Chinese Measures and Trade Concerns Discussed at the October 2020 TBT Committee Meeting

Simon Lester -

At the meeting of the WTO’s Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade held on October 28-29, 2020, a number of WTO Members raised “specific trade concerns” about particular Chinese measures, and China voiced its concerns with measures of other Members. The official minutes of that meeting are now available in WTO document G/TBT/M/82.

Starting with the Chinese measures raised by other Members, the minutes identify new specific trade concerns with the following Chinese measures:

  • Provisions for Cosmetics Registration (Draft for Comments), G/TBT/N/CHN/1454
  • Administrative Measures on Cosmetic Labelling
  • Commercial Cryptography Administrative Regulations

In addition, several previously raised specific trade concerns related to Chinese measures were discussed further:

  • Requirements for information security products, including, inter alia, the
    Office of State Commercial Cryptography Administration (OSCCA) 1999 Regulation on commercial encryption products and its on-going revision and the Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS)
  • Regulations for the Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices (Order No. 650 of the State Council), G/TBT/N/CHN/1313
  • Cyberspace Administration of China – Draft implementing measures for the Cybersecurity Review of Network Products and Services
  • Draft Administrative Measures for Registration of Overseas Producers of Imported Foods
  • Draft revised Encryption Law of the People’s Republic of China by the Office of State Commercial Cryptography Administration (OSCCA)
  • Registration Fees for Drugs and Medical Device Products
  • Cybersecurity Law
  • Catalogue of Solid Wastes Forbidden to Import into China, G/TBT/N/CHN/1211
  • Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation and Regulation for Notification of Non-special Cosmetics

For each of these measures, the minutes record the discussion by the Members and provide insights about which Members have concerns and what exactly those concerns are.

In addition, China made comments on some of the measures of other Members that were raised as specific trade concerns, including the following:

  • United States – Appliance Efficiency for Sprinkler Bodies
  • European Union – Information requirements in SCIP Database
  • France – New legislative requirements about index of repairability of electrical and electronic equipment
  • European Union – Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (IVDR)
  • European Union – Draft Commission Regulation laying down eco-design requirements for electronic displays pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) 642/2009
  • European Union – Concerns on regulations with regard to eco-design requirements for various products in EU