Background On 18 February 2017, China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs jointly issued Announcement [2017] No. 12 (“Announcement No. 12”),  imposing a blanket suspension on imports of coal produced in North Korea for the rest of the year. The suspension includes imports for which applications have been made, but not yet processed by Customs. Announcement No. 12 takes effect from 19 February 2017, and will be effective till 31 December 2017. Announcement…