Memo gets tough on import-export outfits

China released its first memo imposing dozens of punitive measures against discredited trading companies to further facilitate and safeguard trading activities, especially with economies linked to the Belt and Road Initiative, senior customs officials said.

The Memorandum of Cooperation on Jointly Introducing Punitive Measures Against Discredited Import and Export Enterprises was released on Tuesday.

It is designed to tackle such illegal activities as smuggling, tariff payments in arrears and shell companies, to better regulate foreign trade, especially trade transactions involving the initiative. It is thought to include some of the toughest such measures ever released.