The Association of China Rare Earth Industry said it supports Chinese retaliatory measures against the U.S. and accused the U.S. of “trade bullying behavior,” according to an unofficial translation of the association’s Aug. 7 press release. The association said the U.S.’s threat of increased tariffs were “for the purpose of curbing and suppressing China’s emerging developing power.” China suspended purchases of U.S. agricultural goods in retaliation (see 1908050005). The association said it must use China’s advantages in rare earth resources and “resolutely support the country's positive response and countermeasures” against the U.S. “The practice of increasing tariffs and upgrading trade frictions in the United States not only harms China’s interests, but also seriously damages the interests of US businesses and consumers,” the association said. “We express our firm opposition.”
China told India not to block Huawei Technologies from operating in the country and threatened retaliation against Indian companies, Reuters reported Aug. 6.
China unveiled on Aug. 6 its pilot plan for the new Lingang area of the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, where goods will benefit from reduced duties or tax exemptions, according to an Aug. 6 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The section will cover an area of about 75 square miles and will “match the standard of the most competitive free trade zones worldwide,” Xinhua said. The zone will encourage foreign access and increase the free flow of goods, and by 2025 the Lingang area “will have a relatively mature institutional system of investment and trade liberalization and facilitation,” Xinhua said. While Xinhua did not include specific details, the zone is also expected to eliminate all duties and ease most customs procedures (see 1908050013).
Vietnam is banning imports of 13 types of “scrap” because of environmental pollution, according to an Aug. 5 report from Vietnam Customs’ mouthpiece CustomsNews. The banned scraps include: gypsum, silk, “chemical elements for use in electronics,” vonfram, molypden, magie, titan, zircon, antimon, crom, “reboilded ingot waste,” plastic waste and scrap plastics from polymers styrene, the report said.
The U.S. designated China as a currency manipulator, saying the country has been trying to gain an “unfair competitive advantage in international trade,” the Department of the Treasury said in an Aug. 5 press release. Treasury said China has “taken concrete steps to devalue its currency” in “recent days” and said China has openly acknowledged that “it has extensive experience manipulating its currency and remains prepared to do so on an ongoing basis.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will work with the International Monetary Fund to “eliminate” the unfair advantage created by China's latest actions, the press release said.
Singapore Customs issued a circular outlining changes and new requirements for rules of origin and certification procedures under revised regulations of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, Singapore said in an Aug. 6 notice. The circular describes the requirements that have to be met for goods to be qualified as originating goods, and details the expansion to the list of “Product Specific Rules” and the inclusion of a de minimis provision. Singapore said the new requirements will take effect Aug. 15.
China and Colombia signed a memorandum of understanding on e-commerce “cooperation,” including e-commerce trade promotion, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an Aug. 1 press release. The countries aim to trade “high-quality specialty products in their respective countries through e-commerce” while also doing “joint research,” “personnel training” and “policy development.”
South Korean companies can still import Japanese goods despite Japan’s export restrictions by making use of a Japanese approval process called the Compliance Program, according to an Aug. 3 report from the Korea JoongAng Daily. The program allows certain registered companies a shortened timeline for exporting dual-use items and allows them to trade freely for three years with “no additional paperwork,” the report said. The report said 632 Japanese companies are registered with the program, including “major material manufacturers and chemical companies” such as Toray Industries, JSR, Sumitomo Chemical and Showa Denko.
China will eliminate all duties and ease customs procedures at its Shanghai Free Trade Zone as part of an upcoming pilot program, Reuters reported Aug. 5. Chinese leaders are planning to discuss the plan this month and could announce the program this year, the report said. Among the topics of discussion, Reuters said, is whether U.S. goods and companies would be included in the program.
Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration is requiring health certificates for imports of eggs, egg products, gelatins and gelatin derivatives “intended for food use,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released July 31. The changes took effect Aug. 1. USDA is advising U.S. exporters to obtain the certificates for all shipments leaving the U.S. on or after Aug. 1.