India extended the period of enforcement of its existing Hand Book of Procedures for another six months, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a Sept. 29 notice. The procedures handbook was set to expire Sept. 30 but has now been extended to remain in force until March 31, 2023. The DGFT also amended the procedures to extend the time to file returns for the year 2022-23 related to the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31.

Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department opened the application period for its Air Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme for 2023. The scheme allows certain parties, including airlines, ground handling agents and freight forwarders, to benefit from exemptions from certain conditions and licensing requirements for air shipments of “strategic commodities,” the agency said Sept. 29. Applications are due on or before Nov. 3.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade in a Sept. 27 notice extended the period for permissible exports of consignments of broken rice until Oct. 15. The broken rice trades under Harmonized System code 1006.40.00, and the "free" period of exporting was to have ended Sept. 30 (see 2209090017).

China's vice commerce minister said declining overseas demand for Chinese goods is the biggest threat to its international trade sector, Bloomberg reported. Speaking Sept. 27 at a press conference, Wang Shouwen said that despite this threat, he expects foreign trade to grow in the second half of the year. "The slowdown in external demand is the biggest uncertainty faced by China’s trade,” the minister said. “Our companies are reporting falling orders, as the demand from major markets is declining.”

China's General Administration of Customs in a Sept. 26 notice laid out steps it would take to strengthen its customs supervision and boost trade facilitation for "transit goods," according to an unofficial translation. Transit goods refer to goods shipped from overseas that continue to be shipped to a different country via land routes in China.

Oil exports from Iran have dipped in recent months given greater competition from Russia in the Asian market, Bloomberg reported. Dropping from a peak of 1 million barrels of crude oil exports a day to an average of 750,000 barrels, Iran's exports are dealing with direct competition from Russia in countries such as China. The competition has forced Tehran to constantly review and adjust its prices, Bloomberg said.

India's state-run bank, UCO Bank, plans to pen a special rupee account with Russian bank Gazprombank to boost trade between the two countries, a top UCO Bank official said, Bloomberg reported. UCO Bank's managing director and CEO, Soma Sankara Prasad, said that the bank has gotten the needed approval from the Reserve Bank of India, the country's top bank regulator, to open the special account. UCO Bank has previously served as the payment bank for oil imports from Iran. Prasad further explained that the bank will impose operational modalities before opening the account with Gazprombank, clarifying that there is no clear time when the transactions will begin.

Trade volumes on trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic trade routes are slumping given the cooling effect of inflation and the post-pandemic shift from goods to services on consumer spending, shipping giant Maersk said in its Sept. 23 North American advisory. The result has led to Maersk canceling voyages lest spot rates continue to fall. The trade volumes are softening in September, though they still sit higher than pre-pandemic levels, with director of the Port of Los Angeles saying that it will see its second-busiest year in history.

China banned the import of cloven-hoofed animals and products therefrom coming from a certain area in Botswana to prevent the further spread of foot-and-mouth disease found in the African nation, China's General Administration of Customs announced Sept. 21, according to an unofficial translation. The disease was reported in a village in northeast Botswana.

China on Sept. 23 announced steps in response to an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Uganda, China's General Administration of Customs said, according to an unofficial translation. To protect the health of "entry and exit officials," China said people from Uganda who have symptoms of the disease should declare that to Customs when entering China; Customs health and quarantine personnel will then follow the prescribed procedures. Owners of containers and goods shall impose sanitation treatment pursuant to China's prescribed procedures, the Customs Administration said. These steps will be in place for six months.