Japan ...
Japan
U.S. Industry Representatives Meet With Officials
A delegation of U.S. beef industry leaders met with government and industry leaders in Tokyo this week in the hope that additional information and assurances can speed the opening of Japan’s market to U.S. beef and beef products.
The trip, one year after a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detected in an imported animal in Washington State temporarily ended U.S. beef exports to Japan, was intended to show U.S. industry commitment to the Japanese market, which was the largest U.S. beef export market before trade halted. The delegation provided its personal assurances that the U.S. industry is taking extensive steps to ensure that U.S. cattle and beef are among the safest in the world.
Initial press reports indicate that Japanese officials reiterated to the delegation that the domestic process of rule changes that would allow for U.S. beef imports was still underway and would have to be completed before a date for resumption of trade could be determined.
Russia
Pre-Clearance Will Help Avoid Delays For U.S. Pork
To avoid falling under the 2005 quota and avoid any delays or product rejection this is likely to produce, U.S. pork exporters can obtain pre-clearance for shipments leaving before the end of the year but arriving in January. Russia has yet to allocate the 2005 quota to importers.
Pork exporters to Russia have experienced a number of shipping problems that may cause containers to reach Russia after December 31, 2004. Although several transport lines put extra feeder vessels for transshipment of containers from European ports to St. Petersburg, the feeder vessels are booked until the middle of January. The transport companies said they faced the delays with delivery of meat containers from European ports (U.S. containers are usually transshipped through Dutch or German ports) because the number of containers to Russia has significantly increased. This is due, in part, to increases in Russian custom duties on several products that will take place January 1, and exporters and importers were trying to deliver product prior to the rate hike.
USMEF worked with the Foreign Agricultural Service in Moscow and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to ensure that goods utilizing a new customs procedure can pre-clear product. Essentially, if a shipper has all the necessary documents, such as the bill of lading, then the shipment can be pre-cleared and the cargo has 15 days to actually cross the customs border. Thus, as long as the shipment was pre-cleared prior to December 31, 2004 it could enter Russia within the next 15 days and still be considered part of the 2004 quota. One stipulation is that 100 percent payment of customs fees at the time of pre-clearance is required.
Exporters need to work closely with their importers as the importer has to have the original documents for the pre-clearance. The applicable Russian regulation is as follows:
Russian Customs Code Article 130. The Preliminary Declaration of Goods
- A customs declaration may be filed on foreign goods before they arrive in
the customs territory of the Russian Federation or before the completion of
internal customs transit. - If the transport (carriage) or commercial documents that accompany goods
are to be used for customs purposes the customs body shall accept copies
thereof when the preliminary declaration of the goods is effected, the
copies having been attested to by the declarant, and if necessary compare
the data the copies comprise with the data available in the original
documents after the arrival of the goods in the customs territory of the
Russian Federation. - After the completion of verification of the customs declaration and the
payment of payable customs duty, tax amounts such a declaration may be used
until the arrival of the goods in the customs territory of the Russian
Federation as a single document required for the purposes of applying
customs procedures to the goods. - If the goods fail to be presented to the customs body that accepted the
customs declaration in compliance with Item 1 of the present article within
15 days after the acceptance thereof the customs declaration shall be deemed
not filed.
Japan
U.S. Industry Representatives Meet With Officials
A delegation of U.S. beef industry leaders met with government and industry leaders in Tokyo this week in the hope that additional information and assurances can speed the opening of Japan’s market to U.S. beef and beef products.
The trip, one year after a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detected in an imported animal in Washington State temporarily ended U.S. beef exports to Japan, was intended to show U.S. industry commitment to the Japanese market, which was the largest U.S. beef export market before trade halted. The delegation provided its personal assurances that the U.S. industry is taking extensive steps to ensure that U.S. cattle and beef are among the safest in the world.
Initial press reports indicate that Japanese officials reiterated to the delegation that the domestic process of rule changes that would allow for U.S. beef imports was still underway and would have to be completed before a date for resumption of trade could be determined.
Russia
Pre-Clearance Will Help Avoid Delays For U.S. Pork
To avoid falling under the 2005 quota and avoid any delays or product rejection this is likely to produce, U.S. pork exporters can obtain pre-clearance for shipments leaving before the end of the year but arriving in January. Russia has yet to allocate the 2005 quota to importers.
Pork exporters to Russia have experienced a number of shipping problems that may cause containers to reach Russia after December 31, 2004. Although several transport lines put extra feeder vessels for transshipment of containers from European ports to St. Petersburg, the feeder vessels are booked until the middle of January. The transport companies said they faced the delays with delivery of meat containers from European ports (U.S. containers are usually transshipped through Dutch or German ports) because the number of containers to Russia has significantly increased. This is due, in part, to increases in Russian custom duties on several products that will take place January 1, and exporters and importers were trying to deliver product prior to the rate hike.
USMEF worked with the Foreign Agricultural Service in Moscow and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to ensure that goods utilizing a new customs procedure can pre-clear product. Essentially, if a shipper has all the necessary documents, such as the bill of lading, then the shipment can be pre-cleared and the cargo has 15 days to actually cross the customs border. Thus, as long as the shipment was pre-cleared prior to December 31, 2004 it could enter Russia within the next 15 days and still be considered part of the 2004 quota. One stipulation is that 100 percent payment of customs fees at the time of pre-clearance is required.
Exporters need to work closely with their importers as the importer has to have the original documents for the pre-clearance. The applicable Russian regulation is as follows:
Russian Customs Code Article 130. The Preliminary Declaration of Goods
- A customs declaration may be filed on foreign goods before they arrive in
the customs territory of the Russian Federation or before the completion of
internal customs transit. - If the transport (carriage) or commercial documents that accompany goods
are to be used for customs purposes the customs body shall accept copies
thereof when the preliminary declaration of the goods is effected, the
copies having been attested to by the declarant, and if necessary compare
the data the copies comprise with the data available in the original
documents after the arrival of the goods in the customs territory of the
Russian Federation. - After the completion of verification of the customs declaration and the
payment of payable customs duty, tax amounts such a declaration may be used
until the arrival of the goods in the customs territory of the Russian
Federation as a single document required for the purposes of applying
customs procedures to the goods. - If the goods fail to be presented to the customs body that accepted the
customs declaration in compliance with Item 1 of the present article within
15 days after the acceptance thereof the customs declaration shall be deemed
not filed.