New Customs Rules Reshape Supply Chains

New Customs Rules Reshape Supply Chains

China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), jointly with five ministries, unveiled Announcement No. 83 (2025) on May 9, imposing stringent management measures for processing trade involving goods subject to four categories of trade measures:

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• Tariff-rate quotas (e.g., wheat, cotton, sugar)

• Trade remedies (anti-dumping/countervailing duties)

• Suspended tariff concessions

• Retaliatory tariffs

Effective June 10, the policy mandates dedicated ledger management for bonded imports of these goods in special customs zones (e.g., bonded ports, export processing zones). Products under retaliatory tariffs may enter ordinary ledgers only if all punitive duties are exempted—a rare exception

Key operational impacts:

• Domestic sales face higher costs: Finished goods made from bonded imported materials (e.g., sugar, cotton) will be taxed based on all input materials rather than final products, nullifying selective tariff benefits

• Bonded transfers restricted: Goods cannot flow freely between dedicated and ordinary ledgers, complicating cross-zone logistics

• No domestic resale for by-products: Waste/scrap from processing must be re-exported or destroyed