The Consistency of Chinas Safety Requirements with International Standards: A Case Study on Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

In December 2013, China notified the WTO of its technical regulation, Lithium Ion Cells and Batteries used in Portable Electronic Equipments – Safety Requirements. Following the notification, South Korea raised specific trade concerns, contending that Chinas regulation was not consistent with the relevant international standard. Despite South Koreas repeated requests to China to revise its safety requirements, Chinas technical regulation was put into force without any revisions, and the implementation of the measure left the question of whether China had granted South Korean exporters a sufficient reasonable interval to comply with Chinas safety requirements. This paper examines the events that occurred between Chinas notification and implementation of its technical regulation, followed by an analysis of the consistency of Chinas safety requirements with the relevant international standard and an examination of the reasonable interval afforded to South Korean exporters. The paper concludes with recommendations for South Korea for how it can better address similar trade issues with China in the future.