China Notifies the Revision of Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics to the WTO

On October 12, 2018, China submitted a notification (G/TBT/N/CHN/1287) to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee of WTO proposing to amend the Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics 2015. The amendment includes a number of prohibited/limited substances and test methods, which was detailed in the previous news “China Consults on the Amendment to Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics and the Draft of 2018 Chinese Version of INCI”. The effective date of the notified content is undetermined and the deadline for trading partners’ comments on this notification is December 14, 2018.

TBT Committee refers to a unique multilateral forum aiming to create a predictable trading environment and facilitate trade via WTO members’ discussion of regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures affecting trade. Notifications from member countries are one of the main approaches to its work.