This weeks foreign trade events: my country will unilaterally exempt Australia and New Zealand from visas, and Indonesia will crack down on illegal imports of electronic products on a large scale

Headlines

DJI may face a sales ban in the United States

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a "Counter-China Drone Act" last Friday, which prohibits the sale of Chinese DJI drones in the United States in the future. The bill is currently awaiting review by the Senate. If it can be passed by the Senate and signed by the U.S. President, it will officially take effect, which also means that DJI is currently facing the risk of being banned from sales in the United States.

According to the International Association for Unmanned Systems, Chinese drones account for 92% of the U.S. emergency drone market. BRINC, a U.S. drone manufacturer, said that labor costs, production scale and the cost of customized chipsets are the main obstacles for U.S. companies to lower prices. Several U.S. officials and drone dealers said that even if they cannot provide the same level of technology, the cost of U.S. drones is still three to four times that of Chinese models.

Sea transportation

German port strike affects shipping schedules

Maersk issued a new reminder about the German port strike on June 17, saying that it had received relevant notices and that German unions launched a surprise strike on the morning shift of that day to exert additional pressure before the third round of negotiations.

The strike will affect the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven, as well as Bremerhaven, Bremer and Emden. The strikes at these ports will begin at 5 a.m. on June 17, 2024, and will last for approximately 24 or 48 hours, depending on the specific port location, until the evening of June 17 or June 18, 2024.

Based on current ship expectations, Maersk expects all ships to be affected in a chain reaction. Global freight forwarding giant Kuehne + Nagel also issued a reminder that container transportation and delivery may be further affected this week, and container ship operations will be delayed, given the limited supply of space and the impact of previous strikes.

EU

Will impose additional tariffs on Chinese titanium dioxide

The EU's anti-dumping investigation against Chinese titanium dioxide companies last year has made new progress.

On June 13, the European Commission’s official website released new progress in the anti-dumping investigation against my country’s titanium dioxide enterprises last year. Longbai Group (002601) and its subsidiaries will be subject to a 39.7% tariff, and Jinxing Titanium, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Nuclear Titanium Dioxide (002145), will be subject to a 14.4% tariff. Anada (002136), Huiyun Titanium (300891) and Nanjing Titanium Dioxide and other 23 partner companies will be subject to a 35% tariff, and other companies will be subject to a 39.7% tariff.

The news has attracted widespread attention in the titanium dioxide industry. It is understood that the anti-dumping duty document on Chinese titanium dioxide enterprises announced by the European Commission this time is the preliminary ruling result, and the final result has not yet been determined. It is worth noting that this year, India and Brazil have also launched anti-dumping investigations against Chinese titanium dioxide.

India

Imposing temporary anti-dumping duties on polyvinyl chloride paste resins from China

On June 13, the Indian Ministry of Finance’s Taxation Bureau issued notification No. 09/2024-Customs (ADD) stating that it accepted the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s April 26, 2024 anti-dumping duties on polyvinyl chloride paste resins originating in or imported from mainland China, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Thailand and Taiwan. Resin) made a preliminary anti-dumping ruling and decided to impose a six-month temporary anti-dumping duty on the products involved in the above countries and regions, as follows: Mainland China is 115-600 US dollars/ton, South Korea is 0-41 US dollars/ton, Malaysia is 317-375 US dollars/ton, Taiwan is 118-168 US dollars/ton, Thailand is 195-252 US dollars/ton, Norway is 328 US dollars/ton.

The Indian customs codes of the products involved are 39041010, 39041020, 39041090, 39042100, 39042200, 39043010, 39043090, 39049000, 39044000 and 39049090. The products involved do not include the following products: polyvinyl chloride paste resin with a K value below 60K, PVC blended resin, copolymers of PVC paste resin, battery separator resin, polyvinyl chloride paste resin under the brand name "Biovyn" produced by Innovyn Europe Ltd. The measure will take effect from the date of publication of this notification in the official gazette.

Indonesia

Indonesia conducts large-scale investigation and punishment of illegal imported electronic products

The Indonesian Ministry of Trade has recently taken severe action to conduct large-scale investigation and punishment of illegal imported electronic products in order to maintain market order and consumer safety.

In this operation, a total of 4,282 items that did not comply with Indonesian regulations were confiscated and planned to be destroyed, with a total value estimated at 6.7 billion rupiah. This batch of electronic products included speakers, hair dryers, electric massagers, etc., which were considered to be illegally entering the market due to the lack of necessary safety certification, environmental protection registration, national standard marks and legal registration numbers.

Japan

The weak yen "helped" Japan's exports in May to achieve the largest increase in nearly a year and a half

As the yen continued to be at a low point, Japan's exports achieved a large increase since the end of 2022. Data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance on June 19 showed that the country's exports in May increased by 13.5% from the same period last year, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth. This increase exceeded the 12.7% generally expected by economists and was the largest increase since November 2022.

By region, Japan's exports to the United States increased by 23.9%, exports to China increased by 17.8%, and exports to the European Union decreased by 10.1%. In terms of export product classification, automobile exports increased by 13.6%, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment and electronic components.

The unexpected export was mainly driven by the weak yen exchange rate. The Japanese Ministry of Finance pointed out that the average exchange rate of the yen against the US dollar in May was 155.48, and the yen depreciated by 14.9% from the same period last year.

Iraq

Raising steel import tariffs

Shafaq News reported that the Iraqi cabinet meeting decided to impose an additional 20% tariff on all imported steel bars (10-32 mm). The new tax rate will take effect from October 3, 2024, will be valid for four years, and will apply to tariff code 72142000.

Australia

China will unilaterally exempt Australia and New Zealand from visas

Recently, China announced that Australia and New Zealand will be included in the scope of unilateral visa-free countries. This is another powerful measure for China to promote high-level opening up after implementing visa-free entry policies for 12 countries twice in December last year and March this year.

Data shows that after the announcement of China's unilateral visa-free policy for New Zealand, the popularity of New Zealand tourists' searches for keywords related to China increased by 65% overnight. And half an hour after China announced that it would include Australia in the scope of unilateral visa-free countries, the popularity of Australian tourists' searches for keywords related to China increased by more than 80% compared with the previous day.

Chile

Formal application to join the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement

On June 15, local time, Chile's Deputy Minister of International Economic Relations Sanuesa submitted Chile's application to join the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Recently, it issued a statement saying that it looks forward to becoming a Latin American country joining RCEP.

Sri Lanka

New tariff policy to be implemented in 2025

Sri Lanka's Morning Post reported on June 13 that Sri Lanka announced that it would implement a new tariff policy in three phases starting from January 2025, aiming to optimize Sri Lanka's trade and investment environment. The goal of the National Tariff Policy is to establish a clear, simple and predictable tariff system, aiming to solve the problems caused by the frequent revision of tariffs by previous governments.

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