Making intelligent appliances intelligible was the focus of many exhibitors at Chicago’s recent Inspired Home Show.

Consumer aversion to domestic chemical usage informs a new generation of cleaning and dietary products.

The U.S. Department of Energy has taken the following regulatory actions involving fridges, fridge-freezers and freezers as well as certain air conditioners and heat pumps.

As the most significant revenue stream among the city’s merchandise exports, the electronics industry is of critical importance to Hong Kong. Fortunately, the global electronics sector is expected to resume growth in 2024, a development acknowledged by many of the participants in the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring 2024) survey.

The Federal Trade Commission has amended effective from 12 August the trade regulation rule relating to power output claims for amplifiers utilised in home entertainment products.

Consumers in China’s central region are more cautious and strategic than those in the mainland’s fiercely competitive first-tier markets. They tend to be more concerned with product quality than brand image and are highly price-sensitive, favouring items that are value-for-money. When making a purchase, these consumers’ main aim is to get satisfaction for themselves rather than to please others.

On 30 May 2024, the EU Council of Member State ministers adopted a new Directive promoting the repair of broken or defective goods, also known as the right-to-repair (or R2R) Directive. This legislation will, the Council has claimed in a press release, make it easier for consumers to seek repair instead of replacement of defective goods. Moreover, repair services will become more accessible, transparent and even attractive. The Council’s adoption of the Directive is the last step in the legislative decision-making process.

The Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) advocating for environmentally friendly standards, policies and legislation, announced the publication of their report earlier in May, on how Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (the EUBR) could ensure circularity. ECOS’ report evaluates the EUBR’s effectiveness, with a particular focus on electric vehicle (EV) batteries in view of the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

The Federal Communications Commission on 23 May proposed new rules to ensure that wireless equipment authorisations “are not compromised by entities that have been found to pose national security concerns.” In practical terms, this regulatory action would permanently prohibit entities on the FCC’s Covered List, including various mainland Chinese telecom companies, from playing any role in the programme that authorises wireless devices to be marketed in or imported into the U.S.

The European Commission (“the Commission”) has launched an initiative to review the functioning of Regulation (EU) No 617/2013 (“the existing Regulation”), which addresses ecodesign requirements for computers. An identical Initiative has been opened concerning energy labelling requirements for computers. Since identical, they will be referred to as “the Initiative.” In sum, the Initiative seeks to add energy labelling requirements for computers in conjunction with revised ecodesign rules to increase energy efficiency and decrease waste from electrical and electronic equipment (“WEEE”). Hong Kong traders should note that feedback is sought, as part of the review process, from any interested party, with a deadline of 18 July 2024.