent to 75 percent, China said, and both nations will “implement a 20% reduction in taxes on other products that account for 5% of their respective tax items.” China said the changes will be implemented “as soon as possible” after “necessary domestic procedures” are finished.
China’s Ministry of Commerce recently published a list of antidumping measures that will expire in 2020, according to a Dec. 2 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Antidumping duties on certain polyamide chips from the U.S., Italy, France and Taiwan will expire Oct. 13; duties on adipic acid from South Korea, the European Union and U.S. will expire Nov. 2; and duties on methyl methacrylate from Singapore, Thailand and Japan will expire Dec. 1. Companies may ask China to review the expiration to potentially continue the antidumping duties by submitting an application at least 60 days before they expire, the report said. Companies who ask for the duties to continue must “believe” the expiration of the duties will lead to “injury to the domestic industry.”