Keller Heckman (LexBlog China)

Although e-cigarettes manufactured in China for export to overseas markets are not subject to pre-market approval in China, and are only required to comply with the regulations of the destination country, China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) still attaches great importance to the quality management of e-cigarettes for export.  On July 18, 2023, STMA released...

From December 5-7, 2022, Keller and Heckman hosted a private conference with the China State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) on the topic of U.S. and global e-cigarette and tobacco product regulation. The event was approved by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and was attended by over 700 officials from STMA and its local...

With the implementation of the Management Rules of E-cigarettes and the forthcoming effective date for the GB Standard on E-cigarettes (October 1, 2022), China has been regularly updating its e-cigarette regulations. Following up on our recent articles on China’s GB Standard and manufacturer license requirements, below we summarize various e-cigarette regulations recently promulgated by the...

Following China’s new GB standard on e-cigarettes that we summarized in early May 2022, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has now published a rule outlining the process for Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers to obtain the required manufacturer license. This rule applies not only to manufacturers producing e-cigarettes for the domestic Chinese market, but also to...

Following China’s new GB standard on e-cigarettes that we summarized in early May 2022, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has now published a rule outlining the process for Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers to obtain the required manufacturer license. This rule applies not only to manufacturers producing e-cigarettes for the domestic Chinese market, but also to...

Since we reported in December 2021 on some significant developments in China’s regulation of e-cigarettes (including the draft national standard on e-cigarettes) as well as in March 2022 on the finalized Management Rules for E-Cigarettes, China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), also referred to as China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), has not only released the...

We reported in December 2021 that China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) published on its website the draft Management Rules for E-cigarettes and the updated national standard (GB) on e-cigarettes for public comment. Working with important industry members, including industry associations and manufacturers, Keller and Heckman filed comments to STMA to address and seek clarification..

We reported in December 2021 that China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) published on its website the draft Management Rules for E-cigarettes and the updated national standard (GB) on e-cigarettes for public comment. Working with important industry members, including industry associations and manufacturers, Keller and Heckman filed comments to STMA to address and seek clarification..

In a December 21 Constituent Update, the FDA announced that they provided the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) lists of U.S. establishments that sought to be recommended for registration in China via the FDA’s Export Listing Module (ELM). We have previously blogged about the GACC’s registration requirements applicable to all foreign food companies that...

We have previously blogged about the General Administration of Customs China’s (GACC’s) publication of registration requirements applicable to all foreign food companies that manufacture, store, or process food exported to China. The regulations (Decree 248 – Regulations on Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food) will take effect on January 1, 2022. An...

The tobacco industry in China, which is home to more than 300 million cigarette smokers, is controlled by the largest tobacco company in the world – the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC). The CNTC’s dominant global market share is almost entirely the result of its monopoly of the domestic Chinese tobacco industry. When fulfilling its...

 In the spring of 2021, China published the Chinese General Administration of Customs (GAC) Decree 248 – Regulations on Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food, to impose new registration requirements on all foreign food companies. In October 2021, some foreign governments (e.g., Singapore and Malaysia) provided instructions to their local food companies...

On June 24, 2020 the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) published a draft group standard for plant based meat products and will be soliciting comments until July 25, 2020.  While the standard is merely a guidance document for industry, it is the first standard in China that is specific to the plant-based...

As China starts to emerge and recover from COVID-19, more and more food brands are entering into the plant-based food space. As the plant-based market in China begins to expand, it’s important for anyone entering this space to consider the applicable food regulations that will apply to such foods. First, one must confirm all plant-based...

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is having global public health implications and its economic impact cannot be underestimated. The full extent will not be known until many months, or even years, down the road. On the regulatory side, we are often asked by companies who conduct business in China how this will impact the ability to seek...

At the end of 2019, the Chinese State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) and the National Health Commission (NHC) proposed significant changes to two food labeling documents for public comments: In November 2019, SAMR published the Draft Measures for Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling (“Draft Measures”), comments due by February 12, 2020; On December...

On November 14, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that China plans to lift its ban on poultry imports from the United States. China originally instituted its ban on U.S. poultry in 2015, amid concerns over highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks. While these concerns have subsided over the past four years, China had...

Electronic cigarettes may soon become much more widely available in the world’s largest tobacco market: The People’s Republic of China. With over 300 million smokers, China has the world’s largest smoking population – which directly results in approximately 1 million deaths annually. [1] While the global e-cigarette market has experienced rapid growth over the last...

Electronic cigarettes may soon become much more widely available in the world’s largest tobacco market: The People’s Republic of China. With over 300 million smokers, China has the world’s largest smoking population – which directly results in approximately 1 million deaths annually. [1] While global e-cigarette market has experienced rapid growth over the last decade,...

This article originally appeared in World Food Regulation Review, Vol. 28, Number 9, February 2019. This article aims to present and explain the main topics on the agenda of the forthcoming 51st session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Additives, taking place in Jinan from 25 to 29 March 2019. In next month’s WFRR issue (March), a...

The same day that China and the United States imposed new tariffs on each other’s products, including food items, the Soybean Association issued a statement warning about the long-term effects of the trade war. Noting that U.S. soybean producers have spent more than 40 years and millions of dollars building the China market for soy...

The U.S filed five separate trade cases at the World Trade Organization (WTO) challenging tariffs, many on agriculture products, imposed in response to tariffs announced by President Trump on aluminum and steel. The five countries are China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and Turkey. With respect to tariff imposed by China, we previously reported on...

The U.S. Food and Drug Authority (FDA) announced the launch of an electronic portal, Export Listing Module (ELM), for receiving and processing requests from FDA- regulated establishments that want to be included on export lists for FDA-regulated food products. By way of background, some foreign authorities require FDA to provide publicly available lists of exporters...

 The U.S. agricultural industry has voiced concerns about potential financial losses due to the ongoing trade dispute with China, notwithstanding U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s assurance last April that farmers will be protected. By way of background, on June 15, President Trump announced that the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion in...

The U.S. will protect its farmers during rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association yesterday (see Reuters). This follows a statement from USDA last week stating that it was looking for ways to shield farmers from the conflict between China and the U.S....

China has increased tariffs by up to 25% on 128 U.S. products—including many food products—in response to the increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports announced by President Trump last month. The new tariffs, effective April 2, include 25% on U.S. pork and 15% on certain wine products, fruits, and nuts. China issued a statement...

The Codex Alimentarius (Codex al.) is a collection of standards, guidelines, codes of good practices and recommendations adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). The CAC is the central part of the joint FAO/WHO program setting international food standards recognized in country trade disputes.  The Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) is tasked with setting maximum...

China announced tariff cuts on 187 products—including baby powdered milk, avocados and mineral water—effective December 1, 2017. (See Financial Times (subscription required) and S. News.) The import tariffs will average 7.7%, down from the current 17.3%. In addition to foods, the reduced tariffs will impact selected health supplements, pharmaceuticals, clothing items, shoes and other consumer...

As previously covered on this blog, as part of a deal to resume U.S. beef exports to China, the U.S. pledged that it would remove obstacles to importing cooked Chinese poultry meat.  In support of this pledge, on June 16, 2017, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published a proposed rule (82 FR 27625) amending its inspection regulations to...