New Customs Enforcement Process Regarding IPR
January 31, 2010
The General Administration of China Customs passed several new regulations that aim to strike a balance between IPR holders and those who import and export goods. Under old regulations, China Customs officials were allowed to “dispose” of confiscated counterfeit goods by removing unlawfully affixed trademarks, and auctioning off the goods. These goods commonly reappeared in the market and thus caused monetary harm to the rights owner. The new regulations now require customs officials to seek the opinion of the relevant IPR owners before it may dispose of any confiscated counterfeit goods.
This regulation is a direct attempt to bring China up to the WTO agreement standard, which specifically states that sized goods should be disposed of “outside the channels of commerce in such manner as to avoid any harm caused to the right holder, or destroyed” and “the simple removal of the trade mark unlawfully affixed shall not be sufficient.” While this move is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, it is important to note that the regulation requires Chinese Customs officials to seek the “opinion” rather than the “consent” of the relevant IPR owners. It thus does not give IPR owners the right to demand the destruction of counterfeit goods rather than the auctioning off of such products.
Another salient feature of these new regulations is that IPR owners will now be able to seek settlements with the infringing party without undergoing a formal customs investigation. It is hoped that this will allow IPR owners to gain valuable information regarding the supply and distribution chains of such counterfeit items while also substantially reducing the resources required of the China Customs Department to investigate each and every claim.
The new regulations also contained several smaller modifications such as changes to the notification protocol, the processing of renewal applications, and the cancellation of recordal. All of these modifications are designed to streamline and expedite the customs enforcement process.
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Taxes cut in effort to lift exports
June 23, 2009
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China imports record volume of iron ore in March
April 17, 2009
April 14 (Xinhua) — China’s steel industry overestimated the country’s demand for iron ore and as a result imported a record high amount of the material in March.
A surge of domestic steel output and price increases in the beginning of 2009 raised market expectations. Many domestic steel mills and traders increased orders for iron ore in February and March as they anticipated demand would continue growing, said Liang Shuhe, deputy-director with the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), at an industry conference in the port city of Tianjin Monday.
China’s iron ore imports topped 52.08 million tonnes in March, setting a monthly record high. It beat the last record which was just set in February. That’s when the country imported 46.74 million tonnes of iron ore.
In the first quarter, China imported a total of 130 million tonnes of iron ore. In 2008, iron ore imports totaled 440 million tonnes.
“The imports in March mostly came from orders made in February. Iron ore was priced at 80 U.S. dollars a tonne then, but dwindled to 60 U.S. dollars a tonne now. It means huge unrealized losses for steel mills and traders who betted on price hikes,” said Du Wei, an analyst on iron ore with Umetal.com.
Those unrealized losses for the 52.08 million tonnes of iron ore imported in March could be about 1 billion U.S. dollars, Du said.
Liang said iron ore prices were hinged to steel prices.
“Domestic steel prices have dropped and will further dwindle. Thus it’s inevitable for iron ore prices to go down,” Liang said.
Iron ore stockpiled at ports stood at 70 million tonnes in March, nearing a historic high, according to anonymous sources within the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters.
Due to declining iron ore prices, an increasing number of domestic iron ore mines are closing down, said Zhang Ye, deputy-general-manager of China National Minerals Co., Ltd.. No specific figures were available.
“About 90 percent of China’s iron ore mines are suffering from losses,” Du said. “Steel is a kind of product that could be recycled and thus its scarcity could not be exacerbated in the long term.”
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China’s Trade Numbers at January
February 18, 2009
Last week’s trade numbers from China could not have been more dismal. After declining by 2.8 per cent year on year in December, China’s exports plummeted 17.5 per cent in January, placing huge pressure on the country’s manufacturing sector. Already unemployment in China is surging.
Chinese import numbers are even more dismaying. After dropping 21.3 per cent in December, imports fell a staggering 43.1 per cent in January.
At first glance there seems to be a silver lining in the export numbers: they are not as bad as those reported by some other Asian countries. In December, for example, Taiwan’s exports fell by 42 per cent, South Korea’s by 17 per cent and Japan’s by 35 per cent, capping many months of contraction. Less developed Asian countries also performed worse than China, which suggests China may have increased its competitive edge over its trading rivals. But it is precisely this relative outperformance that indicates the severity of the adjustment yet to take place. China’s trade surplus for January was a mind-blowing $39.1bn (€31.1bn, £27.4bn), just under November’s all-time high of $40.1bn and edging out December’s $39bn for second place. In comparison, in the first half of 2008 China’s average monthly trade surplus was an already high $16.7bn. In the second half it surged to $32.9bn.
Pls read the rest of article at Financial Times
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Chinese steel import volume continue to drop in 2008
February 9, 2009
Statistics by Customs of China show that total Chinese steel import tonnage reached 154.2 million tonnes in 2008 down by 8.6%YoY. Import value was USD 23.43 billion, an increase of 14%YoY.
China’s steel imports in 2008 is characterized by following five aspects
1) December steel import volume was below one million ton, the lowest since January 2002. The average monthly steel import tonnage was between 1.3 and 1.6 million ton during 2007 and the H1 2008. Import volume is on the decrease since steel makers are adding new steel capacity and economy crisis has led to evident drop in steel consumption.
2) Imports through common trade were down slightly and those through processing trade take more than 50% of total volume. The tonnage through common trade in 2008 totaled 6.47 million tonnes down by 3.5%YoY and taking 42% of total imports, which compares 54.4% for those through processing trade.
3) Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are mainly suppliers in 2008. Import volume from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan was 7.03 million ton, 3.55 million tonnes and 2.48 million tonnes accounting for 45.6%, 23% and 16.1% respectively of total imports.
4) Flat steel import volume saw evident decrease, while those for steel pipe and tube and hollow profiles surged. Steel flats import volume dropped by 10% to 12.73 million ton, steel pipes and tubes and hollow profiles jumped by 37.1% to 1.06 million ton. While those for bar rods and bars were 0.96 million tonnes down by 9.6%.
5) Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shanghai took more than 60% of imports.
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