POLICIES & REGULATIONS

Late last month, the European Parliament (“Parliament”) confirmed Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission (“Commission”) along with her team of 26 Commissioners. The first woman ever to lead the Commission secured a strong majority in favour of her team, the first without a UK member. With 461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions, the new President of the Commission addressed the Parliament citing climate policy as a pressing issue faced by the new executive team. More

The Trump administration’s on-going refusal to confirm World Trade Organisation Appellate Body judges will result in a lack of a quorum for that body on 10 December. In response, various parties are trying to mediate the crisis. More

The various agencies that make up the U.S. federal government recently issued their respective semi-annual regulatory agendas, which include a number of actions of potential interest to Hong Kong and mainland Chinese exporters. Some of the most significant actions by the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that are expected over the next year are summarised below. More

On 13 November 2019, the Swedish Chemicals Agency (SCA) published the results of an investigation into hazardous substances contained in common leather products. The investigation covered a total of 70 products over five categories: gloves, watchstraps, bracelets, clogs and mobile phone covers. Eight products (11%) were found to contain prohibited substances. More