Sri Lanka announces standards and quality requirements for 161 categories of imported goods

　　Recently, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stability and National Policy of Sri Lanka issued the Import and Export Control (Standardization and Quality Control) Regulations (2024), which came into effect on May 17, 2024。

　　According to the regulations, the import of 127 categories of goods in Schedule I (A) must meet the corresponding Sri Lankan standards from May 17;The implementation of the 34 commodity standard requirements in import Schedule I (B) was delayed until November 16。Importers importing Class 161 goods specified in Schedule I must submit one of the following information to the Sri Lanka Standards Association to prove that the imported goods comply with the corresponding Sri Lankan standards:

　　(1) A certificate of conformity issued by an accredited independent laboratory or independent body of the exporting country after sampling analysis to certify that the product complies with the Sri Lankan standards;

　　(2) Product qualification certificate issued by the national standards body or standards authority of the exporting country;

　　(3) A certificate of conformity issued by an overseas manufacturer whose production plant has been registered with the Sri Lanka Standards Institute;

　　(4) "SLS Mark" or other "Product certification mark" certificate/license issued by any national standards body, provided that the standards used for certification are compatible with the corresponding Sri Lankan standard specifications。

　　In addition, importers are required to submit all documents related to imported goods to Sri Lanka Customs and Sri Lanka Standards Institute prior to customs clearance。When necessary, SSA will conduct sample tests on imported goods in accordance with relevant conformity assessment procedures and guidelines to verify compliance with Sri Lankan standards。

　　The Bureau of Indian Standards has launched two new safety standards for electric vehicles

　　The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has introduced two new safety standards for electric vehicles, namely IS 18590:2024 and IS 18606:2024。The new standard specifies the safety requirements for power systems and REESS used by two-wheelers (Class L), four-wheelers (Class M) and trucks (Class N)。

　　It is reported that up to now, the Bureau of Indian Standards has issued a total of 30 standards related to electric vehicles and their accessories。These standards are critical to driving a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and efficient transportation system in the country。

　　(Source: International Standards and Chengdu Technical Trade Measures)

　　The European Union and Singapore have concluded negotiations on a digital trade agreement

　　On July 25, Singapore and the European Union concluded negotiations for a bilateral digital trade agreement。The agreement, which targets digital trade rules between Singapore and the EU, aims to streamline cross-border data flows, provide clarity and legal certainty for companies and consumers, and enhance connectivity in bilateral digital markets。

　　It is worth noting the legally binding provisions of the agreement, including the protection of personal data and the protection of consumers from unfair practices and spam。

　　I. Main contents

　　The EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement (EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement) was negotiated by Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Ms Fu Haiyan, and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr Dombrovskis。Negotiations for the digital trade agreement started in July 2023 and took about a year。

　　The main contents of the agreement are as follows:

　　(a) will provide clarity and legal certainty to digital trade rules between Singapore and the EU, enhancing digital connectivity and interoperability between digital markets。

　　Include a commitment to high standards that will enable open and secure data flows and facilitate end-to-end digital trade。

　　(c) includes legal provisions prohibiting data localization requirements and the protection of personal data;The agreement protects technology and intellectual property from forced transfer;The agreement protects consumers from unfair practices and spam。

　　Simplify cross-border data flows, allowing for more seamless and efficient digital transactions。

　　This is the first digital trade agreement between the EU and an Asian country。

　　But the agreement still needs to be ratified by Singapore, and in the EU by national governments and the European Parliament。

　　The agreement underlines Singapore's shared commitment with the EU to ensure that companies and people in both countries have legal certainty and confidence when transacting in the digital economy in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment。It will enable both sides to unlock more opportunities in the digital economy and ensure digital inclusion, especially for smes。

　　Second, the significance of the Agreement

　　For the EU, the agreement reflects the EU's desire to be a global leader in standard-setting for digital trade, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region。As part of the trade deal, the EU already has digital trade agreements with the UK, Chile and New Zealand, a cross-border data flow agreement with Japan, and is currently in talks with South Korea。Singapore is already the EU's fifth largest partner for trade in services, with more than half of services delivered digitally, totalling €43 billion in 2022。

　　For Singapore, the EU is Singapore's fourth largest trading partner in goods and its second largest trading partner in services。Bilateral merchandise trade will exceed $105 billion in 2023, accounting for 8% of Singapore's total merchandise trade.7%。Investment ties are also strong, with the EU being Singapore's second largest foreign investor and second largest destination for overseas investment。Singapore has previously signed digital economy agreements with Australia, South Korea and the United Kingdom，And signed Digital Economy Partnership Agreements with Chile and New Zealand，DEPA)，South Korea recently joined DEPA，This is the world's first international agreement on digital economy cooperation。

　　(Source: Shanghai CyberNetwork Security Industry Innovation Institute)

　　South Korea released the supervision plan for the key management object varieties of imported aquatic products in the second half of 2024

　　Recently, the Ministry of Food and Drug of Korea (MFDS) issued notice No. 2024-82, releasing the regulatory plan for the key management object varieties of imported aquatic products in the second half of 2024。

　　The main contents include:

　　(1) According to the provisions of Article 21 of the Special Law on the Administration of Imported Food Safety and Article 30 of the Implementing Rules of the Law, Item 2 of Schedule 9 (Random sampling and its purpose), the following imported seafood will be implemented in the second half of 2024。See the table below for details;

　　(2) Random sampling inspection shall be carried out on designated inspection items, and each item shall be inspected in accordance with the proportion stipulated by the State。Among them, 6 kinds of food poisoning bacteria are counted (including packaging counts), only packaging counts are counted for bacteria and E. coli, and import declaration certificates are issued after confirming the test results (conditional import declaration certificates and conditional import declaration certificates are prohibited);

　　(3) Applicable period: 1 July 2024 to 30 December 2024 (subject to the date of receipt of the import declaration)。

　　(Source: Xiamen WTO Workstation)

　　Zero tariffs on electric vehicles and components in the Philippines extended until 2028

　　After reviewing Executive Order 12 (EO) (Section 2023), the Philippine National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board of Directors announced the extension of zero tariffs on electric vehicles and components until 2028。

　　The NEDA Board of Directors has decided to maintain the most-favoring nation treatment at 0% for the 34 tariff lines for battery electric vehicles currently covered by Decree 12 until 2028。By 2028, tariffs on electric bicycles, electric motorcycles and nickel-metal hydride batteries will also be reduced to 0%。In addition, preferential tax rates are extended to other electric vehicle types, such as electric public buses with batteries, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV);Battery electric tricycles and quadricycles;Other HEV and PHEV cars and trucks。

　　(Source: International Standards and Chengdu Technical Trade Measures)

　　Supporting the new "Company Law" on the line of new functions, the national enterprise credit information publicity system has been upgraded

　　Recently, the national enterprise credit information publicity system (hereinafter referred to as the publicity system) has completed the upgrading and transformation, in accordance with the principles of standardized unity, convenient, efficient, safe and reliable, fully online to adapt to the new "Company Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the new "Company Law") new functions。

　　The publicity system adjusts and improves the publicity of a series of instant information such as the amount of capital subscribed and paid by the shareholders of a limited liability company, the method of capital contribution, the date of capital contribution and the number of shares subscribed by the promoters of a joint stock limited company，The announcement of the dissolution of the company, the announcement of compulsory cancellation, the announcement of the cancellation of registration information in accordance with the judgment of the people's court, and the announcement of termination，Adjusted to reduce the registered capital announcement，Better service 50 million limited liability companies and joint stock limited companies to cooperate with the new "Company Law" to perform relevant public announcements。In response to the most concerned "registered capital from the date of establishment of the company within five years" requirements, the General Administration of Market Supervision warm reminder that the relevant business entities can reduce capital according to actual needs, cancellation, while paying attention to timely announcement in the public notice system。

　　此外，For the local market supervision departments and enterprises are very concerned about the "unfrozen equity freeze information" publicity problem，The State Administration for Market Regulation actively communicated and coordinated with the Supreme People's Court，On the premise of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties，Minimize the adverse impact of the enforcement measures on the business entities such as the executed enterprises，To actively promote the execution of the person's credit repair，Help enterprises rebuild their reputation and stimulate the vitality of business entities，The publicity system has stopped the publicity of "unfrozen share freeze information" since June 15, 2024.。

　　As an authoritative platform for collecting and publicizing enterprise-related information, the publicity system has completed a comprehensive evaluation of 1.Six billion pieces of enterprise-related information from 800 million business entities were publicized。In the next step, the General Administration of Market Supervision will continue to increase the application management and transformation and upgrading of the publicity system, and build the publicity system into a fertile ground for planting credit information of business entities and helping enterprises to develop high-quality。

　　(Source: Department of Credit Supervision, State Administration for Market Regulation)