The U.S. Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and NASA are considering amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement a law that prohibits U.S. executive agencies from procuring or obtaining certain products and services that include covered semiconductor products or services, including those from various mainland China entities, effective from 23 December 2027.

On 9 May 2024, Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/1103 entered into force, although most of its provisions will begin to apply from 1 July 2025 . The new Regulation lays out ecodesign requirements for local space heaters. It revises the existing ecodesign requirements for local space heaters that are found in Regulation (EU) 2015/1188. In accordance with Article 7 of that Regulation, the European Commission (“Commission”) reviewed it and analysed the technical, environmental and economic aspects of local space heaters as well as real-life end-user behaviour, leading to the adoption of new Regulation 2024/1103.

On 30 April 2024, for the first time since the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (the EUBR), the European Commission (the Commission) has published on its Public Consultations and Feedback (‘Have your say’) website the draft text of a related Commission Delegated Regulation (CDR). The draft text supplements the EUBR by establishing the methodology for the calculation and verification of the carbon footprint of electric vehicle batteries and its accompanying Annex.

Malaysia’s Selangor state government officially announced on 22 April 2024 the development of the Malaysia Semiconductor Accelerator and IC Design Park, planned to become Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit (IC) design park.

The U.S. Department of Energy has adopted new energy efficiency standards for residential water heaters that are expected to save U.S. households and businesses some US$7.6 billion per year on energy costs. Separately, the DOE has amended the current energy test procedure for uninterruptable power supplies.

The U.S. Department of Energy has finalised a proposed interpretation of the statutory definition of “foreign entity of concern (FEOC)” in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that is designed to limit the participation of FEOCs in domestic battery supply chains and bolster the growth of domestic and friend-shored battery materials processing and manufacturing.

On 23 April 2024, the European Parliament, sitting in plenary, adopted the EU Directive on the “right to repair” for consumers. The rules lay down certain obligations – related to sustainability – for manufacturers to repair goods. They are also a tool to encourage consumers to extend a product’s lifecycle by means of repair,aiming to make it more appealing to them.

Is it still worth using a human copywriter to spell out your business benefits or can a cyber-counterpart do just as well for zero cost?

It was reported last month that the European Commission (“Commission”) has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for distribution of music streaming apps to iOS users (that is, iPhone and iPad users) through its App Store.

Input may be submitted through 24 May on a proposal to re-classify wireless headphone sets as headphones and earphones under HTSUS 8518.30.20 rather than as apparatus for the transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data under HTSUS 8517.62.00. While both of these tariff classifications benefit from duty-free treatment, articles classified under HTSUS 8518.30.20 are currently exempt from Section 301 duties while subject merchandise classified under HTSUS 8517.62.00 currently faces a 7.5 percent Section 301 duty.