The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan notified the World Trade Organization of the Revision of the Standards and Specifications for Foods and Food Additives under the Food Sanitation Act (revision of agricultural chemical residue standards).

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan notified the World Trade Organization of the Procedure for temporary measures to accept scanned or hard copies of export certificates.

The report of the Standing Committee of the Section ‘Phytopharmaceuticals’, held on March 23-24, 2020, has been published (see previous post).

On March 30, 2020, the EU Council adopted a decision on the conclusion of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

On March 26, 2020, the European Commission published the Final Report of an audit carried out in the United States, from 7 to 15 October 2019, in order to assess the control system in place to control aflatoxin contamination in peanuts intended for export to the European Union (EU).

The European Commission notified the World Trade Organization of the Draft Commission Implementing Regulation concerning the non-renewal of approval of the active substance fenamiphos, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, and amending the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011.

The report of the Standing Committee of the Section ‘Phytopharmaceuticals’, held on February 17-18, 2020, has been published (see previous post).

The European Commission notified the World Trade Organization of the Draft Commission Regulation amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards maximum residue levels for bupirimate, carfentrazone-ethyl, emamectin, ethirimol and pyriofenone in or on certain products.

The European Commission notified the Word Trade Organization of the Draft Commission Regulation amending and correcting Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

The EU Commission opened a consultation about the preferential tariff scheme between the EU and developing countries.