Customs and International Trade Law's legal and international news

In China, as in the EU and the US, merger control has potentially been a key step for cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.

As a concentration of economic operators can lead to a concentration of market power, economic operators must obtain merger approval from the Chinese Market Regulation Administration (the “SAMR”) for their proposed “merger” if the notification thresholds are met.

Yimin Liu of our Shanghai office explains the updates to the amended merger control regime, the practical implications and provides recommendations.

On 28 December 2021, the National Market Regulation Administration, the National Tax Office, and three other authorities jointly issued the new Delisting Guidelines, which replace and supersede the previous version dated 2019.

These guidelines outline the basic procedure for exiting the market.

Details by Yaqin Niu from our Beijing office.

In the Web 3.0 era, the applications of NFTs are not limited to digital collections.

China’s regulations on NFTs and other digital economies are different from others.

Ziping Song from our Shanghai office introduces what NFTs are and presents the possible legal issues that can be encountered in the Chinese market.

In order to encourage companies to voluntarily rectify their customs non-compliance, China’s General Administration of Customs has just issued new rules regarding administrative penalties normally applied to customs violations.

These rules will be in effect from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023.

Yijun Liu from our Shanghai office outlines in this brief what types of penalties are eligible for the new mechanism and gives advice to companies that want to benefit from it.

Shenzhen, one of China’s largest cities, earlier this year adopted Customs Notice [2022] No. 63, providing as a pilot program, a framework for local tax and customs authorities to collaboratively manage transfer prices used as import transaction values.

This framework is intended to eliminate any inconsistencies between the views of the two authorities and to provide greater certainty to multinational enterprises in the pricing of goods.

Yijun Liu of our Shanghai office deciphers the ins and outs of the customs notice in this brief.

The European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences is a unilateral preference granted by the EU allowing the import of goods originating in certain developing countries, including India and Indonesia, at reduced or zero rates.
 
Under certain conditions, the tariff preferences granted under the general GSP regime can be suspended. At the end of June, the European Commission adopted a new implementing regulation (EU) to this effect.
 
Our Customs and International Trade team provides an update on the situation and lists the products that will soon no longer be eligible for tariff preferences.

The UK government announced in late June 2022 a series of measures to simplify the application of the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking on products of any origin imported and placed on the UK market.

Our Customs and International Trade teams are at your disposal to provide any additional information.

Thomson Reuters recently published its International Trade and Commercial Transactions Global Guide for 2021. 

Our Partner, Jean-Marie Salva authored the Q&A chapters on Sale and Storage of Goods in France and International Trade In Goods and Services in France. 

This Q&A covers key matters relating to the regulation of international trade in France, including recent trends, trade agreements, trade negotiations, rules relating to the supply of services, imports and exports requirements, trade remedies, and international trade sanctions.

Thomson Reuters recently published its International Trade and Commercial Transactions Global Guide for 2021. 

Our Partner, Jean-Marie Salva authored the Q&A chapters on Sale and Storage of Goods in France and International Trade In Goods and Services in France. 

This Q&A covers key matters relating to sale of goods contracts, including legislative framework, rules on formation, price and payment, delivery, passing of title and risk, enforcement and remedies, exclusion of liability, choice of law and jurisdiction, and arbitration. It also provides an overview of the rules governing storage of goods.

Today, Thursday, September 9, 2021, the review process of the EU regulation on the control of exports of dual-use goods and technologies is now fully completed.

While it does not fundamentally change the export control regime already applied in Europe (unlike the reform implemented in China since 2020 that significantly changed the framework in this country), this Regulation contains important new features that are summarized below.

• A redefinition of the key terms of export control.
  
• More integrated and harmonized controls
  
• Uniform application of the “catch-all” clause

Our Customs and International Trade team of DS Avocats is at your disposal to provide you with any further information you may require.

The Government is limiting entry approvals for work pass holders entering Singapore from Tuesday 11 May onwards

Any travel of work pass holders outside Singapore is strongly discouraged for the time being. 

Lisbeth Lanvers-Shah and Peggy Wong provide an update on the new measures.

[Customs and international trade] –  All companies that process, load and offload, transport, store or sell all types of goods imported into China must apply the provisions of Notice 17, the Protocol on Covid-19 Prevention and Control Mechanisms applicable to manufacturers and trade operators of goods imported into China.

For cold-chain products, companies must refer to the even stricter rules provided for in Notice 245 (2020) and Notice 147 (2020).

The brief prepared by Sylvie Savoie and He Shunshan lists the measures to be implemented by manufacturers and trade operators of goods imported into China in order to prevent and control Covid-19 :

• controlling imported goods,
• screening people, and
• disinfecting facilities and the environment. 

[Cosmetics] –  A new Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation simplifies the rules that apply to registering and controlling cosmetic products sold in China.

This newsletter presents the main changes affecting cosmetics manufactured outside of China and imported into China for marketing purposes.

The rules that apply to domestic cosmetics are slightly different to those that apply to imported cosmetics.

A cosmetic product is considered to be imported if the last manufacturing stage involving contact with the product itself is carried out outside of China. Inversely, if this final stage is carried out within China, the product is considered to be a domestic product.

Since 11 October 2017, foreign companies meeting certain criteria are allowed to transfer their registration to Singapore under section 358 of the Companies Act (Cap 50) (“Act”). 

The inward re-domiciliation regime essentially allows foreign entities to relocate their regional and worldwide headquarters to Singapore. A foreign corporate entity that re-domiciles to Singapore will become a Singapore company limited by shares registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) and be required to comply with the Act like any other Singapore incorporated company. 

While the transition period, following the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU last February, will end on 31 December 2020, the two sides reached an agreement on 24 December 2020 which includes a trade and cooperation agreement aiming at regulating trade between the EU and the United Kingdom.

From a customs standpoint, it is imperative to bear in mind that this agreement will not exempt operators from export and import customs formalities, which are restored for each flow of goods, since the United Kingdom will be fully treated as a non-EU country as of 1 January 2021.

In terms of customs facilitations and favorable rules, it should be noted that this agreement is ambitious and offers to operators various practical novelties.

A breakdown by our Customs and International Trade team.

[Expert control] –  The new regime will enter into force on December 1st, 2020 

China engaged over the last few years a deep review of the regime it had initially set in 1990s.

China will now implement a rather autonomous export control, intended to safeguard national security and interests and perform non-proliferation obligations.

Control principles and mechanisms remain however aligned to those already seen in other regimes, i.e. US and EU. 

Our Customs and International Trade team walk you through the items and technologies concerned, obligations and the scope of the Export Control Law.

The United Kingdom (hereinafter “the UK”) left the European Union (hereinafter “the EU”) on 31 January 2020. The withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK provided for a transitional period which expires on 31 December 2020 and which can no longer be extended. On 1st January 2021, the UK will leave the internal market and the Customs Union, thus putting an end to the free movement of persons, goods and services. The EU and the UK will become third countries and thus re-establish customs formalities.