Starting this month, these new foreign trade regulations will fall to the ground!

• China adjusted its export control list to include three highly sensitive graphite items;
• November 1 to cancel the export of goods origin enterprise filing matters;
• the general administration of customs issues new regulations on voluntary disclosure of irregularities;
• the us department of commerce added 13 chinese enterprises to the entity list;
• The Netherlands issues import conditions for complex foods;
• Egypt suspends tariffs on some necessities for six months;
• India allows unrestricted imports of laptops and tablets;
• India issued quality control orders for electric fans, washing machines and other products;
• Singapore's removal of melamine-related requirements for milk and dairy products imported from China;
• The Philippines to develop regulations related to the import of aquatic products;
• Thailand issues child car seat labeling requirements.

1.China adjusts export control list to include three highly sensitive graphite items

The Ministry of Commerce, together with the General Administration of Customs, issued an announcement on the 20th to formally include three highly sensitive graphite items previously under temporary control into the export control list of dual-use items. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said on the 20th that the normal adjustment of China's export control is not aimed at any specific country or region, and exports that meet the relevant regulations will be permitted.
According to the announcement, in order to safeguard national security and interests, with the approval of the State Council, it is decided to optimize and adjust the scope of items listed in the announcement No. 50 of 2006 of the Ministry of Commerce, the State Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and the General Administration of Customs ("decision to implement temporary export control measures on graphite-related products"). Among them, high-purity, high-strength, high-density artificial graphite materials and their products, natural flake graphite and their products are not allowed to be exported without permission; at the same time, five kinds of furnace carbon electrodes are mainly used in iron and steel, metallurgy, Temporary control of low-sensitive graphite items in chemical and other basic industries of the national economy. The above policy will be formally implemented from December 1, 2023.

2.From November 1, the filing of enterprises of origin of export goods will be canceled.

The General Administration of Customs recently issued a notice on the cancellation of the record of enterprises of origin of export goods.

The announcement mentioned that in order to further optimize the business environment of cross-border trade and enhance trade convenience, the General Administration of Customs has decided to cancel the filing of enterprises of origin of export goods from November 1, 2023. Applicants for certificates of origin can directly pass international trade. "Single Window", Internet Customs, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade declaration system, etc. apply for certificates of origin.

3.General Administration of Customs issues new rules on voluntary disclosure of violations

In order to further optimize the business environment and promote the high-quality development of foreign trade, in accordance with the Customs Law of the the People's Republic of China of China, the Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Regulations on Customs Inspection of the the People's Republic of China of China, the General Administration of Customs is now dealing with import and export enterprises and units that voluntarily disclose violations of customs regulations before the customs discover On the basis of relevant matters regarding the behavior and timely correction, the General Administration of Customs has issued Announcement No. 54 of 2022 (hereinafter referred to the "Announcement No. 54"), the "Announcement of the General Administration of Customs on Handling Matters Related to Active Disclosure of Violations" (hereinafter referred to as the "New Announcement") was issued. After the introduction, the Customs took the initiative to disclose the policy in response to the demands of the people.

The new announcement released six "high gold content" policy dividends, further relaxed the conditions for no administrative punishment, clarified the specific disposal requirements, and fully reflected the customs law enforcement concept of "law-abiding convenience", "combining leniency and strictness" and "combination of punishment and education.

4.U.S. Department of Commerce adds 13 Chinese companies to entity list

On October 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an announcement to include 13 Chinese companies in the entity list. The reason for the inclusion is that they have participated in the development of advanced computing integrated circuits, which can be used to provide Artificial intelligence capabilities, there are risks in the development of weapons of mass destruction, advanced weapon systems, and high-tech monitoring applications, and there are so-called national security issues.

According to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, these 13 enterprises are marked with footnote 4, apply the foreign direct product rules, restricted access to U.S. products and technology involves a total of 18 ECCN codes, need to apply for a license, but the U.S. license policy is presumptive rejection.

5.Netherlands issues import conditions for compound food

Recently, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) issued the conditions for the import of composite food, which will be implemented from the date of publication. Main contents:

(1) Purpose and scope. The general conditions for the import of complex food products from non-EU countries do not apply to unprocessed products of animal origin, products of animal origin that do not contain plant products, products consisting of processed products of animal origin and vegetable products, etc;
(2) Definition and scope of compound food. Products such as surimi, oil-impregnated tuna, vanilla cheese, fruit yogurt, sausages containing garlic or soy beans and breadcrumbs are not compound foods;
(3) Import conditions. Any product of animal origin in the composite product must come from a company registered in the European Union and a variety of products of animal origin allowed to be imported by the European Union, except for gelatin, collagen, etc;
(4) Mandatory inspection. Compound food is subject to inspection at border control points upon entry into the EU (except for shelf-stable compound food, shelf-stable compound food, compound food containing only dairy and egg products);
(5) the requirements of the certificate.

6.Egypt suspends tariffs on some necessities for six months

Pyramid Online reported on October 9. Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouli recently announced that the government will suspend tariffs on a variety of basic commodities for six months to reduce the prices of related commodities by 15% to 25%.

Such commodities include legumes, dairy products, white cheese, mixed oils, pasta, sugar, lentils, poultry products, eggs and rice. Madbouli said that this move will have a positive impact on the supply of essential goods and market stability, and curb inflation, especially food price increases. Trade and Industry Minister Samir said the government would further simplify procedures for the release of imported goods at ports. The Egyptian cabinet recently issued a statement saying that in the first nine months of this year, Egyptian ports released 53.7 billion US dollars of imported goods.

7.India to allow unrestricted import of laptops and tablets

On October 19, the Indian government announced that it would allow the import of laptops and tablets without restrictions, and launched a new "authorization" system designed to monitor the shipment of such hardware without damaging market supply.

Officials said the new "import management system" will take effect on November 1, requiring enterprises to register the quantity and value of imports, but the government will not refuse any import requests and will use the data for monitoring.
S. Krishnan, a senior official at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, said that the purpose of this is to ensure that the required data and information can be obtained to ensure that there is a fully trusted digital system. Krishnan added that based on the data collected, further measures could be taken after September 2024.
On August 3 this year, India announced that it would restrict the import of personal computers, including laptops and tablets. Enterprises need to apply for licenses in advance to be exempted. India's move is mainly to boost its electronics manufacturing industry and reduce its dependence on imports. However, due to criticism from industry and the US government, India delayed the decision.

8.India issues quality control orders for electric fans, washing machines and other products

Recently, India has submitted a number of notifications to the WTO, planning to implement quality control orders on electric fans, washing machines, kitchen appliances, etc. The relevant products shall comply with Indian standards and shall be marked with the standard mark under the permission of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

9.Singapore cancels melamine-related requirements for milk and dairy products imported from China

On October 23, 2023, the Singapore Food Safety Authority (SFA) issued an announcement to cancel the melamine-related requirements for importing milk, milk, products and milk-containing products from China. The main contents are as follows:

(1) The Singapore Food Safety Authority has reviewed the import requirements for milk and dairy products from China and will remove the inspection and quarantine import requirements from November 1, 2023;
(2) These melamine-related requirements were implemented after the 2008 melamine milk incident in China, when melamine was detected in local infant milk products. Since then, China has implemented various measures to strengthen its superior and administrative processes for dairy products, including stricter production licensing, stricter inspection, testing, monitoring and evaluation, and stricter penalties for melamine products found in the entire dairy food chain (I. e., from cow breeding, buying and transporting fresh and raw milk to dairy processing enterprises);
(3) Milk and dairy products imported from China (such as liquid milk, milk powder, cheese, butter, ice cream and yogurt) will continue to be inspected by the SFA and must comply with import requirements.

10.Philippines formulates regulations on imported aquatic products

Recently, the Philippine Department of Agriculture issued Memorandum Circular No. 36 of 2023, which formulated the relevant requirements for the import of aquatic products, which came into effect immediately and continued to be effective. Any previously issued inconsistent with these regulations will be invalidated. The main contents include:

(1) The 2023 quota for 35000 tons of imported aquatic products and their varieties, including barangay, mackerel, bonito, etc., and the quota allocation method and the importer requirements for applying for the quota;
(2) Importers with quotas can apply for sanitary and phytosanitary licenses for imported agricultural products (SPSIC). SPSIC will be issued in two time periods. Importers applying for SPSIC should attach bills of lading and invoices, and must have cold storage or leased cold storage. SPSIC under 2023 quota is valid for 45 days and expires no later than January 15, 2024. Imported aquatic products should arrive before SPSIC expires;
(3) Importers issued with SPSIC shall regularly submit import reports to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), shall allow BFAR inspectors to inspect and test imported aquatic products stored in BFAR-registered storage facilities, and BFAR shall encourage importers to import as soon as possible to avoid conflicts with locally harvested aquatic products after opening the sea;
(4) Qualified importers shall undertake to meet the requirements of these Provisions, purchase from legitimate suppliers of non-IUU fishing, and strictly abide by laws and regulations and food safety standards, and shall not transfer quotas. Any violation of these Provisions may result in cancellation of import qualifications.

11.Thailand issues child car seat labeling requirements

Recently, the Thai Industrial Standards Association submitted Circular G/TBT/N/THA/715, confirming that child car safety seats are labeled controlled commodities. The label shall include statements, figures, marks or images. Labels shall be in Thai or a foreign language with Thai attached to them to explain the meaning of the figures, marks or images. The draft notice does not apply to goods manufactured for export and not sold in Thailand.

The label should include the following:
(1) the name of the trade;(2) the name or trademark of the manufacturer registered for sale in Thailand;(3) the name or trademark of the seller registered in Thailand;(4) the name of the country of manufacture of goods imported for sale;(5) the place of production, or the place of the seller of the goods ordered or imported;(6) For the size, quantity, volume or weight (as the case may be) of the goods, the unit used may be full name or abbreviation or symbol, such as "width X length X heightX" (cm). (7) Consumers should be informed of the purpose of use of the goods. (8) The product should have correct instructions for use and prohibited instructions for use, so that consumers can use it, including at least the following: a. Car safety seats are suitable for children aged. B. The car seat is suitable for children's weight/kg/height. c. Remind to check the car seat regularly. D. Do not let the child sit alone in the car seat. (9) Date, month and year of production.
In addition, the draft notice also requires child safety seats to be accompanied by warning requirements, such as installation warnings, warning font colors, installation manuals, etc.