New regulations for foreign trade in 2024
With the development of global trade, the import and export policies of various countries in 2024 are constantly adjusting and changing.
The changes in these foreign trade policies in 2024 not only affect the operation and development of enterprises, but also relate to the interests of consumers. This article will provide you with an overview of recent import and export policy developments in some countries, helping you understand new trends in international trade.
1、 Disposable plastic bags are prohibited from being imported and traded in Dubai by the United Arab EmiratesOn December 31, 2023, Crown Prince Hamdan of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, issued a decree prohibiting the import and trading of disposable plastic bags in Dubai from January 1, 2024. However, thin plastic bags used for packaging meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, grains, bread, etc., as well as garbage bags and plastic bag products used for export or re export, are not within the scope of this ban. The Dubai government advocates for businesses to reduce the use of plastic products and disposable items, while also providing customers with affordable and reusable alternatives to disposable plastic bags. Practitioners who violate the ban will be fined 200 dirhams (approximately RMB 386).
2、 The quality inspection of imported photovoltaic panels will be strengthened in UzbekistanThe specific content is as follows: On January 11, 2024, the Uzbekistan Cabinet passed a decree on promoting the development of renewable energy and related regulatory measures.
The law stipulates that imported equipment and materials related to the utilization of renewable energy will be granted a 120 day interest free deferred customs tax treatment. If the importer has no record of bad violations in the past three years, the interest free and deferred delivery period will be extended to 6 months. In addition, in order to further improve the quality control of related imported equipment, starting from March 1, 2024, the import of photovoltaic panels without specified quality levels will be prohibited.
At the same time, the law also requires relevant departments to establish laboratories to evaluate whether imported renewable energy equipment meets technical regulatory requirements.
3、 The Ministry of Commerce announces the list of import and export license issuing agencies for 2024According to the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, the Measures for the Administration of Import Licenses for Goods, the Measures for the Administration of Import of Mechanical and Electrical Products, the Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China, the Measures for the Administration of Import of Key Old Mechanical and Electrical Products, and the Measures for the Administration of Export Licenses for Goods, the Ministry of Commerce has released the List of Import and Export License Issuing Agencies for 2024 and related matters.
The imported goods that fall under license management in 2024 are ozone depleting substances and key old mechanical and electrical products.
The Ministry of Commerce or the provincial-level commerce department entrusted by the Ministry of Commerce is responsible for implementing licenses for the import of the above-mentioned goods and issuing an Import License of the People's Republic of China to eligible applicants. Among them, the import licenses applied for by key old mechanical and electrical product import units and the import licenses applied for by enterprises under the management of the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council in Beijing are issued by the Quota and License Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce; The import license applied for by the import unit of ozone depleting substances shall be issued by the provincial commerce department.
In 2024, there are 43 types of export goods that fall under license management. The Ministry of Commerce or the provincial-level commerce authorities and deputy provincial-level city commerce authorities entrusted by the Ministry of Commerce are responsible for implementing licenses for the export of the above-mentioned goods and issuing the People's Republic of China Export License to eligible applicants. Among them, export licenses applied for by export units of goods such as wheat, corn, coal, crude oil, refined oil (excluding lubricants, greases, and lubricant base oils exported through general trade), cotton, and export licenses applied for by enterprises under the management of the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council in Beijing shall be issued by the License Bureau; The export license applied for by the exporters of live cattle, live pigs, live chickens, rice, wheat flour, corn flour, big Rice noodles, artificial cultivated ephedra for medicinal materials, liquorice and liquorice products, rush and rush products, natural sand, phosphate rock, magnesite, talc block (powder), tin and tin products, tungsten and tungsten products, antimony and antimony products, sawn timber, silver, platinum (platinum or platinum), indium and indium products, etc, Issued by the relevant local special envoy office of the Ministry of Commerce; Beef, pork, chicken, bauxite, fluorite (fluorite), rare earths, molybdenum and molybdenum products, coke, finished oil (limited to general trade export of lubricating oil, grease and lubricating oil base oil), paraffin, some metals and products, disodium sulfate, silicon carbide, ozone depleting substances, citric acid, motorcycles (including all terrain vehicles) and their engines and frames, automobiles (including complete sets of parts) The export license applied for by the export unit of its chassis and other goods shall be issued by the provincial commerce department or the vice provincial city commerce department.To maintain the order of foreign trade, designated institutions shall issue certificates for the following exported goods. Exporting such goods requires applying for an export license from a designated agency. The export license applied for by the export unit of live cattle (to Hong Kong and Macao), live pigs (to Hong Kong and Macao), and live chickens (to Hong Kong) by land transportation shall be issued by the Special Representative Office of the Ministry of Commerce in Guangzhou and the Special Representative Office in Shenzhen; The export license applied for by the export unit of artificially planted ephedra for medicinal materials shall be issued by the Special Representative Office of the Ministry of Commerce in Tianjin; Natural sand within the administrative region of Fujian Province
4、 Low content triethanolamine mixture products for import and export do not require a dual-use item licenseAccording to the Regulations on the Administration of Controlled Chemicals of the People's Republic of China and the Implementation Rules of the Regulations on the Administration of Controlled Chemicals of the People's Republic of China, in order to improve the efficiency of the import and export management of controlled chemicals, it is now decided to optimize the regulatory measures for the import and export of some low concentration triethanolamine mixtures from February 1, 2024. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:The synthetic detergent, cosmetics, inks, non medical disinfectants and other consumer goods with low content of triethanolamine listed in the attachment have controllable anti diffusion risks and do not belong to the controlled items under the category of triethanolamine (Customs commodity number 2922150000) and triethanolamine mixture (Customs commodity number 382499950) in the Catalogue of Dual Use Items and Technology Import and Export License Management. Therefore, these goods do not need to go through the import and export approval procedures for monitored chemical products, nor do they need to apply for dual-use items and technology import and export licenses.
5、 Switzerland helps businesses reduce costs and cancel industrial import tariffs,Starting from January 1, 2024, Switzerland has lifted import tariffs on industrial products in the hope of reducing costs for consumers and manufacturers. This regulation applies to raw materials, semi-finished products, capital goods, machinery and other products, as well as consumer goods such as household appliances, bicycles, clothing, etc. However, this regulation is not applicable to the import of agricultural products such as plants, seeds, live animals, and animal feed.
6、 Bangladesh allows partial delayed payment for imported goodsOn January 12, 2024, Bangladesh's Financial Express reported that the Bank of Bangladesh has issued a notice proposing to allow eight key commodities to be imported through deferred payment methods in order to stabilize prices during Ramadan, including consumer goods such as edible oil, chickpeas, onions, sugar, and some industrial raw materials. This convenience measure will provide traders with a 90 day import payment time.
7、 Brazil imposes import taxes on solar panelsOn December 12, 2023, the Executive Committee of the Brazilian Foreign Trade Commission decided to impose import taxes on solar panels starting from January 1, 2024, and will resume import taxes on 324 related products within 60 days.
In addition, Brazil has enacted a tax system reform bill to simplify the Brazilian tax system, and will also review the common external tariffs of the Southern Common Market.Starting from January 1, 2024, imported solar panels will be subject to a unified foreign tariff of 10.8% imposed by the Communist Party of China. To adapt the market to the new regulations, GECEX has established a tax exemption quota that will gradually decrease until 2027.
From January to June 2024, the quota is 1.13 billion US dollars; From July 2024 to June 2025, the quota is 1.01 billion US dollars; From July 2025 to June 2026, the quota is 717 million US dollars; From July 2026 to June 2027, the quota is 403 million US dollars.
8、 Indonesia relaxes import tax policies for electric vehiclesOn December 13, 2023, Jakarta Post reported that Indonesian President Joko issued Presidential Decree No. 79 of 2023, which stipulates that the government will provide financial incentives to pure electric vehicle importers in the form of exempting import tariffs and luxury goods sales taxes. At the same time, adjustments will be made to the Local Component Index (TKDN) for the use of electric vehicles.
Among them, the TKDN index for electric two wheelers/four wheelers should reach at least 40%, which must be achieved before 2024 and can be achieved by 2026.
The specific standards are as follows:For electric two wheeled/three wheeled vehicles: from 2019 to 2026, TKDN should reach at least 40%; From 2027 to 2029, TKDN should reach at least 60%; By 2030 and beyond, TKDN will reach at least 80%.For electric vehicles with four or more wheels: from 2019 to 2021, TKDN should reach at least 35%; From 2022 to 2026, TKDN should reach at least 40%; From 2027 to 2029, TKDN should reach at least 60%; After 2030, TKDN will reach at least 80%.
9、 The universal standard for electronic devices in the European Union is designated as USB-CRecently, the European Commission announced that from 2024, USB-C will become the universal standard for electronic devices in the European Union. USB-C will serve as the universal interface for the European Union, allowing consumers to use any USB-C charger to charge any brand of device. The requirement for universal charging will apply to all handheld devices such as mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, portable speakers, handheld video game consoles, e-readers, earplugs, keyboards, mice, and portable navigation systems. By 2026, these requirements will also apply to laptops.
10、 On January 11, 2024, South Korea released a customs inspection plan for imported foodOn January 11, 2024, the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug (MFDS) released the 2024 Import Food Customs Inspection Plan, aimed at ensuring the safety and quality of imported (customs clearance) food, strengthening safety management, and supporting the efficient operation of inspection systems to achieve timely customs clearance.
The main contents of this plan include:
1. Expand planning inspection objectives: Plan to expand the inspection scope to seasonal high consumption ingredients (such as red snapper, yellow croaker, etc.) and candy products that can arouse children's curiosity through toys.
2. Expand the testing items for animal medicine in animal husbandry and aquatic products: The types of animal drugs tested for cows, pork, chickens, eggs, fish, etc.will increase from about 70 to about 150.
3. Strengthen on-site inspections: focus on inspecting processed food or agricultural products that are falsely declared for the purpose of customs arbitrage; Expand the sensory inspection items of agricultural and forestry products from 21 to 24, such as red chili peppers, coffee beans, coriander, astragalus, sesame, etc; At the same time, strengthen on-site inspections of imported seafood that may deceive consumers; In addition, inspections for false declaration items such as peanuts, rice, sesame seeds, frosted seeds, and mung beans will also be increased.
4. Promote the improvement of the customs inspection system for imported food: shorten the inspection cycle of livestock products.
5. Expand the scope of urgent customs clearance of planned imported goods: in order to ensure the stable supply of food raw materials, the scope of application of the "planned import rapid customs clearance system" will be expanded from the originally limited products imported by excellent importers, refined processing raw materials produced by themselves, edible essence and other commodities to raw materials used for manufacturing exported food; In addition, a tracking management system will be established for planned imported goods that have been approved for expedited customs clearance through false or fraudulent means.
11、 Starting from February 9th, 2024, China and Singapore will mutually waive visasOn January 25th, representatives of the Chinese and Singaporean governments signed the Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on Mutual Exemption of Visas for Ordinary Passport Holders in Beijing. The agreement will officially come into effect on February 9, 2024, which is the Lunar New Year's Eve. At that time, individuals holding ordinary passports from both countries can enter each other's country without a visa for personal affairs such as tourism, family visits, and business, with a stay time of no more than 30 days. If entering the other country requires prior approval for activities such as work or news reporting, or if you plan to stay in the other country for more than 30 days, you must apply for the corresponding visa before entering the other country.
12、 CBIC in India requires BIS registration and random sampling of imported electronic productsRecently, the Central Commission for Indirect Taxation and Customs (CBIC) of India issued Order No. 28 of 2023, requiring mandatory BIS registration and random sampling inspection of imported electronic and IT products (including LED products and control devices) in accordance with the 2012 Electronic and Information Technology Products (Compulsory Registration Requirements) Order.
The specific implementation requirements are as follows:
1.Under any circumstances, customs officials must check the registration status of products in the system.
2. The risk management system will randomly select consigned goods for sampling and issue inspection instructions to customs officials.
3. The extracted samples should be sent to a BIS accredited laboratory for testing the limited defined non-destructive safety parameters in the IS standards applicable to the product
.4. For sampled goods, release can only be granted if the sample meets the standard requirements for the parameters defined in the test report provided by the BIS accredited laboratory.
