Customs Update: RCEP Round Ends Without Breakthrough, Japanese IP Proposal Leaked

• May 20 - May 22: 24th ASEAN Directors-General of Customs Meeting: The Council looks forward to leading a strong U.S. business delegation to meet with the ASEAN Customs Directors-General from May 20-22 in Brunei Darussalam.  The schedule will consist of two days of bilateral meetings and a formal consultation with the Customs Directors-General.  Additional details and a full invitation will be circulated at a later date.  Please contact Shay Wester at swester@usasean.org for questions or comments.

• The seventh round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) took place in Bangkok from February 9-13 with what the South Korean Trade Ministry called “active negotiations,” though there is no indication that any substantive breakthroughs occurred. The negotiations reportedly covered levels of market opening for goods and both the methods and level of opening for services and investment. The discussions likely included a proposal on modalities of merchandise trade submitted by China, India, and South Korea. The proposal would cover 40 percent of goods, whish is far short of proposals from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand to liberalize the trade of almost all products. India is also pushing for the services chapter to be completed at the same time as the goods chapter and has proposed a positive list with support from some ASEAN members. As the round began, the Japanese proposal for the intellectual property chapter was leaked to the media. The draft is more ambitious than the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and broadly in line with developed country proposals for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. South Korea is rumored to be advancing a similar proposal. The draft, however, drew immediate criticism from public health groups as well as advocates opposing RCEP. The draft’s proposed limits on generic pharmaceuticals is also likely to make it a non-starter in New Delhi. Japan’s leaked IP chapter proposal, dated October 2014, can be accessed at this link. The deadline for RCEP’s completion remains the end of 2015. The parties are scheduled to hold three more rounds of negotiations, along with two rounds of ministerial talks and then a summit to complete the agreement on time.
   
• ​The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance is preparing to implement regulations to significantly restrict informal cross-border trade (ICBT).  Currently, Vietnamese nationals living close to the border may trade up to US$2,800 per month in goods without paying tax. The rule was intended to promote socioeconomic development along Vietnam’s borders, but authorities believe it is being unfairly exploited by businesses, who employ local residents as a way to evade excise duties.  Under the proposed regulation (The Prime Minister’s Decision on the management of cross-border trade activities), the monthly exemption would be reduced to US$375 per household.  The regulation only applies to small scale informal trade and major export products like rice and rubber are unlikely to be affected, though unreliable data complicates the picture. Some expect that consumer goods will be the hardest hit, along with the timber trade and some food products. The new rule will govern ICBT along all of Vietnam’s border, effecting Cambodia, Laos, and China. However, the rule may be especially aimed at the Chinese border, where trade imbalances have begun to concern the Vietnamese government. At the same time that Vietnam is tightening rules on informal trade, it is also taking steps to improve the formal trade system, which a survey of Japanese investors recently reported was among the most complicated in the Asia-Pacific. On February 6, Vietnam and Laos jointly launched a pilot one-stop-shop border gate in the East-West Economic Corridor in a step toward the implementation of the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross Border Transport Agreement (GMS-CBTA). On February 9, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced a plan to build a warehouse system on the Chinese border that will meet 80 percent of warehousing demand by 2025. The Ministry hopes the warehouses will facilitate greater trade through the 29 border gates. Also on February 9, Vietnam became the second ASEAN member after Thailand to formally join the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme. The Programme plans to train Hai Phong Port customs officers to better detect and handle contraband. The Hai Phong Port training will serve as a model for an expanded training program across all major ports of entry.  
   

• Amidst the Indonesian government’s efforts to improve infrastructure, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan Djalil on February 10 announced the formation of a high level task force to address sea port inefficiency. Minister Sofyan is aiming to lower Indonesia’s logistical costs to 19 percent of GDP from the current 23.6 percent. One proposal the task force will investigate is the adoption of a one-stop system for port clearance similar to the one-stop licensing system being built by the Investment Coordinating Board. The task force, made up of relevant ministries and led by Minister Sofyan, will be tasked with identifying and settling bureaucratic problems in the port system within the next two months. Vice President Jusuf Kalla will have direct supervision over the effort, but the president will also be checking in regularly. The Indonesian National Shipowners Association welcomed the plan as an opportunity to reduce costs, however the Indonesian Logistics Association warned that similar task forces in the past failed when their recommendations were never fully implemented. To be successful, the administration will not only have to write new rules, but will also have to assure cooperation between relevant offices and full working-level implementation.

Trans-pacific trade pact cost-benefit study to conclude by June, says Mustapa – Bernama The Malaysian Insider 16th Feb 2015
The government is expected to conclude its final Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) by the end of June this year, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said today. He said a few outstanding issues need to be resolved and talks on the proposed regulatory and investment treaty are still ongoing to ensure it is in Malaysia's favour. "We are going to execute the final CBA study in the near term, collaborating with an international firm, on whether the TPPA is beneficial for the country or otherwise," he told reporters after the ministry's session with Heads of Foreign Missions in Kuala Lumpur today.

Latest round of RCEP negotiations end with no clear breakthrough Yonhap News 14th Feb 2015
The latest round of talks for a broad regional free trade pact involving more than a dozen Asian and Pacific countries, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, ended after active negotiations, the Seoul government said Saturday, but apparently with no clear sign of a major breakthrough. The RCEP negotiations currently involve 16 countries, including South Korea, Japan, China and 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The rest are Australia, India and New Zealand. The latest round of RCEP talks was held in Bangkok, Thailand from Monday through Friday. If signed, the RCEP will create an economic bloc whose member countries account for about 45 percent of the global population and over 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

Intellectual Property Provisions in the Leaked Japanese RCEP Proposal that Threaten the Availability of Generic Medicines infojustice.org 13th Feb 2015
This week, the 16 Asian and Pacific countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are meeting in Thailand. This trade agreement will include Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. According to the RCEP’s Guiding Principles stated at the beginning of the negotiations in 2012, the agreement will include an intellectual property chapter to promote “cooperation in the utilization, protection and enforcement” of IPR. Japan’s proposed intellectual property text, which was leaked and has been posted online by KEI, includes numerous TRIPS Plus provisions. (South Korea is reported to be advocating for TRIPS-Plus provisions too.) Many of the provisions would be especially harmful to the Indian generic industry, which supplies the majority of medicines used by people in developing countries. Here are some of the provisions from the leaked Japanese proposal:

House lawmakers headed to Asia-Pacific to talk trade The Hill 13th Feb 2015
A group of House lawmakers on Friday left Washington to visit three countries involved in Asia-Pacific trade deal negotiations. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and seven colleagues departed Washington for a weeklong trip to Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, all countries participating in 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks. The congressional delegation will meet with senior government officials as well as U.S. and local business leaders in an effort to advance the U.S. trade agenda and strengthen ties. "Other countries are trying to reshape the state of play in Asia, and so we have to stay engaged," Ryan said before leaving. "Our trading partners need to know that the United States is serious about advancing its trade priorities and strengthening our ties in the region," he said.

Lawmakers Push for Slavery to Be Element of Cuba, Malaysia Talks Bloomberg 11th Feb 2015
U.S. lawmakers called on the Obama administration to give more weight to the fight against human trafficking in talks to normalize ties with Cuba and in trade negotiations with Malaysia. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday was the second called by Chairman Robert Corker, a Tennessee Republican, to focus on the global problem of forced labor and sex slavery and on how the U.S. can fight it. Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, suggested that U.S. trade negotiators raise the issue with Malaysia before the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact is signed. The State Department identified Malaysia in its 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report as a destination, source and transit country for men subjected to forced labor, and women and children forced into sex work.

Renewed commitment of Heads of Customs Administrations of the Asia/Pacific Region to WCO Strategies and Integrity Culture World Customs Organization 9th Feb 2015
At the invitation of Dato’ Sri Khazali Ahmad, Director General of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and Vice-Chair of the WCO Asia/Pacific Region, and of Mr. Roman Quaedvlieg, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS), in Australia’s capacity as host of the Conference, Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya participated in the 16th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Heads of Customs Administrations (RHCA) Conference held in Melbourne, Australia on 6 February 2015. The Conference was chaired by Dato’ Khazali Ahmad, who welcomed delegates to Australia for this key event to formulate decisions on issues with a regional focus and on WCO strategic issues. This was a transitional meeting of the Region’s Directors General as it moves from a biennial to an annual event.

Trade must not trump women’s human rights The Hill 6th Feb 2015
Any deal that forces women and human rights to take a backseat to profit and trade should be a non-starter. But right now, the United States is negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement with 11 nations including Brunei, a country that recently adopted a vicious new penal code threatening the rights and lives of women, lesbians, and gay men. Just recently in his State of the Union, President Barack Obama reiterated one of our core American values: respect for human dignity. It is our commitment to this principle, said the President, which has led the U.S. to “condemn the persecution of women” as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. So, why are we conducting business as usual with Brunei?

ASEAN will emerge as new economic power Business Standard 12th Feb 2015
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Thursday said further integration in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will result in the emergence of a new economic power in the region. "Although our economies have been trade and commercial hubs for centuries, we are today creating an economic union unlike anything since the days of empire," he said while addressing an ASEAN CEO's summit. Najib said ASEAN's priority must be to ensure that integration leads to equitable wealth creation and distribution as well as deepening financial integration and inclusion. "We must ensure that all sectors of our economies are fully engaged in the ASEAN community," he said.

ASEAN ARISE Workshop on Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programmes World Customs Organization 9th Feb 2015
The WCO contributed as facilitator to an AEO Workshop for the ASEAN Customs Authorities, organized by ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the EU (ARISE) and hosted by the Royal Malaysian Customs Administration from 27 to 29 January 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Workshop was attended by 22 middle ranking participants from 9 ASEAN Members states and 7 observers including the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Companies already view ASEAN as single market Nikkei Asian Review 5th Feb 2015
Many global corporations treat the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as one big market in their business strategies, according to a recent report by a U.S. law firm. A survey commissioned by Baker & McKenzie found that 76% of 171 multinationals have an ASEAN-oriented strategy and 62% are standardizing the products and services they sell in the region.

ASEAN integration a boon for TPP nations The Japan Times 6th Feb 2015
The proposed ASEAN Economic Community could offer new market opportunities for nations such as Japan that are currently in talks to form the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a Malaysian minister has said. Abdul Wahid Omar, who serves in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning, said in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, that members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have so far implemented 80 percent of the initiatives needed to enable such integration, and that they aim to bring the AEC into existence by the end of this year. The AEC represents one step toward creating a broader ASEAN Community, and aims to transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor and freer flow of capital.

New Brunei airport facilities to open on Monday Asia One 8th Feb 2015
The new arrival baggage claim hall and customs clearance area at Brunei International Airport will be operational starting next week, the Brunei Economic Development Board and Department of Civil Aviation announced yesterday. Starting Monday, passengers arriving from overseas and other airport users will be able to claim their baggage and clear customs in the refurbished area. A statement from BEDB said the new arrival baggage system is capable of handling up to 1,330 bags per hour, an improvement of about 50 per cent over the existing system.

Overhaul for quality control The Phnom Penh Post 10th Feb 2015
Thailand has agreed to assist Cambodia in installing a National Accreditation System (NAS) to ensure all Cambodia-made products meet ASEAN and international quality standards as the Kingdom prepares for regional integration at the end of the year. Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts (MIH) and Thailand’s Ministry of Industry signed an agreement in Phnom Penh yesterday to commence designing the new system. Under the agreement, Thailand’s National Standardization Council will work with the MIH’s Department of Accreditation to assess the capabilities of Cambodia’s independent accreditation bodies.

New paradigm in trade essential for integration in global chain The Jakarta Post 13th Feb 2015
Indonesia needs to embrace a new paradigm that is more open to trade to allow economic transformation and deeper integration with the global supply chain, a former European trade official says. While praising the vision of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo that sees Indonesia as a maritime fulcrum as being the right choice, former European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson advised that the country should aim beyond transshipment, serving as an entrepot economy, and instead become a fully integrated part of the Asian marketplace and its production networks. That would require changes in the characteristics of trade from finished goods to extended supply chains, which cause imports of further processing along with exports of unfinished and finished goods as well.

Half of Harley Motorcycles in Indonesia Are Said to Be Illegal The Jakarta Globe 17th Feb 2015
About 5,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Indonesia are illegal, according to an estimate by the official importer of the United States motorcycle maker, signifying a lack of supervision in the country’s excise and police office that in turn costs the country billions of rupiah in tax revenue. Djonnie Rahmat, the president director of Mabua Motor Indonesia, an authorized distributor of Harleys in the country, said on Friday that he estimates that there is an illegal Harley motorcycle for every legally purchased one. Those illicit motorcycles account for half of the 10,000 Harleys in Indonesia today, he added.

HKTDC Opens Office In Jakarta, Indonesia Nasdaq 11th Feb 2015
Trade relations between Hong Kong and Indonesia have entered a new era with the official opening yesterday (10 Feb) of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's office in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Since 2010, the HKTDC has operated a consultant office in Jakarta. The upgraded facility will be responsible for Hong Kong trade promotion with Indonesia and neighbouring Southeast Asian economies.

Govt' to Form Port Efficiency Task Force Tempo 10th Feb 2015
The government plans to form a task force to improve efficiency in the sea port sector due to high logistic cost that has been hampering economic growth. "Our logistic cost is every expensive, around 20 percent from the GDP," said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan Djalil on Tuesday, February 10, 2015. He said the most significant component of logistic costs is transportation cost. Inadequate infrastructure, long dwelling time and customs process have also caused problems. The task force will be temporarily coordinated by Minister Sofyan under direct supervision from Vice President.

VP calls for reducing dependency on imported smartphones Antara News 6th Feb 2015
Vice-President Jusuf Kalla has called for reducing dependency on imported smartphones and stressed on boosting the domestic smartphone industry with incentives. "We certainly wish to reduce imported products, but we need to improve the quality (of domestic products) and also offer competitive prices," he told newsmen after visiting smartphone manufacturer PT SAT Nusapersada Tbk here on Friday. He was accompanied by Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara and Riau Islands Governor Muhammad Sani. According to Kalla, any electronic device can be made at home, so what is needed is large-scale promotional efforts and cooperation with local telephone operators to introduce local products.

One-stop-shop customs piloted at Lao Bao-Densavan Border Gate The Voice of Vietnam 6th Feb 2015
Foreign Ministries of Vietnam and Laos on February 6 officially launched the ‘One-stop-shop’ customs model at the Lao Bao-Densavan International Border Gate which lies on the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC). The model aims to accelerate connectivity, simplify procedures and facilitate businesses and people’s travel and transport in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). At the launch ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated that the inauguration of the customs model demonstrates Vietnam and Laos’ efforts to create an open and transparent investment environment, facilitate border trade and investment and positively prepare for the establishment of the ASEAN community late this year.

Putrajaya mulls high-tech scanners for smaller airports The Malaysian Insider 11th Feb 2015
Putrajaya is looking into the possibility of equipping smaller airports in Sarawak and Sabah with high-tech scanners to beef up enforcement against drug smuggling, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said in Miri today. He said Putrajaya needed to act quickly on this as drug smugglers were smuggling drugs through smaller airports with no scanning facilities. "It will be top priority and I will propose to the top officials of the Finance Ministry to study the matter," he told reporters after visiting the proposed site for Bumiputera traders in Miri.

Tech to detect accuracy of info on liquor Daily Express 10th Feb 2015
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) Monday launched a hightech gadget known as the 'Sicpa Mobile 45' or 'SM 45' specifically to detect the validity of information displayed on hard drink bottles. JKDM deputy director-general (enforcement and compliance) Datuk Matrang Suhaili said the use of the SM 45 could help his staff to check the distribution of hard drinks from the importing stage right up to the retailing stage. "The SM 45 will scan the new tax protection stamps on the hard drink bottles which display information such as the volume, date of importation and the name of importers to assist the staff in carrying out inspection," he said. He disclosed this in his speech at the launching of 'SM 45' at the Tesco shopping centre, Puchong, near here. He said that with the use of the technology, it would be very difficult for those selling hard drinks to escape or manipulate information to avoid legal action.

Malaysia extends zero duty on crude palm oil exports The Jakarta Post 17th Feb 2015
Malaysia is extending the zero duty on crude palm oil (CPO) exports for March based on the newly released CPO gazetted price at 2,232.88 ringgit (US$623.22) per tonne yesterday, which is still below the 2,250 ringgit per tonne price threshold that will trigger the export duty. The exemption on CPO export duty has taken many by surprise especially after the government announced last week on the possibility of resuming the export duty regime that had been suspended since September last year.

Govt Mulls Adding 'Z' To Bar Code To Aid GST Implementation The Malaysian Reserve 6th Feb 2015
The government is considering a proposal to include an additional letter 'Z' (signifying 'zero-rated') to the bar code on items from the pharmaceutical industry in order to facilitate the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong said as the industry has over 3,000 zero-rated GST items, the Z in the bar code would identify whether an item is standard- or zero-rated. Speaking at a press conference, he said the proposal was presented by the industry when he attended a roundtable discussion on Malaysia’s GST with the Ministry of Finance and the Royal Malaysian Customs here today. Chua expressed hope that companies with annual turnover of RM500,000 or more that have not registered for the GST to do so before Feb 28 or face a minimum fine of RM15,000.

Direct shipping starts from China to Myanmar Industrial Port Customs Today 16th Feb 2015
Managing Director of China Shipping, Ma Wut Hmone, said direct shipping links with China started last week with the arrival of the Chinese container ship Asiatic Wave at the terminal of Myanmar Industrial Port. The first direct shipping from China vessel pulls into a Yangon port. The vessel had initially set sail for the Yangon port from Shanghai on January 26. The direct service would be operated by four container ships, she said. “Generally, the journey time of each shipment used to take between 18 and 25 days. But now it takes only 13 days,” she said. U Ko Ko Htoo, chair of Myanma Industrial Port, said other Asian and European countries were expressing interest in initiating direct container shipment services to Myanmar now that the country’s doors are open to foreign commerce. Traditionally, most container shipments from China to Myanmar transited via Singapore or other ports.

BOC, PEZA system linkup expected in a month or so Port Calls Asia 17th Feb 2015
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will soon link up systems with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in a move to automate customs transactions for economic zone shipments. In a press conference on February 16, Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said PEZA transactions with the customs agency — currently done manually — are likely to be linked to BOC’s electronic­to­mobile (e2m) system by March or April. Sevilla said the integration could not immediately be implemented because BOC personnel in PEZA zones have no computers. He added that for some reason, PEZA—which is one of three areas for tax­free imports besides customs bonded warehouses (CBWs) and freeports—has retained manual transactions. PEZA carries out about 800 transactions daily. The linkup will happen as soon as computers procured by BOC are deployed to its personnel in major customs ports by end­February and in all other ports by end­March.

Making trade easier Inquirer 10th Feb 2015
Customs Commissioner John Phillip (“Sunny”) Sevilla is a man with a mission. He wants to make it much easier for importers and their brokers to comply with the various import requirements provided by law—ideally without the need to face a customs officer. We all know what that would imply. Eliminate face-to-face contact, and you minimize, if not eliminate, opportunities for bribery, graft and corruption. There are estimates that such corruption at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has deprived government of sums far greater than the money lost in the now nearly-forgotten PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scandal.

Cebu port struggles with congestion as volumes grow Port Calls Asia 17th Feb 2015
Oriental Port and Allied Services Corp. (OPASCOR) Legal & Corporate Development Department manager and chief legal officer Atty. Annabel Pulvera­Page said CIP has been experiencing berth and yard congestion since 2014 to until early this year. At the end of 2014, yard utilization was 92%, a clear indication of congestion, said Page during a presentation at the 8th Philippine Ports and Shipping Conference on February 13. OPASCOR is a workers’­owned and ­operated company that provides cargo­handling services at CIP; Cebu Port Authority (CPA) owns and regulates the port. The congestion is “the worst we’ve [seen]” since OPASCOR began working with CIP in 1990, Page said. She attributed the high yard and berth utilization to increase in volume and high container dwell time; limited yard space and limited backup yard for foreign operations; allocation of CIP yard for domestic use; truck bans and bunching of trucks; and road and port repairs.

No respite for Manila port congestion IHS Maritime 360 12th Feb 2015
Congestion and delays at the Port of Manila have significantly eased since the pre-Christmas import rush, but traffic congestion is expected to recur once demand increases later in the year. In the second half of 2014, the traditional surge in cargo imports to the Philippines, which often outweighs exports by two to three containers, was compounded by a daytime city trucking ban in Metro Manila which was only rescinded in September. This caused a huge build-up of cargo at terminals, lengthy vessel delays and long trucking queues on the crowded city roads used to access the port. Delays also prompted a number of lines to implement congestion surcharges and/or add port calls at Subic Bay and Batangas to offer shippers alternatives to Manila.

PH lagging in AEC preparations Manila Times 12th Feb 2015
The readiness of the Philippines to take a productive part in the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is a cause for concern, because like many of its fellow Asean member states, this country is behind schedule in the work that needs to be completed if the AEC is to meet the December 31 deadline in any meaningful way. Of course, any assessment of how far the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) actually has progressed towards achieving the several hundred priority measures that will create the common market must be offered with a couple caveats. The Asean’s own AEC Scorecard has not been comprehensively updated since early 2012, and the assessments of government agencies tend to be over-optimistic, according to Thai journalist and Asean observer Kavi Chongkittavorn. Chongkittavorn, who is an assistant group editor for Thailand’s Nation Media Group, in an opinion piece for The Korea Herald last month, cast doubt on the commonly-cited figure of “82 percent completion” of the Asean’s 2015 goals, which include not only the economic objectives represented by the AEC, but also important objectives in the political/security and social/cultural areas. Chongkittavorn acknowledges the importance of prioritizing the economic goals; “Without [the Asean members’] economic progress, other forms of cooperation would be difficult to come by,” he noted. “With no credible monitoring mechanism of the [Asean Community’s] blueprints, Asean leaders have taken comfort from their own evaluations,” Chongkittavorn added.

US groups cite weak local IPR protection Business World 9th Feb 2015
A coalition of American copyright-based industries has raised concern anew over the Philippines’ intellectual property rights (IPR) regime as the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) conducts a review of an annual watch list. While noting that the Philippines has made substantial progress in fighting piracy, six US-based business chambers -- the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC), the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Trademark Working Group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) -- said the country’s IPR regime continues to be hounded by slow case resolution, lax punitive measures, and market access restrictions. BIO said these issues merit the country’s return to the Special 301 watch list, while BSA said the Philippines should be tagged as a “country of concern.”

More hopes pinned on large taxpayers Business World 9th Feb 2015
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has adjusted the allocations of its collecting units to meet this year’s P1.704-trillion target as more companies and individuals were included under the agency’s Large Taxpayers Service (LTS). “In view of the enlisting of additional taxpayers in the Large Taxpayers Service for CY 2015 (Calendar Year), this Order is being issued to amend... the Allocation of CY 2015 BIR Collection Goal, by Implementing Office,” Revenue Memorandum Order 4-2015 stated.

Thailand
IMF Recommends Higher VAT In Thailand Tax-News 6th Feb 2015
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Thailand to gradually increase the rate of its value-added tax (VAT) to 10 percent from seven percent. The adjustment should only be made when Thailand's economic recovery is well entrenched, and programs should be introduced to mitigate the impact on vulnerable groups, the IMF said in its 2015 Article IV consultation report for the country. The Thai Government had planned to raise the VAT rate by one percent at the end of this year, but the plan was abandoned when lawmakers sided with business leaders who said the economy is too fragile.

PM sets govt priorities for investment promotion The Nation 7th Feb 2015
The government will give priority to investment projects that could boost the economy and enhance the country's trade and industrial competitiveness, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday. Speaking on a TV programme, Prayut said that in the past eight months, the Board of Investment had approved 1,050 projects worth about Bt680 billion.In December alone, about 2,000 projects with investment value of Bt1.4 trillion were submitted to the BOI, he said. Prayut also reiterated that the government had announced the establishment of special economic zones in 10 districts of five border provinces, covering a total of 1.83 million rai (nearly 283,000 hectares). The five provinces are Tak, Mukdahan, Sa Kaew, Trat and Songkhla.

PM: Strong investment and farmers are keys to success Bangkok Post 6th Feb 2015
Increased investment, especially in research and development, and a secure life for farmers are the keys to sustainable development of the country, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday. In his weekly broadcast address to the country, Gen Prayut said his government had recently approved more incentives to encourage companies to increase research and development (R&D) spending. With new tax breaks the government was aiming to increase the ratio of private-sector research and development to 70% of the total from 30% now, he said.

Ministry seeks national trade panel The Nation 5th Feb 2015
The Commerce Ministry will soon ask for Cabinet approval to set up a "National Trade Promotion Committee" in an effort to put export growth higher on the national agenda. The ministry said it had realised that without such a committee, it could not deal adequately with the many problems related to global trade and get export growth back up to the desired level. "Thailand needs to have a National Trade Promotion Committee that will integrate work among every government agency and the private sector, so that trade-related problems can be solved and export plans carried out efficiently," Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said yesterday.

Vietnam’s tax and customs regulations termed most complicated in Asia-Pacific Customs Today 14th Feb 2015
Vietnam’s tax and customs regulations are among the most complicated in Asia-Pacific while government support for investors is hard to access, a new survey of Japanese companies said. The country has been ranked at number six out of 15 countries in the region in terms of the complexity of tax and customs procedures, according to the survey released by Japan’s trade promotion agency JETRO on Thursday. Atsusuke Kawada, representative of JETRO in Hanoi, said 52.7 percent of 458 surveyed companies complained about the regulations. Regarding the entire legal system, 60.3 percent of the firms said it is not complete and is not operated in a transparent way.

Vietnam to develop warehouse system along border with China China Times 11th Feb 2015
Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently approved a plan for developing a warehouse system at Vietnam-China border crossings. The ministry said on its website on Monday that the plan aims to meet 80% of warehouse and logistics demand at the border gates by 2025 and 100% by 2035. Once successfully implemented, the plan will help increase growth in export and import activities at the border gates, the ministry said. Statistics released by the Vietnam customs authorities in January showed that in the first 11 months of 2014, Vietnam earned some US$13.5 billion from exports to China, accounting for 10.1% of the total Vietnam's export revenue during the period. In the 11-month period, Vietnam imported around US$39.55 billion worth of products from China, accounting for 29% of Vietnam's import revenue. There are 29 border gates between Vietnam and China.

Viet Nam joins the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme World Customs Organization 9th Feb 2015
Viet Nam became the second ASEAN country to formally join the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme on 9 February 2015, in a Signing Ceremony held at the headquarters of the General Department of Viet Nam Customs, in Hanoi. Addressing the delegation, Mr. Nguyen Duong Thai, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Viet Nam Customs, said, "the Global Container Control Programme will provide training to improve the capacity of Customs officers at Hai Phong Port to detect and deal with seized goods in order to improve security and reduce the risk of drugs, weapons and explosives trafficking". He went on adding that he hoped this would serve, "as a model and a solid basis to expand this Programme not only in Hai Phong Port but also to other major sea, land and airports in Viet Nam."

Steel firms naysay new import code Viet Nam News 10th Feb 2015
Ambiguous instructions have led to a disagreement between steel importers and the General Department of Customs about the application of the import code for steel billets. Last week, 11 steel importers had criticised the Government's decision to change the harmonised system (HS) code for steel billets, which resulted in taxes increasing from 5 to 9 per cent, VnEconomy.vn reported. On November 15, 2014, local customs departments had asked steel importers to adopt the HS code 7207.11.00 for non-alley steel billets, with the percentage of carbon being less than 0.25, instead of the HS code 7207.19.00. This meant that an import tax rate of 9 per cent would be levied, instead of 5 per cent, which was applicable earlier. Kim Seong Gyun, general director of VSC-Posco Steel Corporation, was quoted by the website as saying that the adoption of the new HS code with a higher tax rate was "unreasonable", and that the description of the shape of steel billet for the application of the import code was unclear.

Vietnam vows to restrict cross-border trade VietNamNet 6th Feb 2015
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has proposed a new cross-border import/export policy that would step-by-step restrict trade across the border. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has completed the draft of the Prime Minister’s Decision on the management of cross-border trade activities. Under the draft, the value of tax-free goods that each household can trade across the border must not be higher than VND8 million. At present, the level is VND60 million per individual per month. The current tax-exemption policy on goods traded across the border gates aims to help residents in border areas exchange goods they produce and buy essential goods for daily use and production.