Regulatory activity resumed today after a two-day pause, with 24 changes taking immediate effect. The headline development is the end of trade defence measures on five commodity lines of stone products originating in Portugal, including setts, curbstones, and flagstones. In parallel, today's update also included administrative changes, creating four new, more detailed commodity codes for classifying specific types of electrical and electronic waste and scrap.
Portuguese stone measures end
Today's update brought an end to trade defence measures affecting five commodity lines of stone products from Portugal. The changes, which took effect immediately, apply to products in HS Chapter 68, including:
- Setts, curbstones and flagstones of natural stone (6801000000)
- Monumental or building stone (6802210000, 6802290000)
- Marble, travertine and alabaster (6802910000)
- Other calcareous stone (6802920000)
Associated footnotes for these product lines were also removed as part of the update.
Technical updates
In a separate administrative action, regulators introduced four new 10-digit commodity codes within HS Chapter 85. These codes provide a more granular classification for specific types of electrical and electronic waste and scrap, including:
- Permanent magnets containing rare-earth metals (8549991000)
- Rotors embodying such magnets (8549992000)
- Hard disk drives (8549993000)
These changes are designed to improve the precision of trade monitoring for these goods.
What to watch
After two days without any regulatory changes, today's activity may signal the start of more significant updates ahead of the fourth quarter. With the end of September approaching—a common transition point for time-bound policies—the focus remains on potential changes to tariff-rate quotas and other measures scheduled to reset on 1 October.