Table 7: New potentially trade-restrictive measures (1 July 2014 – 31 December 2015)

In italic: Draft measures

Country Date of adoption/enacting (where available) Measure

Algeria 02-07/2015 Algeria has imposed new measures on car dealership and mandatory safety standards for imported vehicles through executive decree n° 15-54 of 7 February 2015, ministerial decisions of 23 March 2015, of 12 May 2015 and of 23 July 2015.

2015 The note 16/DGC/2009 of the Bank of Algeria, dated 16 February 2009, introduced a requirement to supply certification documents with each delivery of goods to Algeria. This measure was annulled through a note on 24 March 2011. However, in the course of 2015, customs administration in collaboration with the antifraud services of the ministry of Trade started applying systematic controls for imported products; this significantly delays the import procedures and acts as a deterrent against foreign imports.

2015 A number of individual measures related to border controls of imported documents and to antifraud checks have targeted, starting from the beginning of 2015, several imported products. These measures cannot be traced down to any general provision but signal a consistent trend, nonetheless.

2015 During 2015, banking procedures set out in Regulation 07-01 of 3 February 2007 of the Bank of Algeria regarding standing orders allowing importers to export foreign currency have been complemented by several internal instructions. Importers are now obliged to present a series of documents attesting their financial strength, while limitations are introduced on the amounts of money that can be exported.

15.07.2015 Law 15-15 of 15 July 2015 enables the Government to introduce quantitative restrictions in the form of import licences, in order to safeguard certain public interest objectives (e.g. the protection of financial stability). On the basis of this Law, Executive Decree 15-306 of 6 December 2015 brings in a system of non-automatic import licensing resulting in quantitative restrictions for certain products (vehicles, cement, concrete).

31.12.2015 The Loi de Finances 2015 reintroduced the consumer's credit, but its entry into force had been postponed until the adoption of implementing measures. These measures were adopted by an inter-ministerial decree of 31 December 2015. Consumer's credit will only be available for the purchase of products manufactured or assembled in Algeria, which is a flagrant violation of the prohibition of discrimination enshrined in the Association Agreement.

Argentina 21.07.2014, 19.03, 19.03, 06.07 and 20.11.2015 General Resolutions 3650/2014, 3752, 3753, 3784 and 3812/2015 establish reference prices for 5 new tariff lines.

31.10.2014 Resolution 323/2014 requires applicants to submit the results of tests conducted in laboratories included in the new "National Register of Laboratories for the testing of Auto Parts and Complete Vehicles" in order to obtain a conformity certificate.

21.04, 16.06, 30.06, 28.07 and 06.08.2015 Provisions ANMAT Nº 2873, 4491, 5042, 6053 and 6171/2015 adjust (increase) the fees for the authorisation of packaged food, medicines and other products, based on import values.

02.04.2015 In the context of the fall of international oil prices, Argentina created a temporary stimulus programme for crude oil production, to be in place over 2015 and extendable for one year, through Resolution 14/2015 of April 2, 2015. It approved an economic compensation of up to USD 3/BBL - to be paid in AR$ - for companies that raise or maintain production (compared to a base period) and the same compensation for enterprises that increase or maintain oil exports.

30.09.2015 Resolution 404/2015 (Regime of recognition of bodies and laboratories involved in the mandatory certification procedures for goods and services), requires the revalidation of all recognitions in place that expire in 180 days and of recognition agreements between certification bodies in the country and abroad (which expired automatically by end November 2015).

1.10.2015 Joint Resolution 1710/2015 and 406/2015 approved by the Secretary of Trade and the Ministry of Health on 1 October 2015 dictates that the Health Insurances in Argentina must give preference to less expensive domestically produced high-cost medicines over foreign medicines for special treatments that patients can receive a reimbursement for. The implementing rules are to be published by the competent authority.

3.11.2015 Decree 2229/2015 of 3 November 2015 reintroduced for 5 years a refund for exports from ports in the disadvantaged geographical region of Patagonia that had expired in 1999.

22.10.2015 and 04.12.2015 The regulatory framework concerning the certification of safety requirements for electrical products, updated by Resolution 508 of 22 October 2015 (and amending regulations), includes rules on compliance with Argentine normalisation rules; certification per mark for certain products; customs requirements, etc. The text of the measure also appears to require that certification be conducted by Argentinian laboratories. Resolution 680/2015 of 4 December 2015 establishes mandatory certification of safety requirements to commercialize school articles (including stationery and office supplies).

22 and 23.12.2015 General Resolution 3823/2015-AFIP of 22.12.2015 sets up a new system of "Comprehensive System of Imports Monitoring" (SIMI), which was completed by the establishment of Automatic and Non-Automatic Licenses (NALs) through Resolution 5/2015-MP of 23.12.2015. NALs are foreseen for some 1400 tariff lines.

Australia Formal review commenced 5 November 2015 [expected to be in place by 1 July 2016] In its pre-election policy platform, the Victorian state government elected on 29 November 2014 committed "to increase the weighting accorded to local content for major [state government procurement] projects". A formal review of the Victorian Industry Participation Policy (VIPP) was launched on 5 November 2015, proposing the introduction of a minimum 10% formal weighting system for local content. Review recommendations will require Cabinet approval.

Enacted 1.12. 2015 New restrictive measures to Australia's foreign investment framework focussing mainly on residential real estate and agricultural investments, but also including the introduction of fees on all foreign investment screening applications.

Belarus 4.08.2015 Regulation 658 of 4 August 2015 "On increasing the quality control of imported building materials and products" introduced strengthened quality control on imported construction materials and products. The regulation imposes inter alia a requirement to obtain a certificate for each single delivery of goods imported into Belarus (except for CIS countries, being a party of the FTA as of 18 October 2011).

6.08.2015 Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 666 of 6 August 2015 "On the Introduction of Changes and Additions to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated 17th of February, 2012 № 156" introduced changes in the administrative procedure concerning hygienic examination in imports and a mandatory sanitary-hygienic examination for every batch of certain imported products (including, among others, food, children goods, perfumes, cosmetics, personal hygienic products, household chemicals, household goods, food industry equipment, furniture, construction materials – according to Decision of the Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitarian of the Republic of Belarus, No 47 of 10 September 2015).

Brazil 10.07.2014 – 27.02. 2015 Reintroduction (by Provisional Measure 651/2014 of 10/7/2014 and Decree 8.301 of 12/9/2014, regulated by Brazilian government Decree 8.304 of 12/9/2014 and then sanctioned and replaced by Law No. 13.043 of 13 November 2014) of the (2011) "Reintegra" programme. This programme provides export subsidies in the form of tax advantages provided to domestic companies that export 50% or more of their production. According to the programme, companies that produce and export goods manufactured in Brazil are allowed to request a credit that may vary from 0.1% to 3% calculated on the revenue from the export of such goods. In addition Reintegra now covers most of Brazilian exports (with a few exceptions in the agricultural sector). Decree 8.304 was replaced on 27/02/2015 by Decree 8.415, which delayed the application of the maximum tax-refundable percentage, but also provided for an opportunity to have it increased depending on the "macroeconomic situation".

07.2014 – 11.11.2015 Through a series of measures, Brazil included in the list of 100 exceptions to the Mercosur Common External Tariffs a significant number of products, resulting in substantial increases of duty rates (increase to 20% for, among others, gypsum plasters, certain vegetable fats and oils, certain minerals oils, sodium bicarbonate, certain acids and machining centres; to 16% for instruments, apparatuses and models designed for demonstrational purposes; 12% for sodium polyacrylate; 10% for acrylic acid and to 4% for joint cement).

19.06.2015 Law 13.137/2015 of 19 June 2015 has increased PIS/COFINS contributions for imported goods from 9.25% to 11.75% on average. There is a higher increase for certain specific categories of products (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, tyres etc.).

09.06.2015 Draft law PL 6897/2006 on inspections of imported agricultural products was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and sent to the Senate. This new draft law mandates inspection and analysis for pesticide residues, toxins and pathogens for all unprocessed or semi-processed agricultural and livestock products imported into Brazil. It would be introduced summarily and across the board without any risk analysis or scientific justification.

24.06.2015 The Brazilian government launched the “National Export Plan”. This Plan includes provisions to increase financing and guarantees for exports, as well as an improvement of mechanisms and tax regimes for export support.

30.12.2015 While Law 13.241 of 30 December 2015 eliminates discriminatory ad rem system for internal taxation of wines and spirits, it maintains a 5% nominal tax rate discrimination in favour of cachaça against other spirits and suspends the benefits of the Digital Inclusion programme for 2016.

Canada 2015 The Canadian federal 2015 budget includes a number of proposed measures to stimulate Canadian exports among others within the automotive, maritime, forestry and agricultural sectors.

China 1.09.2014 Concerning the postal and express delivery industry, the State Postal Bureau issued further compulsory requirements for tighter security measures, namely ‘Specifications for Allocating Safety Production Facilities in Postal Industry’.

24.02.2014 Only Chinese-owned companies have access to China's generous subsidy to scrap old ships established by the "Administration of Central Government Subsidies for the Scrapping of Outdated Ships and Single-hulled Oil Tankers and the Rebuilding of New Ships" Cai Jian [2014] No. 24. The subsidy is linked to a ship-building subsidy with a gross tonnage at least equivalent to that of the scrapped ship. This double subsidy reinforces the competitiveness of China's shipping industry by upgrading their fleet and increasing their capacity at a low cost; it also compensates for the overcapacity that plagues China's shipbuilding sector. Initially launched in 2014 for two years, the subsidy has been extended until end 2017.

10.09.2014

15.10.2014

12.2014 and Second Half of 2015 Medical Devices: while there is not a clear and transparent “Buy China” policy, there is a general tendency for government authorities to urge hospitals to purchase medical devices from “national” manufacturers, not including products manufactured in China by Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIE). The first batch catalogue was published in December 2014. A second batch catalogue is announced for the second half of 2015. While there is no Central Chinese Government regulation that strictly restricts the market access of imported medical devices or products manufactured in China by FIEs, the industry is concerned that a general atmosphere is created, favouring the purchasing of “national” medical devices. As a result of this policy, some regional government agencies directly restrict purchasing of “non-national” medical devices.

15.12.2014 China notified to the WTO (reference G/TBT/N/CHN/1064) a new draft regulation on the labelling of Cosmetic products, by which the current practice of overstickering would be banned, among other things. Initially, the text was meant to be applicable on July 1, 2015. However, in view of comments by foreign stakeholders, CFDA decided to postpone the entry into force of the regulation on labelling until the new Cosmetics basic Regulation (CSAR) is adopted by the State Council. During the June 2015 WTO TBT Committee, China informed the Committee that the use of stickers would be allowed, as long as all the information on the original packaging is translated into Chinese.

31.12.2014 The Ministry of Commerce issued a catalogue of commodities subject to export license administration in 2015.

31.12.2014 The Chinese State Council adopted the Implementation Rules of the Government Procurement Law (order no.658) which focuses on curbing corruption and strengthening the rule of law. However, the overlying Government Procurement Law (GPL) still requires government agencies preference for local Chinese products.

01.2015 The new draft foreign investment law (draft 'FIL') was published. There is no specific time table for the final release of the new Law with national security review taken up in the draft Foreign Investment Law. The draft FIL includes further potential discrimination, tightening of national security review screening, prior approval requirement for investment above a certain threshold and excessive reporting requirements.

1.01.2015 China's 2015 Tariff Implementation Plan came into effect According to this Plan, the most-favoured nation rates of duty are set as follows: a provisional tariff rate must be imposed on some imported commodities, a specific duty or compound duty shall continue to be imposed on photographic materials, and 45 other commodities and HN RLD LED (HS 37024321) shall be subject to ad valorem taxation at the rate of 10%, tariff quota management shall continue to be implemented over commodities under 47 tariff items of 8 categories, customs inspection and management shall continue to be carried out on information and technological products under 10 tariff items. Import tariffs for natural rubber were also raised.

1.02.2015 [1.01.2016] An import consumption tax is levied on batteries (with the exception of lead-acid batteries) and coating materials at the applicable tax rate of 4%. As of 1 January 2016, Import consumption tax shall also be levied on lead-acid batteries at the applicable tax rate of 4%.

24.04.2015 The new Food Safety Law adopted is a key milestone in food safety management. It also establishes a severe system of administrative, civil and penal penalties with the objective to be dissuasive. Whilst rules may appear adequate on paper, in practice they are often not fully enforced. Special attention will have to be paid to the implementation rules, which are being drafted. Additionally, the infant formula legal requirements have been tightened.

03.2015 The State Council announced that, retroactive to January 1st, the central government has assumed full responsibility (100%) for paying export tax rebates to companies.

03.2015 Foreign Investment Catalogue: Since its first promulgation in 1995, the Foreign Investment Catalogue was reviewed 6 times. The last proposal for revision was issued in March 2015. The restricted areas largely remain similar to the previous versions with a number of new restrictions which are introduced.

1.05.2015 To "compensate" for the removal of the rare earth export tariffs, China applies a resource tax, applicable as a fixed rate applied on a price basis.

8.05.2015 The blueprint of an ambitious strategy known as "Made in China 2025" was released via a notice of the State Council. The strategy seeks to comprehensively upgrade Chinese industry with clear principles, goals, tools, and sector focus. It intends to include preferential policies, rely on domestic technology and raise domestic content of core components and materials.

9.06.2015 MOF, General Administration of Customs, and State Administration of Taxation published policies on import taxation in the Pilot Free Trade Zones in Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian. Import and consumption taxes are required for products produced, processed, and sold to the Chinese mainland in the Custom Special Monitoring Area of the Free Trade Zones.

12.06.2015 The NDRC issued a draft "Regulation on the Administration of Investment Projects Subject to Government Verification and Approval and Investment Projects Subject to Government Record-filing" which prescribes which investments have to be subject to verification and approval in the future.

07.2015 China released a draft cybersecurity law that seeks to beef up Beijing’s ability to guard against cyber-threats and protect data on Chinese users, while also tightening controls over the Internet.

1.07.2015 The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress passed a new National Security Law enabling the government to take "all necessary" steps to protect China's security and sovereignty.

1.07.2015 The State Council released "Guiding Opinions on Actively Promoting the “Internet+” Action". It aims to closely integrate the internet with the real economy by promoting the combination of Internet, Cloud, "Big Data", and "Internet of Things" with modern manufacturing. The government will provide financial support and tax preferences to key projects related to the Internet Plus plan and encourage local governments to follow suit.

9.10.2015 China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) issued the Draft Regulation on the Supervision of Insurance Institutions. While the law aims to reinforce network and information security in the insurance sector, it could potentially create serious market access barriers for foreign companies.

30.11.2015 The proposed draft of the Foreign NGO Management Law (Second Draft) (the “Foreign NGO Draft Law”) requires foreign NGOs to find an official government 'sponsor' which must approve their activities for 2016 by 30 November 2015.

1.12.2015 CFDA issued on November 6, 2015 a draft reform plan for chemical drug registration categories. CFDA's plans for drug registration defines a "new drug" as a chemical entity that is "new to the world" (as opposed to "new to China"), creating the risk that drugs approved or marketed first outside of China may receive slower regulatory consideration. The plan entered into force on 1 December 2015.

19.10.2015 The State Council released the “Opinions on the adoption of a negative list approach for regulating market access”, which mapped out plans to draft and implement a series of “negative lists” for market access. The State Council will draft negative lists of industries and sectors from which investments are prohibited or restricted. Moreover, there will be two kinds of lists: the “Negative list of general market access” and the “Negative list of market access for foreign investments”.

27.12.2015 The National People Congress Standing Committee passed the counter-terrorism law, which could have a significant negative impact on business, notably on information technology companies.

Ecuador 28.12.2014 Resolution 049/2014: prorogues the quantitative restriction for imports of cars, thus causing a reduction by 52% of imported cars.

20.12.2014 The Organic Law for Incentives to Production and prevention of Fiscal Fraud modified the base for the Special Tax Consumption which includes the ex-custom value, increasing it by 25%-30%. This results in discrimination, particularly for imported goods such as alcohol beverages, cars or ceramics.

14.07.2014 Presidential Decree 400: a mechanism used to fix the price of medicines based on a median, provoking a fall of prices of imported medicines.

15.01.2015 Presidential Decree 522: once a patented drug has expired, it should be registered and commercialized obligatorily as generics, thus the generic name should appear over the name of the producer.

11.03.2015 Balance of Payment safeguard: universal and general safeguard applied to 32% of imported products or 2.962 tariff lines in ranges between 5%-45%. The measure is currently being reviewed by the WTO.

05.2015 Resolution 051-2015F enforces a compulsory retention of 95% of premiums for insurance companies. This could curtail the re-insurance market in Ecuador.

06.2015 Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation Bill (Código Orgánico de la Economía Social del Conocimiento y la Innovación - “COESC”). Approval of the Code is planned for the 1st semester 2016.

06.2015 The government applied the devolution of a percentage between 2% and 5% of taxes to exporters of non-traditional products to avoid that these goods lose competitiveness in the international markets. The objective is to give liquidity to that sector and to avoid waiting for the payment of importers. This measure has been extended through out 2016.

Egypt 10.2014 The Egyptian Customs authorities issued price list directives for several car manufacturers. As a result, they began to refuse the transaction value indicated in the commercial invoices for cars of these manufacturers and instead apply the German retail prices as a baseline for their tariff calculation for these cars. This increases the export costs for the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

11.10.2014, 1.09.2015 and 3.10. 2015 On 11 October 2014, Egypt's Minister of Trade approved Decree No. 776 allowing rice exports under the condition that the traders sell the government one tonne of medium-grain rice at 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($279.72) for every tonne of rice they export. Exporters would also have to pay a tariff of $280 per tonnes exported. On 1 September 2015, exports of rice previously permitted and subject to licensing by the ministerial decree No. 776, were banned. On 3 October 2015, Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Qabil issued a decision allowing the export of milled rice but imposing export fees of LE 2,000 per ton of rice.

17.01.2015 Law 5/2015 was adopted regarding national preferences for Egyptian products in government contracts. It expanded the scope of application of national preferences to all supply and project agreements and extended it to public companies and companies in which the state has a ruling share. It requires a minimum of 40% local content, unless such products are not available or the price of competing imported product is at least 15% lower. the executive regulations of the new Egyptian procurement law 5/2015 were promulgated by Ministerial Decree No. 656/2015 on 13 September 2015. Following adoption of these executive regulations, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree on 18 October 2015 forming a committee in charge of preference for locally manufactured products.

12.07.2015 Egypt's president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a significant change in the law regulating the security services and money transit business in Egypt. The law in its revised format aggressively impacts the business of international security companies as it sets strict requirements for obtaining a license from the Minister of Interior in order to carry out their business; the most important one is that only Egyptian nationals and fully Egyptian-owned and managed companies may obtain the license and engage in the security services and money transit business.

09.2015 the trade ministry has formulated tax and other incentives to support local car manufacturers.

India 11.07.2014 On 11 July 2014, the export duty on both Bauxite (natural) calcined and not calcined was raised to 20%.

07.2014 Customs Notification No 11/2014 removed four groups of ICT products (e.g. LTE equipment and different switches) claimed not to be falling under the Information Technology Agreement from duty exemption, resulting in a re-introduction of a 10% basic customs duty.

21.08.2014 and 30.04.2015 Import duty on sugar increased from 15% to 25%.

4.12.2014 India passed an Order including 5 products to the Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Second Order 2012 (requiring mandatory compliance with national standards and certification by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Furthermore, in two more Orders proposed in 2015, 16 products and 3 products would be added (Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Order 2015 and Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Second Order 2015).

Draft National Offset Policy (NOP), which suggests that foreign companies selling goods worth over Rs 300 crore (ca EUR 4.3 million) to government or Public Sector Undertakings (essentially Indian term for SOEs), would have to source part of their supplies from domestic manufacturers. The foreseen minimum value of the offsets obligation would be 30% of the estimated cost of the import, meaning the company will have to procure this percentage from local players.

1.04.2015 The New Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) was unveiled, aiming to increase exports of goods and services as well as generate employment and increase value addition in the country, in keeping with the “Make in India” vision of Prime Minister Modi.

1.04.2015 In line with the License amendment dated 31.05.2011, the security certification of telecom equipment within India was extended for security related concerns for expansion of Telecom Services in various zones of the country (ILD/NLD Licence amendments dated 31.05.2011). By notification of 31 July 2015, the requirement of security certification of telecom equipment has been extended further by twelve months from 1st April 2015 to 1st April 2016.

30.04.2015 Through Customs notification 28/2015, India increased the basic customs duty on natural rubber to 25%. The specific duty remains unchanged.

05.2015 Import duty on commercial vehicles was increased from 10% to 40% through Finance Act 2015.

7.08.2015 Through Customs notification 51/2015 of 19.10.2015, India increased the Basic Customs Duty on wheat from 10% (as imposed on 7 August 2015) to 25%.

12.08.2015 Through Customs notification 45/2015, customs duty was imposed on iron and steel and articles of iron or steel ranging from 5% to 12.5%, depending on the product.

2014-2015 Continuous delays in replying to applications (made before 2014) for exports licences concerning 15 plant, plant products, animals and animal products.

Through Notification 21, India restricted import of apples through a single port located in Mumbai.

On 17 September 2015, India took the decision to raise by 5% import duties on crude edible oil (from 7.5% to 12.5%) and on refined edible oil from 15% to 20%. While this is within the binding rates, this is dictated by protectionist intents in a bid to safeguard the domestic industry.

Through the Finance Act 2015, Schedule Basic Duty on Bituminous Coal was increased to 10%. However, the effective rate is at 2.5%.

IRDAI’s (Registration and Operations of Branch offices of Foreign Reinsurers other than Lloyd’s) submitted Draft Regulation 28(9) (adopted in February 2016), which introduces new market access barriers for foreign reinsurance companies by granting the domestic state-sponsored reinsurer a right of preference – foreign companies are allowed only in case of first refusal by domestic companies.

Through Customs Notification 49/2015, an import duty of 40% was imposed on ghee, butter and butter-oil up until 31 March 2016.

Indonesia 26.08.2014 Law 20/2014 on standardisation and conformity assessment provides the legal basis to issue mandatory national standards (SNIs).

17.10.2014 with implementation period of 2-5 years Law 33/2014 on Halal Product Guarantee makes halal certification mandatory for almost all products traded within Indonesia (with progressive implementation). Although no implementing regulations have been issued so far, the Law touches a wide scope of products. Furthermore, the Law will possibly also affect industries that are not explicitly enlisted by the Law. The Law shall be implemented between 2016 and 2019.

14.01.2015 Ministry of Manpower Regulations 12/2015, 13/2015, and 14/2015 restrict the use of foreign labour in certain industries.

17.02.2015 Ministry of Agriculture Reg. 4/2015 restricts the imports of plant based products. The Regulation is expected to have a significant impact for imports of plant-based products, given the requirements of a country recognition agreement and/or registration and inspection by Indonesia of testing laboratories in the export originating countries. Effective implementing date is as of 17 February 2016.

4.03.2015 The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources issued Regulation No. 8 of 2015 to amend Ministerial Regulation No 1 of 2014 on Increasing the Value-Added to Minerals through Domestic Processing and Purification. According to the regulation, the Amendment aims to improve the efficiency of mandatory domestic minerals processing/purification, as required under Law No 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining.

31.03.2015 Bank of Indonesia Reg. 17/PBI/3//2015 obliges individuals and corporations to use Rupiah in cash and non-cash transactions inside Indonesia and requires all price quotations to be in Rupiah. Effective implementing date is as of 1 July 2015.

9.06.2015 Ministry of Finance Reg. 107/2015 includes the products excluded from the luxury tax into the list of products subject to a 10% import income tax.

25.06.2015 Ministry of Trade Reg. No.45/M-DAG/PER/6/2015 on the import of tyres. The Regulation introduced rules to be applied to the imports of all tyre categories on top of the existing SNI (mandatory Indonesian National Standard) import procedure, such as the LS/VO (Laporan Survey/Verification Order). The LS/VO requires a surveyor institution entrusted by SNI to check all the tyres prior to be uploaded into the container in the country of origin and issue the LS document. The consequences of this request will affect imports’ timing and costs. The Regulation also restricted the entry of imports into designated sea ports and contained provisions on quota import limitation by which every importer should propose its import quota to the Ministry of Industry (New Director-General Industri Kimia, Tekstil dan Aneka) twice a year. The Regulation has, however, been revoked by the Regulation No. 78/M-DAG/PER/6/2015, dated September 28, 2015.

07.2015 (entry into force expected 01.2017) Ministerial Decree for Local Content Requirements for Telecommunications Technology (4G) imposed onerous local content requirements on a wide range of technology devices and products.

3.07.2015 (effective 1.01. 2016) Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 48/M-DAG/PER/7/2015 on General Provision of Import stipulates that importers must acquire import licenses to import restricted goods before the goods enter the customs area. Failure to comply is punishable by the suspension of the Importer Identification Numbers (Angka Pengenal Importir/API). The Regulation, however, does not elaborate details on the implementation and sanctions.

9.07.2015 (effective 23.07.2015) Ministry of Finance Regulation No. 132/PMK.010/2015, on the Third Amendment to Stipulation on Classification of Imported Goods and Imposition of Import Duty Tariffs, aims to increase import duty tariffs of more than 60 product categories. The Regulation covers customs duty increases on more than 1,000 products, mostly finished and consumer products, in some cases with duty increases of 300-600%.

14.07.2015 Ministry of Finance Regulation No. 136/PMK.010/2015, amending Reg. 75/2012 on CPO (Crude Palm Oil) and CPO derivatives export taxes introduces a fixed levy of 50 USD on CPO products and a USD $30 per metric ton levy on exports of processed palm oil products if the CPO price falls below 750 per metric tonne.

14.09.2015 Head of BPOM Reg. 12/2015 on the Oversight of Food and Drug Imports into Indonesian Territory, features a “Priority SKI”, extending the validity of SKI, the Import Certificate, to 6 months. SKI is transactional and must be obtained for every import activity. It applies to food, beverages, drugs and cosmetics. To obtain SKI, a Certificate of Analysis is needed. For cosmetic products, it includes the obligation to do the heavy metal testing, amounting to IDR 5 billion for each test each time companies apply for SKI, for every SKU (stock-keeping unit). European cosmetic companies have thousands of SKUs in their product inventory of types and variants.

28.09.2015 (effective 1.01.2016) Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 70/M-DAG/PER/9/2015 on Importer Identification Numbers (API) categories, i.e. API-P or Producer API for a company that imports goods to be internally used as capital goods, raw material, additional material and/or supporting material in the production process, and API-U or General API for a company that imports certain goods for trade purposes. Each type of importer can possess only one type of API, and which can only be owned by the company’s headquarter.

28.09.2015 (effective 1.10.2015) Ministry of Trade Regulation 73/2015 on the Requirement to Affix Label, requiring companies that produce or import goods to be traded in the Indonesian market to put Bahasa Indonesia label on their products. Nevertheless, the regulation relaxes requirements to affix label in Bahasa Indonesia, e.g. removing SPKLBI (Certificate to Use Label in Bahasa Indonesia) obligation as a pre-clearance import document. It revokes the previous Reg. No. 67/2013 and its revision No. 10/2014, on the same subject.

1.10.2015 (effective 20.10.2015) Ministry of Transport Reg. PM 146/2015; second amendment to the Regulations No. 78/2015 and No. 74/2015 on Freight Forwarding Services, enacting BKPM as the sole licensing authority. It states sanction procedures for foreign and joint venture companies, as opposed to local Governor in PM 74/2015 which exempted local freight forwarders from high minimum capital requirement – subject to recommendation from local association (ALFI). Regulation PM 74/2015 (of 16.04.2015) on Freight Forwarding Services significantly raised the minimum capital requirements for foreign or joint venture companies (not applied to domestic companies) and restricted the area where foreign freight forwarders can operate to a limited number of airports and seaports.

15.10.2015 Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 87/M-DAG/PER/10/2015 (effective from 01.01.2016 until 31.12.2018) on Import Provisions of Certain Products stipulates that only companies with a API-U (General Importer Identity’s Number) license can import certain products, i.e. food and beverages, traditional medicine and health supplement, cosmetic and household health supply, garments and textile products, footwear, electronic and toys. Only traders or API-U holders are allowed to import these finished products to be traded, while producers (API-P holder) are prohibited to import finished goods to be traded. It takes months to re-arrange related Import License and Permit. Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 86/M-DAG/PER/10/2015 (adopted 15 October 2015, effective as of 20.10.2015) provides similar requirements relating to Batik Textiles and Batik Textiles Products.

23.10.2015 Ministry of Manpower Reg. 35/2015 on Employing Foreign Workers – revising Reg. 16/2015 – states that temporary Employment Plan (RPTKA) and Work Permit (IMTA) for foreign workers are required for audits, movie production, machinery installation, electrical, after-sales service, or products under business exploration stage. Domestic Capital Investment Company (PMDN) cannot employ a foreign worker as a Commissioner. The obligation for foreign workers to speak Bahasa Indonesia remains unregulated.

4.11.2015 (effective 1.01.2016) Ministry of Trade Regulation No. 97/M-DAG/PER/11/2015 on Import Provision of Forestry Products stipulates that importation of forestry products may only be conducted by holders of API-U or API-P, who have received an Import Approval from the Ministry of Trade. In order to acquire the Import Approval, each company must first acquire a Recommendation Letter from both Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forestry. However, no further clarification is provided on the readiness of online systems to acquire the Recommendation Letter, and companies are facing difficulties as the system is not ready to process applications. Coordination between the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forestry is lacking.

10.11.2015 The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued on November 3, 2015, the Reg. No. 14 /POJK.05/2015 on Self Retention and Support to Domestic Reinsurance Industry, granting preference to domestic reinsurance companies.

2014-2015 Quantitative restrictions that were temporarily imposed until March 2014 on alcohol have been maintained throughout 2015. Discriminatory taxation rates are also applied (July 2015 legislation).

2015 Draft Law on prohibition of production, sales, purchasing and distribution of alcohol has been re-submitted before the Parliament for adoption.

In the process of internal discussions in the Parliament. Expected adoption in 2016. The Parliament has been working on a Draft Law on Tobacco and has produced a matrix of proposed drafts law, which counts the restrictions of tobacco used in the production process (80% domestic and 20% imported). It plans for a much higher price and excise duty for imported tobacco and tobacco products (at least three times higher than the price and excise duty for products using domestic tobacco), and a limitation of foreign investment in the country's tobacco industry to only 45% of ownership.

Japan Listing decision taken on 26.2014. Initial public offerings on 4.11.2015 JAPAN POST REFORM/LISTING OF JAPAN POST HOLDINGS: initiation of public offerings for the holding company and its 2 subsidiaries (JP Insurance and JP Bank). Japan Post Holdings continues to enjoy favourable regulatory treatment even after its privatisation and listing. The EMS (International Express Mail Service) provided by the Japan Post will also continue to enjoy advantages over other operators on customs clearance procedures, security rules, quarantine and postal vehicle parking regulations.

21.05.2015 PARTNERSHIP FOR QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE: As a response to AIIB, JBIC will fund public-private partnership infrastructure projects in Asia.

30.06.2015 JAPAN REVITALIZATION STRATEGY III: promotes overseas development of Japanese companies and exports of infrastructure systems.

Malaysia 23.09.2014 26.01.2015 26.01.2015 1.07.2015 9.10.2015 Items subject to import licensing requirements: Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Amendment (No. 3) Order 2014, expanding the list of goods for certain tariff lines subject to licensing Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Amendment Order 2015, which includes a new item (waste, paring and scrap of plastics) subject to licensing Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Amendment (No. 2) Order 2015, which includes a new item (non-rechargeable primary batteries) subject to licensing Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Amendment (No. 4) Order 2015, changing the description of some items of electronic equipment, notably telecoms related equipment, subject to licensing Customs (Prohibition of Imports) (Amendment) (No. 7) Order 2015, which bans the import of certain goods containing mercury and requires licences to import certain liquid filled electrical heating goods

26.01.2015 26.01.2015 9.10.2015 Items subject to export licensing requirements: Customs Amendment Order 2015 (Prohibition of Exports) which changed the requirements to export certain rubber products in terms of licensing Customs No 2. Amendment Order 2015 (Prohibition of Exports) which changed the certifying Ministry for certain products Customs (Prohibition of Exports) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2015, which added various products containing mercury to the list of prohibited exports

2014- 2015 26.12.2014 Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Determination of Maximum Price) Measures: Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Determination of Maximum Price) Measures which establish maximum prices at the producer, whole and retail level for a number of products, including specifically imported products. Orders 2014 (No. 4 and No. 5) published on 18 July 2014 and 17 October. Orders 2015 (No. 3 and No. 5) published on 13 February, 21 May and 6 July 2015. The Price Control and Anti Profiteering (Mechanism To Determine Unreasonably High Profit) (Net Profit Margin) Regulations 2014 (Regulations 2014) specify periods for the determination of unreasonably high profits from 2015 - 2016. During these periods there must be no increment in the net profit margin of any goods or services.

11.07.2014 22.12.2014 13.02.2015 Control of supplies related measures: Control of Supplies Act (No. 3) Order 2014. It includes a number of items for the period from 14 July 2014 to 9 June 2015, including specifically raw imported fruits. Control of Supplies Act (No. 6) Order 2014. It includes a number of articles for the period from 23 December 2014 to 27 December 2014, including certain imported meat products. Control of Supplies Act Order 2015. It includes a number of articles under the Control of Supplies Act for the period from 14 February 2015 to 25 February 2015, including imported round cabbage.

Mexico 27.08.2014 Measures to protect the footwear industry from unfair competition stemming from China: (1) postponing the 25-30% MFN tariff cuts scheduled for January 2015 on footwear until February 2019; (2) re-establishment of a number of non-tariff barriers previously eliminated.

4.12.2014 New import measures in the textile and clothing sector to support local industry.

10.12.2014 Increased import duties on all 5 tariff lines related to rice.

3.07.2015 Temporary restriction, as of 3 July 2015, of exports of live equidae from the EU, due to a high number of certification problems encountered with exports from several Member States.

9.07.2015 Measures to protect the steel industry from under-valued (and triangulated) imports of steel from China, including mainly: (1) temporary 15% MFN tariff on 97 tariff lines; (2) addition to the list of imported products subject to prior licensing procedures of 25 tariff lines belonging to HS chapters 72 and 73.

12.2015 Mid-December 2015 it was decided that as of 1 January 2016, Mexican tax authorities will enforce sanctions vis-à-vis airline carriers failing to transmit Passenger Name Record (PNR) data to Mexico, despite a prior commitment not to do so pending the conclusion of a PNR agreement with the EU.

Nigeria 4.12.2014 and 18.08.2015 Circulars TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/010 and TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/012 from the Central Bank of Nigeria authorising only Nigerian printing companies to print cheques books to be used in Nigeria.

24.12.2014 Regulations on National Content Development for the Power Sector 2014 issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission – Requiring entities active in the power sector to give first consideration to qualified Nigerian companies for the supply of goods, works and services and in the award of contracts.

31.03.2015 Circular No 013/2015 from the Comptroller-General of Customs - launching the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), replacing all previously applied levies on imported products with the so-called Import Adjustment Tax (IAT), and including an updated import prohibition list.

1.07.2015 Circular TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/012 from the Central Bank of Nigeria - listing 41 items the import of which has become ineligible for foreign exchange from the Nigerian interbank market and the Bureau de Change market.

Pakistan 30.03.2015 SRO 254(I) 2015 introduces a 25% regulatory duty on imports of wheat and its products.

30.04.2015 SRO 393(I) 2015 introduces a 7% duty on imports of furnace oil.

2015 Pakistan is in the process of establishing an EXIM Bank. It is anticipated that it will start functioning in the second semester of 2016. It will announce specific packages for promoting exports and imports with subsidised trade financing.

Philippines 2014 proposed Two bills have been proposed (House Bills 4728 and 5058) in Congress and in the Senate, prohibiting any unprocessed minerals or mineral ores for export, foreseeing severe sanctions and imposing new licenses for transportation. Explicit language includes a 'complete ban on the export of unprocessed mineral ores to encourage the growth and develop the capability of mineral processing industry in the country' and 'requiring all extracted minerals be processed within the country before export'.

Russia 7.08.2014 Import ban on agricultural and dairy products and on meat originating from the EU (Decree No.560 of 6 August 2014 and Resolution No.778 of 7 August 2014).

06.2014- 06.2015 27.06.2014 30.07.2014 10.09.2014 1.10.2014, 21.04.2015 21.10.2014 30.11.2014 30.12.2014 20.02.2015 5.04.2015 4.06.2015 Since June 2014, Russia adopted a number of restrictive SPS measures in addition to the broad political ban on agricultural products of 7 August 2014:

1. Embargo on beef trimmings (FS-EN 7/11169 of 26 June 2014, amended by FS-EN 7/11255 of 27 June 2014).

2. Ban on fruits and vegetables imports from Poland (FS-AC-3/13867 of 30 July 2014).

3. Ban on import of third country plant products if they are re-exported from Poland (10 September 2014, not officially notified, reported by Russian services/press).

4. Ban on imports of raw hides and skins between 1 October 2014 and 1 April 2015, renewed from 25 May 2015 to 25 November 2015 (Resolution N 378 of 21 April 2015).

5. Ban on imports of a number of animal products as of 21 October 2014, (offal and animal fat, not covered by the 7 August 2014 ban). This was extended on 25 November 2014 to by-products and fat used for food purposes (Resolution No. FC-EN-8/20219 of 20 October 2014).

6. Prohibition of transit through Russia of banned animal products unless entering from a limited list of specified border posts (entry via Belarus excluded) (Resolution No. 778 of 7 August 2014; Decree 560 of 6 August 2014 amended by Decree No. 320 of 24 June 2015; Decrees of Rosselkhoznadzor No. FS-NV- 7/22888 of 21 November 2014, No. FS-AS-3/22924 of 21 Nov. 2014, No. FSAS- 7/24997 of 17 December 2014 setting checkpoints which should be used for import of goods.

7. Temporary restrictions on poultry meat and all kinds of poultry products that have not undergone heat treatment (at least 70 ° C), on feed and feed additives for poultry (except feed additives chemical and microbiological synthesis) and on used equipment for the maintenance, slaughtering and butchering of birds, originating from the whole territory of Italy.

8. Ban of Polish cheese-like products made by Ostrawia producers. In the modification of the political embargo that took place in June 2015, products under CN code 1901 90 990 0 were added to the banned list, i.e. food stuffs and finished products manufactured on the basis of the cheese production technologies and containing 1.5 % or more of milk fat and foods (milk containing products on the basis of vegetable fats). Therefore, also cheese-like products are covered by the “7 August 2014 ban”.

9. Ban on the re-export of plant products with regard to Bulgaria.

10. Ban on imports of canned fish from Latvia and Estonia.

14.07.2014-2.12.2015 14.07. 2014 11.08.2014 1.09.2014 31.01.2015 5.02.2015 29.06.2015/11. 2015 2.12.2015 Russia adopted a series of sectorial measures restricting access to public procurement for the following sectors/products: 1.Imported vehicles – Gov. Decree N 656 of 14.07.2014 'On establishing a ban on access of some type of engineering products from foreign countries to public procurement'. 2.Certain types of textile/footwear – Gov. Decree N791 of 11.08.2014 'On establishing a ban on access of light industry goods from foreign countries to public procurement' (entry into force on 1 September 2014) 3.Light industry imports – Gov. Decree N 791 of 01.09.2014 'On establishing a ban on access of light industry goods from foreign countries to public procurement' – Relates to textiles and footwear. 4.Machinery and equipment – Gov. Decree N 84 of 31. 01.2015 'Amendments to the Gov. Decree N656 of 14 07.2014 - Relates to transport vehicles (entry into force on 11 February 2015). 5.Medical devices – Gov. Decree N102 of 05.02.2015 'On limiting access of some kinds of medical devices from foreign countries to public procurement'. 6.Software - Russia has adopted law No 188 FZ on 29 June 2015 on software and the procurement activities of government bodies (entry into force on 1 January 2016), establishing criteria to distinguish local companies from foreign companies. Moreover, in November 2015, PM Medvedev has signed a decree obliging to buy only software listed in the special registry of domestic software for public procurement purposes. Purchases of foreign software are permitted only when there is no similar domestic software. The decree took effect on 1 January 2016. 7.Pharmaceuticals: on 2 December 2015, PM Medvedev signed a decree restricting public procurement purchases of imported pharmaceuticals included in the list of crucially important pharmaceuticals.

09.2014 (legal basis adopted only on 20.12.2014) The Russian government has put in place since September 2014 a subsidy scheme for the car sector presented as a scrap premium programme (extended for 2015). This measure relies on Decree 1433 of 20 December 2014 setting Rules for providing subsidies from the Federal budget to Russian producers of wheeled vehicles for the compensation of a part of the costs related to production. This is in the framework of the sub-programme "Automobile industry" of the governmental programme "Development of industry and increase of its competitiveness" (amended by Decree N° 244 of 18 March 2015). Eligibility for this subsidy scheme is conditioned on the respect of local content requirements.

14.10.2014 Russia adopted a law limiting the share of foreign ownership in Russian mass media outlets to 20% and aiming to remove control over editorial policy from commercial ownership (law N305-FZ). The law came into force as of 1 January 2016. Current media owners will have until 1 February 2017 to bring their holdings into compliance.

30.07.2014 Regulation 728 of 30 July 2014 amends Regulation N1432 of 27 December 2012 which provides subsidies to the producers and consumers of farm equipment and agricultural machinery, to which the Russian manufacturer of grain harvesters (Combine Plant Rostselmash) has preferential access. In particular, it increases the subsidies for manufacturers (from 15% of the selling price to 25% and even 30% if the agricultural producers are established in Crimea).

1.02.2015 Russia imposed an export duty of 15% on wheat plus €7.5 or at least €35 per ton.

16.04.2015 Resolution of the Russian government N° 364 of 16 April 2015 sets up a program of preferential car loans for purchasing domestically produced cars. This new state programme, limited to locally produced cars, entered into force on 1 April 2015 to last at least until the end of 2015. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will compensate the interest rate cost (9.33% or 2/3 of the Central Bank rate) of such car loans.

23.06.2015 Russia may lay down additional rules concerning the procurement by Russian State-owned enterprises in order to formalize the policy of giving preference to Russian goods. On 23 June 2015, the Government proposed to amend the legislation on State-owned enterprises (Law N223-FZ of 18 July 2011) and introduced additional supervision powers for government agencies over the purchases by State-owned companies, giving it more possibilities to direct their procurement practices. This leads to restrictions of foreign companies' access to such procurement, often in accordance with multiannual plans of import substitution implemented at company level pending further legislative action. Based on this proposal ("On the purchases of goods, works, services by certain categories of legal persons"), a law on procurement by SOEs is in preparation (draft law n° 821534-6, first reading in the Duma on 15 September 2015, no further legislative developments).

03.09.2015 (entry into force 7.03.2016) A new Government Resolution of 3 September 2015 extended to cement the list of products requiring certification to be put on the market. Cement certification rules are detailed in a new GOST standard ("gosudarstvennyy standart") adopted on 11 January 2016 and applicable as of 1 February 2016. Compared to locally produced cement, imported cement from third countries (EEU countries excluded) are subject to additional controls/tests (of each shipment imported) to verify compliance with the GOST standard.

No date of entry into force yet. Federal Consultations with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) took place in 07.2015 Russia has prepared a pilot project for allowing parallel imports (i.e. shifting from the regional exhaustion principle of trademarks to the international exhaustion principle) in the sectors including medicines, medical devices and car parts.

Saudi Arabia 08.2015 The Saudi government has announced its plan to introduce value-added taxes (VAT), in particular on luxury goods, tobacco, energy drinks and similar products, which will have an immediate impact on trade.

South Africa 22.08.2014 06.02.2015 25.09.2015 04.12.2015 Increase in the general MFN rate of duty: -on wire of iron or non-alloy steel, plated or clad with other base metals from free to 10% (22/08/2014). -on certain wire products from 5% to 15% and on certain helical springs from 5% to 30% (06/02/2015) -on certain steel products from free to 10%. (25/09/15) -on certain large bore steel pipes from 10% to 15%. (04/12/2015)

22.08.2014 Increase in the general MFN rate of duty: -on vitrifiable enamels and similar preparations from free to 5%

03.10.2014 10.10.2014 Increase in the general MFN rate of duty: -on paper and paperboard to 5% and 10%. (03/10/2014) -on certain paper products of paperboard coated, impregnated or covered with plastic or metal foil from free to 5% (10/10/2014)

03.10.2014 and 10.03.2015 Increase in the general MFN rate of duty: -on preserved mussels from 5.5 c/kg to 25% on 03/10/2014. And on 10/03/2015 increased duties on mussels to match duties implemented on 2012 on fresh and smoked mussels

10.04.2015 Increase in the general MFN rate of duty: -on lead acid batteries used for starting piston engines from 5% to 15%

12.09.2014 and 30.01.2015 Amended export Control Guidelines on the exportation of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Waste and Scrap and review of the discount rates in the PPS for ferrous and non/ferrous waste and scrap. The discount rate (below international spot prices) at which the scrap must first be offered on the domestic market is increased from 20% to 30% for steel scrap metal and 20% to 25% for aluminium scrap metal.

24.10.2014, 15.11.2015, and 07.2015 B-BBEE Amendment Act in effect from 24 October 2014 and its amended Codes of Good Practice from 1 May 2015. The changes are aimed at guaranteeing stricter compliance, placing more emphasis on direct debt-free black ownership, as well as broadening its sphere of influence. This significantly affects not only the ability to successfully tender for Government and public entity tenders, but also to secure private contracts, for example, for firms whose customers require a minimum B-BBEE status from suppliers. Also as part of the B-BBEE framework, some sectors have their own “transformation charters” or Sector Codes intended to accelerate empowerment within these areas. Sector Charter Councils were given until 15 November 2015 to amend the Sector Codes, otherwise they would revert back to the general generic codes. The Draft Amendment to the Preferential Procurement Regulation was forwarded for comments by the Treasury on several points.

28.11.2014 and 13.08.2015 Compulsory specifications for energy efficiency and the labelling of electrical and electronic apparatus under the terms of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act (NRCS) 2008, which will be rolled out in three phases. These compulsory specifications are burdensome and costly. Phases 2 and 3 were extended in August 2015 by a period of six months.

01.2015 (has not made it into Parliament; still being re-discussed at service level) The Amended Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) of 2013 includes many controversial provisions, not least of which is a provision which allows mining companies to be compelled by the government to sell minerals at an “agreed price” for local beneficiation. Parliament approved the MPRDA Bill on 12 March 2014, but on January 2015, President Zuma sent back the Amended Bill to Parliament, among other reasons, on the basis that it contravenes international trade legislation particularly on the matter of quantitative restrictions on exports.

09.11.2015 Introduction of a revised Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill in Parliament on July 2015. On 9 November 2015 the Bill, now called the "Protection of Investment Bill", was approved by the National Assembly. It has been sent to the National Council of Provinces where it will be processed before being sent to the president for his final approval. The Investment Bill has generated intense controversy, particularly with regards to the standard of protection of foreign investments in South Africa and the uncertainty it creates for long term investments. Among others controversial elements, the Bill lacks a standard "fair and equitable treatment" clause, capable of covering situations of indirect expropriation, and only foreseeing state-to-state arbitration. It also includes a wide-ranging list of provisions ensuring the widest discretion in respect of the State's right to regulate.

South Korea 24.10.2014 On October 24, 2014, The Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) opened a call for tender for the construction and lease of six LNG carriers destined to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG). This call for tender de facto excluded the participation of foreign companies. In addition, certain technical specifications included in the tender revealed Kogas's clear intention to favor and ensure the emergence of a Korean technology, which was deemed to be in contradiction with the principles set forth in the EU-Korea FTA and the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement of 1994.

30.06.2015 The Public Procurement Service (PPS) published a call for tender open to non-Korean companies on June 23, 2015 in order to carry out a procurement procedure for the purchase of a multipurpose helicopter on behalf of the National Police Agency. However, the PPS cancelled the awarded international tender only a few days later on June 30, 2015.

2015 (adopted 4.02.2016) In 2015, the government of South Korea prepared a reform of Legal services containing several conditions that may delay the creation of joint ventures and dissuade foreign law firms from establishing joint ventures in South Korea, including by requiring that foreign firms may form joint ventures only with South Korean entities in existence for three years. The reform was passed by the National Assembly as amendments to the Foreign Legal Consultant Act on 4 February 2016.

2015 The Customs Service of South Korea had proposed to eliminate on-site customs inspections through a common terminal for express carriers. While the proposed terminal, which will be fully operational by the 3Q of 2016, was initially intended to consolidate customs inspections of shipments by express operators who did not have a permanent facility at Incheon Airport, this was extended, in 2014, to cover all express operators. However, it now appears that the Customs Service does no longer intend to provide this one-stop service to express operators who have already invested in permanent facilities at Incheon Airport.

Switzerland 1.07.2015 On 1 July 2015, the Swiss government submitted a proposal on the revision of the Posted Workers Act to the Swiss Parliament. The government proposed to increase the upper limit of administrative penalties for infringement of the minimal wage and work conditions (from 5 000 to 30 000 Swiss francs). The Swiss Parliament will discuss the government's proposal during the first half of 2016.

12.2015 In the framework of the debate on the 2016 budget, the Parliament approved export subsidies for processed agricultural products in the amount of 94.6 million Swiss francs.

18.12.2015 On 18 December 2015, both Chambers of Parliament adopted the revised law on custom tariffs, moving uncooked seasoned meat (CN code 1602.5099) from chapter 16 to chapter 2 of the customs tariff. This means an increase of the quota tariff from CHF 638 to CHF 2000 per 100kg.

Taiwan 4.12.2014 The Ministry of Finance announced the tightening of the commodity tax benefit scheme for hybrid vehicles. Most of the imported hybrid vehicles, in particular those from the EU, no longer qualify for tax benefits, putting EU car makers in a disadvantaged position.

20.10.2015 Starting 20 October 2015, the Agriculture and Food Agency (AoA) prohibited organic olive oil exported from EU MS from being sold as 'organic' in the market based on a very restrictive interpretation of the "Organic Agricultural Products and Organic Agricultural Processed Products Certification Management Regulation" (in force since 26 July 2007 but AoA has stepped up its testing in 2015), making it virtually impossible to enter the market.

29.10.2015 The National Treasury Administration of the Ministry of Finance banned around 200 bottles of European wine from being imported into Taiwan due to higher than allowed methanol content. The threshold for methanol (2000mg per liter ethanol), set by Taiwan's Hygiene Standard of Alcohol Products is not in compliance with the relevant international standard set by the OIV. While the standard itself is not new (the Act on Hygiene Standard of Alcohol Products has been in force since 19 April 2000), NTA has not tested European wine for methanol previously and the inconsistency has not been identified earlier. This inconsistency with the international standards results in a trade barrier (in addition to damaging the brand image of European wines).

Thailand Late 2014 Proposal for the Foreign Business Act amendment: An attempt to impose further restrictions on foreign participation in business sectors was made. Given strong concern from foreign investors regarding the potential impact on foreign investment (one of the main concerns reported over the reporting period), the proposal was finally withdrawn (and therefore not counted in the current report).

1.01.2015 A new investment strategy covering a seven year period (2015 – 2021) entered into effect as from 1 January 2015. The strategy is developed with the objective to move away from the geographical investment zone-based approval criteria to a new concept based on prioritized industry clusters/sectors, activities and merits e.g. investment in R&D, technological development/transfer, product/packaging design, contribution to local suppliers' development, etc. The strategy also includes certain subsidies closely linked to exports.

26.03.2015 New Sports Act imposing an additional 2% excise tax to be paid to the Ministry of Finance by exporters, importers and producers on alcohol and tobacco in order to support the sports agenda. The tax builds upon existing tax system imposing a higher excise tax rate on imports of spirits and thus increasing the level of discrimination on certain spirits (imported vodka, gin versus local white spirits).

22.04.2015 Thailand (Office of Alcohol Beverages Control Committee) submitted an additional TBT notification on "Alcoholic Beverage Control", regarding rules, procedures and conditions for labelling alcoholic beverages (G/TBT/N/THA/437/Add.1). The measure mandates a more stringent set of criteria for alcoholic beverage labelling and raises concerns regarding administrative complexity in the label approval process and lack of clarity in scope. It entered into force on 22 April 2015 (with a transitional period of 6 months for compliance with the new labelling requirements until 18 October 2015). While the adopted new alcoholic beverage labelling requirement does not yet include a graphic health warning requirement, such a graphic health warning labelling proposal is still being discussed despite a number of concerns previously raised by trading partners.

N/A [expected date of adoption unknown] A policy to transform Thailand into a "digital economy" was set up with a number of legal proposals to implement the policy. Some of these legal proposals raise concern regarding the independence of the regulator and the protection of personal data, as they would grant broad authority to the government, including the power to control the regulator and acquire digital information from both public and private entities. This could raise questions on compatibility with Thailand's GATS commitments on the separation of regulatory activities and operators.

N/A [expected date of adoption Unknown]. The Draft Milk Code: While the objective of the law is to promote breast feeding, the draft law also imposes stringent restrictions on milk product's marketing that could be considered to go beyond international standards. The draft Milk Code was approved by the Cabinet on 1 December 2015 with some reservations from the Ministry of Commerce on the alignment with international standards and consumer's access to information and sent to the Council of State. The draft will be subject to the National Legislative Assembly's consideration before being passed to a law (unknown date).

N/A [Expected effective date: 03.2016] Excise tax reform: Moving excise tax base from ex-factory or CIF prices to "suggested retail prices" (higher tax base) There are concerns about the transparency of application of this measure. Moreover certain statutory rates (ceilings) are proposed to increase, giving further room to potential discrimination.

Tunisia Late 2014 Tightening of “tax privilege quotas” on the import of cars, with “in-quota” imports benefiting from reduced consumption taxes, while imports of "out of quota" cars (although theoretically legal) are de facto impossible, as cars importers would have to pay the full consumption tax making the cars prohibitively expensive. Since late 2014, the Ministry of trade, which manages the granting of such “tax privilege quotas”, has moreover put pressure on importers of cars to postpone their orders, delay payments, and overall reduce the value of cars imported.

Early 2015 Tightening of informal restrictions on imports of certain types of tyres, including a de facto prohibition to import some types of tyres which are produced by the local manufacturer, and for some other types of tyres, the obligation to purchase 30% of the importer's requirements locally in order to get approval to import the remaining 70%. In addition, imported tyres were subjected to consumption taxes, whereas locally produced ones appeared not to be. Following demarches from the EU and Japan, the Tunisian Minister of industry announced that all restrictions would be removed by the end of 2015. The finance law for 2016, adopted by Parliament in December 2015, abolished all consumption taxes on tyres, thus eliminating any potential discrimination between locally produced and imported tyres. As of early 2016, operators however still have to confirm whether, following the announcement the Tunisian Minister of industry, all remaining restrictions to the import of tyres have effectively been removed as planned.

Turkey 2.08.2014 18.02.2015 20.06.2015 Governmental Decisions (Cabinet Decrees) impose additional customs duties: * Cabinet Decree No. 2014/669 imposing additional customs duties on imports of footwear * Cabinet Decree No. 2015/7252 imposing additional customs duty on imports of carpets, rugs and similar products * Cabinet Decree No. 2015/7722 imposing additional customs duty on imports of travel goods, handbags and similar containers

6.02.2015 Governmental Decisions (Cabinet Decrees) impose additional customs duties: * Cabinet Decree No.2015/7241 imposing additional customs duty on imports of 129 different items such as screwdrivers, shovels, mattocks, axes, hand sows, and pliers

23.05.2015 7.06.2015 Governmental Decisions (Cabinet Decrees) impose additional customs duties: * Cabinet Decree No. 2015/7699 imposing additional customs duty on imports of some furniture and their parts * Cabinet Decree No. 2015/7712 and No.2015/7713 imposing additional customs duty on imports of certain lamps and home appliances

18.10.2014 5.07.2015 Governmental Decisions (Cabinet Decrees) impose additional customs duties: * Cabinet Decree No.2014/6884 imposing additional customs duty on imports of forged bars or rods of iron or non-alloy steel and duty increase on certain steel products * Cabinet Decree No. 2015/7749 imposing additional customs duty on imports of certain steel and iron products (bars and rods, wires, nails etc.)

24.10.2014 Through a circular that entered into force on 24 October 2014, exporters of enzymes or food containing enzymes were asked to provide the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock a certificate confirming that the organism from which the enzymes are obtained is not genetically modified. The practice blocked the imports until a clarification was provided by the Biosafety Board. Subsequently, the requirement for enzymes was removed as from 5 May 2015 through another circular by the Ministry. However, the requirement still remains for the products that contain live organisms such as yeasts.

08.2015 Local content requirements were imposed in the tender specifications for the 4.5G mobile tender that was concluded in August 2015

12.2015 The Communiqué on the Implementation of the Industry Cooperation Programme (ICP) in the Field of Healthcare Services was promulgated in the Official Gazette on 20 December 2015. The ICP programme specifies several obligations for the contractor such as local content requirements.

5 and 16.03.2015, 14 and 27.08.2015 and 19.11.2015 Several modifications to a 2012 decree on the investment incentives package: - extended the field of application of the incentives in the sector of chemicals and chemical substances from 21 provinces to 41 more provinces (excluding Istanbul) and including refined petroleum products as a sector to benefit from regional state supports (again excluding Istanbul). - extended interest rate support for strategic investments and sectors that could benefit from incentives and reduced certain minimum investment thresholds.- extended the scope of strategic investments (projects with a fixed investment of more than 3 billion TL will also be considered strategic investments). - included manufacturing of turbines and generators for the generation of renewable energy and wings for the generation of wind energy among the priority investment areas.

14.08.2015 The government adopted the 23rd amendment to the decree 94/6401 on state aid related to exports. Accordingly, programmes which aim at improving the foreign trade balance can also benefit from state aid along with R&D programmes, whereas a clear definition of "programmes improving foreign trade balance" was not provided.

Ukraine adopted on 10.07.2015 and entered into force in 11.2015 The President of Ukraine signed a wood export ban via the Law on "State rules on activities of economic entities related to the distribution and exports of wood" on 9th July 2015, which entered into force on 10th July. This Act provides: (i) a moratorium (a ban) on the exports of raw round wood (excluding pine wood) for 10 years as of 1st November 2015; (ii) a moratorium (a ban) on the exports of pine raw round wood for 10 years, being applied from 1st January 2017 and (iii) the obligation to obtain certificates of origin by Ukrainian exporters of round wood (except for the ones covered by the aforementioned moratorium) and sawn timber issued by the relevant forest districts in order to be exported outside of Ukraine (Art. I point. 3 - taking effect three months after publication).

1.03.2015, (removed on 31.12.2015) An import surcharge of 5-10% (5% for all goods, except 10% for agricultural products and 0% for a limited number of products such as pharmaceuticals) was adopted as a "balance of payments measure" (GATT article XVIII). It was subsequently discussed in the balance of payment committee of the WTO, where no consensus was reached. It was temporary and came to an end on 31 December 2015.

2015 The legislation of Ukraine, in accordance with the obligations of Ukraine under the protocol of accession in WTO, establishes an export duty rate for ferrous scrap in the amount of 10 Euro/ton. In addition, a law on ferrous scrap envisages mandatory registration of contracts for export of ferrous scrap. A draft law (bill 2031a) proposes to increase the export duty for ferrous scrap to 30 Euro/ton for 3 years, which would be incompatible both with Ukraine WTO's commitment and the DCFTA which has come into force on 1st January. It was put on the agenda for the first time on 16 June 2015 and several times since then, but has not been discussed so far.

United States of America 2.09.2014 Protectionist application of existing regulations: on 2 December 2013, an EU airline, Norwegian Air International (NAI), applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for a Foreign Air Carrier Permit and an Exemption Authority that would allow it to commence air services between points in the EU and points in the US. NAI’s application for the permanent Foreign Air Carrier Permit remains pending at DOT, despite DOT's obligation to grant applications with “minimal procedural delay” stated in the EU-US air transport (so-called “open skies”) agreement. On 2 September 2014 the DOT issued an Order dismissing on procedural grounds the application by NAI for Exemption Authority (i.e. temporary permission).

Measure introduced in 01.2015 [unkown future date of adoption] Texas - In January 2015, a draft bill ( HB 1007 ) was introduced, which would establish exceptionally strict domestic content requirements (60% of components by cost must be American and final assembly must occur in America) for any state procurement contract related to construction projects.

Measure introduced in 02.2015 [unkown future date of adoption] Maine - In February 2015, the draft Buy American legislation ( LD 407 ) was introduced. The bill would require state agencies to purchase goods that are U.S. manufactured for all state contracts. The definition of “made in America” has yet to be established and would be created upon its passage.

Measure introduced on 6.03.2015 [unkown future date of adoption] The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (80 FR 12092, pp. 12092-12094) to modify its regulations governing hiring preference provisions in DOT funded contracts.

Measure introduced in 05.2015 [unkown future date of adoption] In May, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2016, which includes a provision increasing the simplified acquisition threshold from its current level of $150,000 to $500,000.

4.12.2015 On December 4, 2015 President Obama signed into a law a five-year, US $305 billion spending act named "Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act" (FAST Act). The new law gradually increases domestic content rules for procurement of rolling stock for the Federal Transit Administration from the current 60% to 70% by 2020.

Vietnam 1.08.2014 New draft Decree on Information Technology Services that would limit foreign suppliers of IT services by the following requirements: (i) IT service providers serving State bodies must be Vietnamese organisations; (ii) IT service providers serving State bodies must store the data in servers located in Vietnam; and (iii) certificates and licenses are imposed on the delivery of cross-border IT services.