A German ceramics importer has brought a legal challenge before the EU's General Court seeking to overturn anti-dumping duties imposed on ceramic tableware and kitchenware originating in the Chinese Mainland. The case, now listed in the EU Official Journal, may have direct relevance for Mainland Chinese exporters and their Hong Kong trading partners operating in the European market.

On 30 April, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the 2026 catalogue of products subject to energy efficiency labels, along with related implementation rules.

Hong Kong is a world-renowned sourcing centre for a wide variety of multi-material houseware products, including tableware, kitchenware, non-electric domestic cooking/heating appliances and sanitaryware.

Regulation (EU) 2026/405 on detergents and surfactants has been published in the EU’s Official Journal. This law is the EU’s new framework for detergents and surfactants. It replaces Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 and is designed both to keep the internal market functioning smoothly for the products covered, and to ensure a high level of protection for human health and the environment. The new rules reflect technological developments over the past two decades, including the emergence of products containing micro-organisms, digitalisation of information and new sales models such as refills. The Regulation will largely apply from 23 September 2029.

Across the Chinese Mainland, companies in the elderly care sector are factoring in the needs of a very different post-retirement demographic.

On 13 March 2026, it was reported that the European Commission’s environmental “omnibus” simplification package, introduced in mid-December, is encountering significant resistance within the Council of the European Union, with Member States struggling to align on both the substance and structure of the proposal. Three months into discussions, little tangible progress has been made, and officials widely expect that negotiations will take considerable time before any common position is reached.

Malaysia restricts metals migration from ceramic cookware.

India has mandated the use of two national standards and the standard mark for specified food contact articles.

CBP is seeking public input by 17 January on a proposal to reclassify certain glass cold brew coffee makers and teapots with stainless steel filters or infusers as stainless steel kitchen articles under HTSUS 7323.93.00 (2 percent duty) rather than as glassware under heading 7013 (duty rates ranging from 15 to 24.8 percent).

In 2022, the EU issued Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, establishing a framework for placing food contact recycled plastics on the market (‘the Regulation’, SafeGuardS 114/22).