India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has “revamped and streamlined” a program to strengthen domestic manufacturing through customs bonded warehouses, the agency said in an Oct. 15 press release. The program includes a single application form for “uniformity of practice” and no “geographical limitation on where such units can be set up,” the press release said. “Units” can also import goods under a customs deferment program in which the “duties are fully remitted if the processed goods are exported,” the agency said.

A group of 15 southwest regional customs agencies in China signed a memorandum of cooperation to improve customs clearance, “improve supervision and crack down on smuggling,” according to an Oct. 14 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The memorandum will support the “New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor construction,” a “trade and logistics passage” built by Singapore and China, the report said.

Japan’s trade minister said there are still “some issues” that need to be worked out during negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership despite progress being made, according to an unofficial translation of an Oct. 11 press conference.

Japan’s Industrial Standards Committee revoked a certification for a manufacturing company, which may affect its ability to sell certain products, according to an unofficial translation of an Oct. 11 press release. Japan said the company’s factory, belonging to Takako Co., did not meet standards because it “has not properly conducted some tests specified in the Japanese Industrial Standards” that were “deemed critical.”

Japan plans to decrease planned imports of non-fat dairy milk by 6,000 metric tons during the 2019 Japanese fiscal year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Oct. 10. The move lowers Japan’s planned imports from 20,000 metric tons announced in May to 14,000, USDA said. The decrease was caused by “lower than expected consumption of yogurt and other dairy products” in Japan during the summer, the report said, which pushed non-fat dry milk stocks higher.

China plans to launch six “international marketing service platforms” to try to promote overseas trade, according to an Oct. 11 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The initiative will create centers in the United Arab Emirates, Romania, South Africa, Bangladesh and Hungary, the HKTDC said.

Japanese and South Korean officials will meet in Geneva today to address South Korea’s World Trade Organization dispute over Japan’s export restrictions, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Ahead of the meeting, Japan reiterated that its export control measures on certain shipments to South Korea, which took effect last month (see 1909090041) are necessary to protect Japan’s export control system. “The update is necessary … to prevent the proliferation of weapons such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery,” the country said. “Japan will make clear that the update is WTO-consistent.”

Singapore and Indonesia signed an agreement to link the countries’ National Single Windows to better “facilitate and secure trade,” Singapore Customs said in an Oct. 8 press release. The agreement on “electronic data exchange” aims to promote a “seamless, paperless and secure business environment” for trade, Singapore said. Benefits will include expedited clearance and improved supply chain security, the press release said. Singapore also said the agreement will lead to a “seamless and more efficient declaration process and ... greater ease and facilitation when trading between Singapore and Indonesia.”

China’s State Council adopted a draft regulation on Oct. 8 to improve the country’s “business environment” by easing market access, simplifying tax procedures and other measures, according to an Oct. 9 report by Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. China stressed that “government services should be enjoyed with unified criteria by all types of market players on an equal basis” for both “domestic and foreign companies.”

Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department released its exemption process for “air trans[s]hipment cargo of specified strategic commodities” for 2020, Hong Kong said in an Oct. 8 notice. The TID is inviting “eligible parties” -- including carriers, airlines, ground handling agents and freight forwarders -- to apply for the exemptions by Nov. 8. The exemption scheme will waive certain license requirements and will issue applicants a “Certificate of Exemption” valid until Dec. 31, 2020, the TID said.