Quick look at the new foreign trade regulations at home and abroad in July 2025

This paper provides a review of the July 2025 majorNew rules on foreign tradeDivided into new domestic regulations andNew international regulationsThe two parts are reviewed to provide reference for enterprises to grasp market changes and optimize trade layout.

One,New domestic regulations

1. Stainless steel anti-dumping duty renewal:

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued a notice on June 30, deciding to continue to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel billets and stainless steel hot-rolled plates/coils originating from the EU, the UK, South Korea, and Indonesia from July 1, 2025 onwards, with an implementation period of five years.

2. Pilot electronic certificate of attachment:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 18, pilot for the Trade Promotion Council issued a certificate of origin issued by the electronic certificate of addition to realize the "one-stop" processing, can be verified through the online system.

3. China-Ecuador Customs AEO Mutual Recognition Implemented from July 1st:

China Customs and Ecuador Customs, in the customs clearance of imported goods, give each other AEO enterprises to apply a lower rate of inspection of imported goods, give priority to the inspection of goods requiring physical inspection, and give priority to the customs clearance of international trade after the interruption and resumption of international trade, and other facilitations.

4. SIPG issued an announcement on "Preferential Fee for Foreign Trade Import and Export Container Yard Usage".

According to the announcement, in order to effectively reduce the cost burden on enterprises, SIPG implements a phased reduction and waiver policy for import and export container depot usage fees. For import and export containers carried by international vessels whose port of loading or port of discharge is a U.S. port, a preferential reduction of 50% will be granted for the depot usage fee (for foreign trade import and export local heavy containers) (excluding refrigerator refrigeration and dangerous goods spraying link).

Two,New international regulations

1. Pakistan: 181 TP3T sales tax and 51 TP3T service tax levied on e-commerce platforms from July 1

From July 1, e-commerce platforms will have to withhold 181 TP3T sales tax from sellers and levy 51 TP3T digital services tax on platforms such as Amazon and Temu.

2. Saudi Arabia Issues Regulations Implementing the Food Law

Food law regulations will be implemented from June 22, requiring imported food to be registered and labeled in compliance with halal standards, and banning products containing pork/alcohol that are not labeled.

3. EU Test Methods for Phenol and Bisphenol A in Toys Fully Implemented

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has issued two new standards for toy test methods, EN 71-18:2024 and EN 71-19:2024, which will be fully implemented from June 30th. Among them, EN 71-18:2024 is used to determine the phenol content in aqueous materials and the migration of phenol in polymeric materials, and EN 71-19:2024 is used to determine the migration of bisphenol A (BPA), with the ultimate purpose of checking whether toy materials comply with the limit values in Appendix C of Annex II of the EU Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC.

Toy companies are reminded that large changes in temperature and shaking times and different steps in the old and new versions of the test standard may lead to differences in test results. If necessary, optimize raw materials and production processes, analyze the links in the production process that may lead to the migration of phenol and bisphenol A, and reduce the migration of hazardous substances by improving the curing time, temperature control and other production processes.

4. EU Battery Law Due Diligence Rules Delayed

Recently, the European Commission formally submitted a proposal to postpone the implementation of the due diligence obligation for economic operators in the battery supply chain set out in the EU Batteries and Waste Batteries Regulation for two years from the original date of August 18, 2025, with the new implementation date set for August 18, 2027.

According to the European Commission, this initiative is intended to give businesses and regulators more time to address challenges such as supply chain adjustments, deficiencies in third-party certification mechanisms and the need to harmonize new regulations. However, the proposal has yet to be considered and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union before it can enter into force.