The U.S.-China trade war has damaged some Japanese manufacturing companies, Japan’s trade minister said during a Sept. 3 press conference, adding that the companies have lost revenue compared to previous years. Minister Hiroshige Seko said Japan’s manufacturing industry in April and June “fell below the previous year for the first time in two years,” according to an unofficial translation of the transcript of the press conference.

Japan submitted "opinions and questions" to South Korea regarding South Korea’s plans to remove Japan from its list of trusted trading partners, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a Sept. 3 press release. Japan said if South Korea does not provide clarification on its measures or does not answer Japan’s questions, Japan will view South Korea’s actions as “arbitrary and illegitimate countermeasures,” the press release said.

Singapore is revising its end-user statement formats for bulk permits and individual permits for its Strategic Trade Scheme, Singapore Customs said in a Sept. 2 notice. Singapore said the formats have been standardized and will take effect Nov. 1. The formats are available for download on the Singapore Customs website.

Bangladesh will introduce a database of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to help importers and exporters better comply with global requirements on “food safety, plants and animal health issues,” according to a Sept. 1 report from New Age, a Bangladesh-based newspaper. In doing so, Bangladesh’s commerce ministry has asked traders and other industry representatives to detail common challenges they face when dealing with sanitary requirements, the report said. A common problem is a lack of knowledge about the requirements by other countries, the report said. Bangladeshi officials suspect some countries of using the requirements as non-tariff barriers, according to the report.

China has put into place part of the retaliatory tariffs it announced Aug. 23 (see 1908230004). The tariffs increased just after midnight on Sept. 1, just as the latest escalation from the U.S. did. The 10 percent increase in tariff rates applies to 270 products, according to an unofficial translation of a China Customs Tariff Commission document.

A Chinese tech company and a manufacturing company said the U.S.-China trade war is not damaging their business and instead said it is encouraging them to find other customers, including in Europe. Zhang Tianren, chairman of the board of directors for Tianneng Power International, and Lan Fenghui, president of Unitek Taxation Company, said during an Aug. 30 Ministry of Commerce press conference that they are not feeling the negative effects of U.S. tariffs. “Although there is a bit of hardship, it does not have much impact,” Zhang said, according to an unofficial translation of the transcript. Company names are via the unofficial translation as well.

China is studying its technology companies’ dependence on U.S. suppliers as it prepares for possible further escalations of the trade war, according to an Aug. 29 report in The Wall Street Journal. The moves also come as China reportedly plans to formally introduce its so-called unreliable entity list (see 1908220046). China has examined its companies’ reliance on foreign suppliers during the last few months, The Wall Street Journal report said, as part of its long-term goal “of weaning itself off dependence on U.S. technology.” By conducting the survey, Chinese officials are trying to ensure its important companies aren’t significantly damaged by any retaliatory measures against the U.S., the report said. China has reached out to several of the country’s “best-known smartphone makers,” the report said: Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo.

China is expanding a pilot program for parallel auto imports to increase the country’s foreign car market, according to an Aug. 30 notice from China’s Ministry of Commerce and a report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The program for parallel auto imports -- whereby Chinese “independent auto dealers directly purchase vehicles from a foreign production base or auto dealer” -- will expand to give preferential treatment to certain ports that import more than “1,000 vehicles” annually, China said.

China wants to import more fruit and other agricultural products from the Philippines, Chinese president Xi Jinping said during a meeting with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, China’s State Council said in an Aug. 29 press release, according to an unofficial translation. Xi told Duterte that China wants to “implement major cooperation projects” with the Philippines and “is willing to import more high-quality fruits and agricultural products,” the press release said.

The Customs Department of Thailand will use TradeLens, a blockchain-based “shipment tracking and information sharing platform,” to improve customs procedures, according to an Aug. 29 report from the Bangkok Post. TradeLens, which is also used by Singapore, is an online trade platform that “enables efficient and accurate” tracking of cargo and information sharing, the report said. TradeLens will allow customs authorities to see shipping data when containers leave the port of origin, which will allow for more time to prepare for the shipments and speed up inspections, the report said. The blockchain technology may increase “trust among trading partners because the record of all transactions is shared within the network and permissioned parties can access the data in real time,” according to the report. TradeLens was developed by AP Moller-Maersk and IBM. Thailand Customs has been working on integrating TradeLens with IBM since October 2018, the report said. “The platform will be implemented at Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri first and later at Bangkok port,” according to the report.