International Trade and Customs Affairs Newsletter, December, 2020

Announcement No. 59 [2020] of the MOFCOM: Preliminary Determination on Anti-dumping Investigation against Imported Wines Originating in Australia

On November 27, 2020, Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (the “MOFCOM”) issued Announcement No. 59 of 2020, making public the preliminary determination on anti-dumping investigation against imported wines originating in Australia.

On August 18, 2020, the MOFCOM issued Announcement No. 34 of 2020, making public its decision to initiate an anti-dumping investigation against imported wines originating in Australia.

The MOFCOM preliminarily determined that the subject merchandise originating in Australia dumped in China, related domestic wine industry suffered material injury and there is casual link between the dumping and injury. The dumping margin of respondents is as below:
 

Announcement No. 50 [2020] of the MOFCOM: Preliminary Determination on Anti-dumping Investigation against Imported M-cresol originating in the United States, the European Union and Japan
 

On November 3, 2020, the MOFCOM issued Announcement No. 50 of 2020, making public the preliminary determination on anti-dumping investigation against imported m-cresol originating in the United States, the European Union and Japan.
 

On July 29, 2019, the MOFCOM issued Announcement No. 33 of 2019, making public its decision to initiate an anti-dumping investigation against imported m-cresol originating in the United States, the European Union and Japan.
 

The MOFCOM preliminarily determined that the subject merchandise originating in the United States, the European Union and Japan dumped in China, related m-cresol industry suffered material injury and there is casual link between the dumping and injury. The dumping margin of respondents is as below:
 

Adjustment of the Catalogue of Prohibited Commodities of Processing Trade
 

On November 5, 2020, the MOFCOM and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China adjusted the catalog of prohibited commodities for processing trade which will be implemented from December 1, 2020.
 

The new catalog removes 199 types of commodities prohibited from processing trade with 10-digit commodity codes and adjusts 37 commodity catalogs with 10-digit commodity codes.
 

New adjustments will be made to the Notes on Import and Export Tariff Commodities and Items Since December
 

Recently, as the World Customs Organization has made partial revisions to the Harmonized System Explanatory Notes, China Customs has simultaneously revised the Notes on Import and Export Tariff Commodities and Items, which involves in 14 chapters and 19 items. The newly revised content will be implemented from December 1, 2020.
 

Hainan Free Trade Port's First "Zero Tariff" List has been Released
 

On November 11, 2020, the Ministry of Finance, together with the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration of the People’s Republic of China issued the Notice on the "Zero Tariff" Policy for Raw and Auxiliary Materials of the Hainan Free Trade Port" (No. 42 [2020] of the Ministry of Finance), which will be implemented from December 1, 2020. The General Administration of Customs subsequently issued Announcement No. 121 of 2020 on November 30, the Announcement on the issuance of the Customs Supervision of "Zero Tariff" Raw and Auxiliary Materials Imported from Hainan Free Trade Port (Trial).
 

The policy and announcement clarified that:
 

1. Before the island-wide customs closure, enterprises registered in the Hainan Free Trade Port with independent legal personality are exempted from import duties, import VAT and consumption tax when importing raw and auxiliary materials for their own use, or consumed in the process of carrying out production and processing activities or service trade in the "two outside" mode.
 

2. The "zero-tariff" raw and auxiliary materials are subject to positive list management, which is dynamically adjusted by the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with relevant departments in accordance with Hainan's actual needs and regulatory conditions.
 

3. Enterprises carrying out business on "zero-tariff" raw and auxiliary materials shall set up special electronic accounting books. Enterprises can record the product information in the electronic accounting book and report to the customs truthfully after verifying the consumption independently.
 

4. Enterprises importing "zero-tariff" raw and auxiliary materials and voluntarily pays import VAT and consumption tax shall apply to the customs at the time of customs declaration and shall declare the voluntarily paid "zero-tariff" raw materials and other "zero-tariff" raw materials separately.
 

5. The export of goods processed and manufactured with "zero-tariff" raw and auxiliary materials shall comply with the current tax policies for goods exportation.

This is legal information provided by DHH to clients and other lawyers. The information contained in this letter shall not be regarded as a legal opinion of DHH or its attorneys. If you are interested in learning more about the content of this newsletter, please contact an attorney practicing in this field.