Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced tariff rate quotas for certain dairy imports for the Japanese fiscal year that runs from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, according to an April 10 notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service. The TRQs cover “natural cheese for processing, skimmed milk powder, evaporated milk, butter and butteroil, and certain whey products, ” the notice said. Among several changes are those affecting imports of natural cheese used in processed cheese: Each Japanese importer is permitted to import natural cheese tariff-free up to 2.5 times “the volume of domestic cheese it uses for the production of processed cheese,” the notice said.

A company based in Vietnam was accused by the country’s customs department's anti-smuggling unit of falsifying import permits and smuggling medical products, the Vietnam Customs Department's CustomsNews website said in an April 15 report. The company, C.V.S One Member Limited Liability Company, allegedly “heavily modified” import permits in at least 18 customs declarations between 2009 and 2016, including changing the model, term and number of the item in the permit’s appendix. The company’s “director ... admitted to falsifying import licenses,” the report said, and the investigation has been handed to Vietnamese police.

India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to strengthen “maritime cooperation” and improve “connectivity” at the 21st ASEAN-India Senior Officials' Meeting April 11-12 in New Delhi, according to an announcement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs. At the meeting, both India and ASEAN “voiced their determination to bolster bilateral ties,” according to a report from the Vietnam Customs Department's CustomsNews website. The change was first suggested during the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in 2018, the report said, when the two sides also promised to strengthen trade and the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area, according to a post-report from that summit.

A report in the Japanese press says that Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer April 15-16 in Washington, but that auto export quotas, something Lighthizer pushed for in the 1980s, are unacceptable. The free-trade agreement talks, first announced in September 2018 (see 1809260049), could address non-tariff barriers. Nikkei Asian Review reporters say that Japan "is willing to discuss the streamlining of customs procedures should Washington demand them. But it does not plan to negotiate issues that will take years to realize because of the legislative revisions required, including the drug-pricing system, financial regulations and food safety standards." American drug makers are frustrated by new price constraints in Japan, and want that addressed (see 1904030043).

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue called Vietnam's recent ban on importation of glyphosate “devastating,” saying it could cause significant ramifications for global agricultural production. Perdue also said Vietnam “sidestepped its obligation” to notify the World Trade Organization of the ban and that Vietnam should be concerned about consequences for its farmers. “There’s the very real risk that Vietnam’s farmers will turn to unregulated, illegal chemical products in place of glyphosate,” Perdue said.

China and Croatia have signed an agreement to establish a “joint work group” that will improve “trade cooperation” between the two counties, according to a press release from China’s Ministry of Commerce. China called the agreement a “new platform for investment and cooperation,” and will continue to meet with Croatia to consult on “strengthening information exchange on policies” and “address barriers” in specific projects. Specifics of the agreement were not immediately released.

China’s Administration of Customs is expanding a campaign to combat solid waste smuggling, according to an April 12 press release, including “deepening law-enforcement cooperation with foreign countries” and “market regulation authorities.” The announcement comes less than a month after China Customs said it seized more than 300,000 tons of smuggled imported trash from a scheme that involved 22 smuggling groups (see 1903250021).

Vietnam is implementing a customs bonding system, and hopes to run a pilot in 2021 and 2022 before its “customs guarantees” are expanded to more customs processes, the Vietnam Customs Department's CustomsNews website reported on April 11. The pilot phase will apply the bonding system to transit goods, temporary imports for re-export, late submissions of certificates of origin and “transportation of goods for preservation,” CustomsNews said. Then, in 2022 and 2023, Vietnam customs will expand implementation to goods temporarily imported for exhibitions, repairs, warranty or construction; delays in the issuance of import permits; and disputes between Vietnam customs and companies, such when an importer is waiting for a valuation or classification ruling, the report said.

China’s April 9 decision to lower taxes on certain imported goods likely won’t have a large impact on imports or trade, according to an expert on China business. The move, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, will reduce the tax rate on certain goods -- such as books, computers, food, furniture and medicine -- from 15 percent to 13 percent. It will also reduce import tax rates on other products, including sporting goods, textiles and electronic appliances, from 25 percent to 20 percent (see 1904080006).

The U.S. Grains Council is asking China to eliminate antidumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on American distillers grains, according to a report from Reuters. China’s Ministry of Commerce will review the request and the tariffs on the grains, an animal feed ingredient, according to the report.