The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service released a translation of China’s food safety standard for the maximum residue limits of pesticides in foods, which sets 302 MRLs for 43 pesticides, USDA said in a May 22 report. The limits were issued by China's National Health Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, and took effect in December.

India customs will introduce paperless processing of exports in its Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) at the port of Visakhapatnam “along with other facilities across the country,” according to a report in the New Indian Express. The decision follows the successful implementation of electronic filing of supporting documents for exports under a pilot project in New Delhi and Chennai, the report said. The “shipping bill” and supporting documents such as the invoice, purchase order, license, certificate of analysis are to be submitted online by the exporter or customs broker, and the India customs officer will be able to view the documents for processing, the report said. "It is now mandatory to upload digitally signed supporting documents on ESANCHIT at the time of filing of shipping bills," Visakhapatnam customs said in a May 27 circular. "The exports/Customs Brokers should not be allowed to submit the supporting documents in hard copies, henceforth."

India customs is more closely scrutinizing transfer pricing methodologies of several multinationals that could lead to challenges to the valuation of their related party imports and exports, according to a report in the Economic Times. Under an initiative first launched in 2016, India’s customs and income tax authorities are now finally beginning to share trade and tax data, respectively, the report said. Previously, the two agencies didn’t share data, so companies could get away with “information arbitrage” in some cases, it said. No “notices” have been issued yet to multinationals, but they could come in the coming months in some cases, the report said.

Thailand’s recently passed Weapons of Mass Destruction Related Items Act will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, according to a June 4 notice from Baker McKenzie, regulating all goods related to the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Products include “armaments,” dual-use items and “tangible and intangible items that could have commercial interest, technology or even software,” the notice said. The act would control exports, re-exports, transshipments, transits, brokering and other actions related to the weapons.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations to impose tougher restrictions on non-commercial aircraft and passenger vessels authorized to fly or sail to Cuba on temporary sojourn. The final rule amends license exception Aircraft, Vessels and Spacecraft to remove the eligibility for exports to Cuba of such aircraft and vessels. It also sets a general policy of denial for such exports except for in cases of a foreign policy or national security interest. “Consequently, private and corporate aircraft, cruise ships, sailboats, fishing boats, and other similar aircraft and vessels generally will be prohibited from going to Cuba,” BIS said. License exception AVS will still be available for commercial aircraft and cargo vessels exported to Cuba on temporary sojourn. The final rule takes effect June 5.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 28-31 in case they were missed.

The Commerce Department plans to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for export controls of foundational technologies in the coming weeks, Commerce officials said. The notice will be published “quite soon” and in “weeks, not months,” said Rich Ashooh, Commerce's assistant secretary for export administration, speaking at a June 4 Bureau of Industry and Security Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Hillary Hess, director of Commerce’s regulatory policy division, was more reserved in her prediction, saying she is unsure exactly when the notice will be released but assuring the committee it is the next export-related notice that BIS plans to publish. “It is in the process now,” Hess said at the meeting. “We’re trying to prepare it.”

Saudi Arabia announced new excise taxes on e-cigarettes and sweetened drinks, according to a May 28 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Under an amendment to the Excise Tax Agreement of the States of the Gulf Cooperation Council, e-cigarettes and tools will be taxed at 100 percent and sweetened beverages will be taxed at 50 percent, the report said. The changes took effect May 18.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered government agencies to stop additional inspections of imported goods after he said businesses have complained of too many inspections, according to a June 1 report from Capital FM Kenya. Kenyatta told officials at the Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Ports Authority to reduce inspections on pre-inspected imports unless the goods are “legitimately suspected to be entering the country illegally,” the report said. “I ask them to honor prior inspection done by their appointed agents,” Kenyatta said, according to the report. “Imported goods therefore, should not be subjected to additional inspection at the port of entry except for cases legitimately suspected not to conform to the set standards.”

In the June 3 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: