HKTDC RESEARCH

China has announced plans to phase in a series food safety targets between now and 2035. Initially, in 2020, this will see 97% of all agricultural products required to meet the specified safety and quality levels, while 98% of all food spot checks will be expected to yield a positive result.More

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the “ECJ”) has ruled that EU Member States are competent to establish the place where the consumer is required to make goods that were acquired under a distance contract, available to the seller, in order for these goods to be, e.g., repaired.More

On 19 June, the Mexican Senate voted 114-to-4 to approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, thereby concluding the USMCA’s legislative consideration process in Mexico. Following the vote, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged Canada and the United States to ratify the deal, but while those two countries kicked off their respective domestic ratification processes last month the outlook for quick ratification appears a bit more clouded in the United States.More

Requests for exclusions from the additional tariff imposed as of 24 September 2018 on some US$200 billion worth of imports from mainland China may be submitted between 30 June and 30 September. Any exclusions granted will be retroactive to 24 September 2018 and will remain in effect for one year from the date of publication of the exclusion determination in the Federal Register.More