APEC countries join efforts to mitigate effects of Covid-19

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APEC member countries held a virtual meeting in which they agreed to unify efforts to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 and re-boost the economy.

In a joint statement, member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation agreed to work together to mitigate the effects of Covid-19.

The information was released by the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Rocío Barrios, during the First Virtual Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade.

In the virtual meeting, the APEC foreign ministers evaluated some initiatives that will be implemented to achieve economic recovery through out the pandemic.

Cooperation and solidarity against Covid-19

During his speech, Rocío Barrio argued that the health and economic crisis that the world is facing requires greater efforts from each of the countries.

She also said that cooperation and solidarity are the best tools to combat the effects of Covid-19.

Another important topic discussed at the meeting was the need to strengthen supply and supply chains.

“I call on the APEC economies to continue to notify the World Trade Organization of the measures related to COVID-19, in order to avoid unnecessary interruptions to global trade,” Barrios said.

Finally, countries also evaluated the use of new technological tools as the beginning of a new era in the global economy.

APEC and member countries

The APEC was founded in November 1989 with the goal of promoting trade and investment liberalization, facilitating business, and promoting economic cooperation among member’s economies.

Currently the member countries are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taipei, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

Customs Procedures in Singapore

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Every time a company purchases an imported product it must fulfill with the regulations established by the Customs Regime of that country, in this sense we will talk about the customs procedures in Singapore in this article.

Firstly, it is important to know that Singapore does not belong to any customs union. Rather, it’s a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and applies the Harmonized Customs System.

According to the World Trade Organization, it is defined as the nomenclature based on a classification of goods according to a 6-digit code system accepted by all participating countries. They may establish their own sub-classifications with more than 6 digits for tariff or other purposes.

It consists on a six-digit combination that identifies the products based on their characteristics.

More than 200 countries and 98% of global trade use this product nomenclature system known as the Harmonized System which is regulated by the World Customs Organization.

Therefore, one of the points that any PYME or company should take into account when trying to trade their products in the international market is that it’s not enough to know the current name of the goods that they sell, but also it will be necessary to indicate the “code” That identifies it.

This “code” will appear frequently in the export and import documentation, and will be essential in determining the applicable tariffs for each product.

The legal regulations that rule the entire area of customs procedures in Singapore are:

  • Customs law
  • Goods and Services Tax Law

Both laws are responsible for regulating all merchandise that enters the country through import.

However, the import process in Singapore is quite open, most products can enter the country without further restriction, exceptions include products with chewing gum and weapons.

Regarding the tariffs and taxes corresponding to the import activity, the country is free of taxes except for products such as automobiles, gasoline, tobacco and alcohol.

However, every good that enters the country through importation is submit to the laws, and requires a customs permit to consider the activity and order the payment of corresponding taxes.

In Singapore, there is a licensing system that is required for 6% of total imports, related to fresh fruit and vegetables, plants, meat, animals, medicines, diffusion products (automatic licenses), and also a series of products that may represent a risk to health or to the State (without automatic licenses).

These licenses are issued by the Singapore International Company, another body that can also take part is the Ministry of Health.