WTO Dispute on Wine
On 26 October 2021, Australia progressed to its second call to establish a panel under the WTO dispute. This request was accepted and the process of establishing a panel to consider the dispute will now commence.
New requirements for Registration of Overseas Producers of Imported Foods.
In April 2021, China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) published a regulation (Decree 248) regarding the registration of manufacturing premises of food exported to China.
Following several questions being raised domestically and internationally, GACC undertook a domestic consultation and sought to provide further clarity on the measures by September 2021.
In October 2021, GACC provided further clarification regarding the 18 product categories that will be required, under decree 248, to register via their regulatory authorities: meat and meat products, casings, aquatic products, dairy products, bird’s nest and bird’s nest products, bee products, eggs and egg products, edible fats and oils, stuffed pasta, edible grains, grain milling industrial products and malt, fresh and dehydrated vegetables as well as dried beans, seasonings, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, unroasted coffee beans and cocoa beans, foods for special dietary uses, health foods/functional foods.
All other products not defined within these categories, including wine, will be required to undergo a self-registration process. At present, it is understood that the manufacturers of the product will be able to do this directly from 1 November 2021 via the “Registration Management App for Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food Products” system through China’s single window of international trade (www.singlewindow.cn). We expect that this self-registration should be completed before Decree 248 comes into effect on 1 January 2022.
