General

In the past month, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Russia and other countries have issued trade bans or adjusted trade restrictions on soap, cars, buckwheat and other commodities. Related foreign trade companies must pay attention!

Myanmar: Ban on import of soap, detergent and toothpaste

On June 8, the English version of the Irrawaddy website published an announcement from the Ministry of Commerce of the Burmese Military Government. The announcement stated that in order to support local enterprises and reduce the use of foreign currency, the Burmese people began to ban importing goods from the border on June 5. The above-mentioned ban affects many daily necessities of the people, such as soap, toothpaste, and washing powder. The Myanmar military government also banned the import of certain products from Thailand, such as instant coffee, soda water, and condensed milk. Since the coup, Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Lai has often tried to promote domestic products to reduce foreign exchange expenditures on imports.

Japan: prohibits companies from importing water-resistant paper and other products containing PFOA

According to Xice.com, the Japanese cabinet recently approved a cabinet order on some amendments to the implementation order of the chemical substance assessment and manufacturing laws. The implementation date is October 22, 2021. The first category of specific chemical substances specified by the Cabinet Order covers chemical substances that are persistent, highly bioaccumulative, and have long-term toxicity risks to humans or other animals at the top of the food chain. Companies must obtain a license to manufacture and import these substances.

The Cabinet Order specifies "2,2,2-Trichloro-1-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethanol (o,p'-Dicofol)" and "Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/ "Or its salt" shall be designated as the first category of specific chemical substances stipulated in Article 2(2) of the Act (Article 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act).

According to Article 7 of the Enforcement Order of the Act, companies are not allowed to import products containing any PFOA and/or its salts specified by the Cabinet Order, including water-resistant paper, oil-resistant paper, water-repellent textiles and oil-repellent textiles, detergents, and products used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Anti-reflective agents, paints and varnishes, water and oil repellents, adhesives and sealing fillers, fire extinguishers, fire extinguishing agents and fire extinguishing foams, carbon powder, waterproof clothing, oil resistant clothing, floor wax, etc.

Sri Lanka: Decided to completely ban automobile imports

According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s "Daily Financial Times" reported that in view of the negative impact of the new crown epidemic on the economy, the Sri Lankan cabinet has decided to completely ban automobile imports. Previously, the Ministry of Finance proposed to allow the import of limited vehicles in a cost-effective manner. In March 2020, in order to revive the economy, the Sri Lankan government announced a ban on auto imports.

Kazakhstan: Continue to implement cement import ban in 2021

According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan, the "Kazakhstan Industry News" recently reported that the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan stated that there is no shortage of cement in the Kazakhstan market, but there is a problem of insufficient capacity for cement production enterprises. To support domestic cement producers, Kazakhstan issued a government order prohibiting the import of certain types of cement products from third countries outside the Eurasian Economic Union. The government order came into effect on May 24 for a period of 6 months.

Thailand: plans to ban the import of second-hand motorcycles

According to the Economic and Trade Window of the Chinese Consulate General in Khon Kaen and comprehensive Thai media news, the Thai Cabinet approved in principle the Ministry of Commerce’s draft ban on the import of second-hand motorcycles in order to solve air pollution and smuggling of second-hand motorcycle disassembly and sales issues. In principle, the Cabinet approved the draft announcement of the Ministry of Commerce regarding the proposal of the Ministry of Commerce to stipulate that second-hand motorcycles are prohibited from being imported. The main content of the draft announcement of the Ministry is to adjust the original principle of obtaining import permits to a total ban on imports, in order to solve the problem of air pollution and smuggling of second-hand motorcycle disassembly, assembly and sales. If the above ban takes effect, it will reduce environmental pollution and solve the problem of disassembly, assembly and sales of smuggled second-hand motorcycles.

Turkey: Implementation of export controls on furniture raw materials

Turkish Freedom Daily (Hurriyet Daily News) reported that according to the Turkish Government Gazette on June 4, 2021, Turkey added some furniture raw materials to the export registration list, including chipped wood, oriented fiberboard, fiberboard and some types of wood. Products are subject to export control.

UK: Halogen bulbs will be banned from September

According to CCTV News, British media recently reported that the British government will submit a bill this month, deciding to ban the sale of halogen bulbs from September.

Eurasian Economic Union:

01 intends to temporarily ban the export of ferrous metal scrap

According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan, Interfax News Agency, Moscow, June 2, the Executive Committee of the Eurasian Economic Commission issued a draft resolution on the temporary ban on the export of ferrous metal scrap for public discussion. The draft resolution stated that ferrous metal scrap has been included in the list of important commodities in the internal market of the Eurasian Economic Union. Under special circumstances, temporary export bans or export quantity restrictions may be imposed on the above commodities. The draft resolution stipulates that the export of ferrous metal scraps to outside the Eurasian Economic Union (Eurasian Economic Union customs code 7204) is prohibited before January 15, 2022. The ban does not involve such goods in transit.

The draft also recommends that the member states of the Union cancel previous similar decisions made at the national level, including Armenia (January 2021), Kyrgyzstan (March 2021) and Kazakhstan (March 2021) all banning the Eurasian Economic Union. Export ferrous metal scrap and scrap. Russia has not yet completely banned the export of ferrous metal scrap. The restrictive measures adopted by Russia are to increase the export tariff rate of ferrous metal scrap to 5% from January 31, 2021, but not less than 45 euros/ton, valid until 2021 July.

02 Take uniform measures to limit the export volume of buckwheat

According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, the Eurasian Economic Union’s official website reported on June 15 that the Eurasian Economic Commission decided to adopt uniform non-tariff control measures on buckwheat (commodity customs code 100810000)-limiting its export volume. This measure is valid until August 31, 2021. According to the resolution, the Union member Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Russia have issued zero export quotas for buckwheat, which means that the export of buckwheat from the above countries is prohibited, and Kazakhstan's buckwheat export quota is 4,200 tons.

Malaysia: intends to restrict the import of scrap metal

According to the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters, the Malaysian Non-Ferrous Metals Association (MNMA) recently stated that it is discussing restrictions on the import of scrap metal from Malaysia. In recent years, Malaysia has become a scrap metal center, importing scrap aluminum and copper from the United States and Europe for reprocessing. For environmental protection purposes, Malaysia has proposed stricter scrap metal import guidelines this year.

The chairman of MNMA pointed out that Malaysia is one of the important countries for processing scrap metals such as insulated copper wires and scrap aluminum slices. According to the proposed guidelines issued by the National Standards Agency of Malaysia (SIRM), the metal content of ferrous and non-ferrous scraps is at least 94.75. %, which means that high-value insulated copper wires cannot enter Malaysia.

Vietnam: Suspend the import of live pigs from Thailand

According to the China Chamber of Commerce for Food, Native Produce and Livestock Import and Export, Vietnam’s "Young People" reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam recently sent a letter to the Thai Embassy in Vietnam, notifying that a batch of live pigs imported from Thailand were found to have been infected with African swine fever. The import of live pigs from Thailand will be suspended from the 30th. As for the live pigs for which the companies of the two countries have signed import and export contracts, the normal delivery time will end on June 29. For Thai live pigs entering Vietnam, the Vietnamese veterinary department will strengthen management and control to ensure epidemic prevention and food safety.

Philippines: Measures to restrict imports of Vietnamese rice

According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s Saigon Economy Online reported on June 21 that the Philippines is Vietnam’s largest rice export market and is taking measures to restrict the purchase of Vietnamese rice. This will have a major impact on the Vietnamese rice market. The Philippines is Vietnam’s largest rice exporter, accounting for approximately 35.6% of Vietnam’s total rice exports in the first four months of this year (equivalent to 715,700 tons).

United States:

01 The import of dogs from 113 countries or regions will be banned for one year

According to upstream news, the BBC website reported on the 14th that out of concerns about rabies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a one-year ban to ban the import of dogs from 113 countries or regions. The ban applies to all dogs, including emotional support dogs and dogs who have been to any high-risk country in the past six months. The countries that have suspended imports are more extensive, including Kenya, Egypt, Brazil and Russia. The one-year ban will take effect on July 14 and will be reviewed regularly.

02Russian debt sanctions will take effect on the 14th

According to CCTV News, RIA Novosti reported on June 14 that the sanctions imposed by the United States on prohibiting domestic companies from buying Russian treasury bonds denominated in rubles came into effect on the 14th. Russian Finance Minister Siluanov said in this regard that Russian government bonds will still maintain a high demand rate, and sanctions will only cause losses to US companies.

India: Proposed to ban e-commerce companies from conducting limited-time panic buying

According to a Reuters report on June 21, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs of India issued a proposal to prohibit e-commerce websites from conducting limited-time snap-ups, and stated that e-commerce related entities should not be listed as sellers on their platforms.

Nigeria: Indefinitely suspend social media Twitter

According to the Global Times, CNN recently reported that the social media platform Twitter was suspended indefinitely by the Nigerian government for "destroying the survival of Nigerian businesses."

Lesotho: Will continue to ban the import of poultry from Gauteng

According to the Trade Investment Network, in April, a highly pathogenic avian flu broke out in Gauteng, South Africa, and has since spread to other areas in the country, including Northwestern Province. In response to the bird flu, Lesotho, along with other countries, banned the import of poultry and poultry products from Gauteng on April 16. Although other countries have begun to lift this ban, but to avoid the introduction of avian influenza, the Lesotho government stated that it will continue to ban the import of poultry and poultry products from Gauteng, while poultry and poultry products imported from other provinces in South Africa should be strictly sourced from the country. Compartment for highly pathogenic avian influenza. At the same time, import permits for poultry and poultry products will only be issued by the Ministry of Livestock Services in the capital Maseru.