China submitted WTO/TBT notifications on 3 compulsory national standards

China’s State Administration of Market Supervision submitted WTO/TBT notifications on November 6, 2020 on 3 compulsory national standards, including the “Lithium ion cells and batteries used in stationary electronic equipments–Safety technical specification “,“Solid cyanide package (potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide)” and “Indoor decorating and refurbishing materials—Limit of harmful substances of wallpapers”. The comment period for the proposed GB is 60 days from the notification date. The GB’s publication date and effective date haven’t been set yet.

“Lithium ion cells and batteries used in stationary electronic equipments-Safety technical specification”

This standard specifies the safety requirements for lithium ion cells and batteries used in stationary electronic equipments and describes the corresponding test methods.

The scope of this standard include the following stationary electronic equipment

a) Fixed information technology equipment (IT equipment).

b) Fixed audio and video equipment (AV equipment) and similar equipment.

c) Fixed communication technology equipment (CT equipment).

d) Stationary measurement control and laboratory electronic and similar equipment.

The above list of stationary electronic equipment is not exhaustive, so equipment not listed is not necessarily excluded from the scope of this standard.

Lithium-ion batteries and battery packs for uninterruptible power supply (UPS), emergency power supply (EPS), etc. are also subject to this standard.

Details of the WTO/TBT notification can be found here:

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2020/TBT/CHN/20_6836_00_x.pdf

“Solid cyanide package (potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide)” proposed revision

This Standard specifies the classification, packaging form, packaging structure, specifications, requirements, test methods, inspection rules, identification, transportation and storage of solid cyanide (potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide) (hereinafter referred to as cyanide). This standard is applicable to solid cyanide packaging.

The current standard (2003 edition) states only “solid cyanide”.

Details of the WTO/TBT notification can be found here:

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2020/TBT/CHN/20_6837_00_x.pdf

“Indoor decorating and refurbishing materials—Limit of harmful substances of wallpapers” proposed revision

This standard specifies the limits, test methods, and inspection rules for harmful substances, i.e. heavy metal (or other) elements, polyethylene monomer, formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) in wallpapers. This standard is mainly applicable to wallpaper with paper as base material.

Details of the WTO/TBT notification can be found here:

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2020/TBT/CHN/20_6846_00_x.pdf