July Regulatory Update
South Korea: Guidelines for the Certification of New Industrial Convergence Products published
2025-06-28
It entered into force on June 25, 2025.
On June 25, 2025, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) issued Notice No. 2015-125—a consolidated update of the regulation governing conformity certification for new industrial convergence products. This version incorporates revisions up to Notice No. 2025-095.
Under this regulation, a "new industrial convergence product" is defined as one developed through the integration of different industries, demonstrating significant technological and economic impact along with superior performance and quality.
Purpose and Scope
The regulation establishes certification procedures and criteria for convergence products that:
- Lack existing legal certification standards, or
- Fall into areas with unclear regulatory coverage.
- The goal is to support the entry of these innovative products into the market and foster industrial convergence.
Key Features
- Scope: Targets new convergence products without applicable existing certification standards.
- Certification Process:
- Application submission
- Document review
- Evaluation by a Technical Review Committee
- Issuance of conformity certification
- Oversight: Managed by MOTIE and designated specialized institutions.
- Recent Amendments:
- Streamlined application requirements
- Clearer evaluation criteria
- Revised rules on certification validity
- This regulatory framework is designed to bridge gaps in existing systems, ensuring safety and performance validation while accelerating the commercialization of convergence-driven innovations.
Spain: List of European Standards which have been Approved, Ratified and Cancelled as Spanish Standards
USA: DEKRA registration as electrical testing laboratory in Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) extended
Costa Rica: Complementary regulation to implement COMIECO RTCA 97.01.81:22 on Energy Efficiency for Household Refrigerators and Freezers published
2025-06-20
It entered into force on February 7, 2025. Among other aspects, it describes the procedure for requesting equivalence of foreign standards and the market surveillance procedures , including sampling and testing.
On January 28, 2025, the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) published Executive Decree No. 44855-MINAE, issuing the Complementary Regulation for the Implementation of RTCA 97.01.81:22 “Electrical Products. Domestic Refrigerators and Freezers. Energy Efficiency Specifications.” This decree repeals Executive Decree No. 40510-MINAE of May 5, 2017.
The regulation applies to domestic refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers up to 1104 liters, and freezers up to 850 liters, operated by hermetic motor-compressors. These products are listed in Table 1, which provides tariff codes and product descriptions.
Producers and importers must demonstrate conformity with RTCA 97.01.81:22 prior to final importation or placing the product on the national market. They must submit a Declaration of Conformity to the Costa Rican Accreditation Body (ECA), along with either a product certificate or an inspection report, as applicable.
The regulation describes the procedure for requesting equivalence of foreign standards (Article 5) and describes market surveillance procedures (Article 7), including sampling and testing.
Article 3 defines exemptions for: non-commercial test samples; equipment imported under the “menaje de casa” household relocation regime; and goods handled by companies operating under the Free Trade Zone Regime as integrated logistics service providers.
According to Article 6.1.9, products that do not demonstrate conformity shall not be authorized for final importation and must be re-exported. Domestically manufactured products that do not demonstrate conformity cannot be commercialized in the country.
Costa Rica: Equivalence of Canadian Standard CAN/CSA-C358-03 to Costa Rica's Technical Regulation RTCR 503: 2021 Energy Efficiency for Electric Ovens, Cooktops and Range Cookers for Domestic Use granted
EU: New EU labels to help consumers choose more repairable electronics already in force
Belgium: New Amendment of Conformity Assessment of Radio Equipment published
2025-06-24
It will enter into force on June 27, 2025. It seeks to address and harmonize inconsistencies that arose from the transposition of two separate EU directives into Belgian law, without introducing any substantial regulatory changes.
On May 27, 2025, the Belgian Ministry of Communications published an amendment to the Royal Decree of 25 March 2016 on the Conformity Assessment of Radio Equipment.
This amendment seeks to address and harmonize inconsistencies that arose from the transposition of two separate EU directives into Belgian law through previous modifications to the 2016 Royal Decree.
The Royal Decree of September 13, 2023 partially transposed Directive (EU) 2019/882 on accessibility requirements, set to apply from 28 June 2025. Separately, the Royal Decree of March 13, 2024 transposed Directive (EU) 2022/2380 on a universal charger, which takes effect earlier, on December 28, 2024.
Due to the staggered implementation dates, some provisions introduced in the March 2024 Decree conflicted with the yet-to-be-enforced September 2023 Decree. As a result, further legislative amendments were required to resolve these inconsistencies and ensure coherent final wording.
The 2025 Royal Decree addresses and corrects overlapping amendments introduced by the earlier transpositions.
It updates references and paragraph numbers throughout the 2016 Royal Decree on radio equipment, ensuring legal coherence and alignment with the intent of both EU directives. For instance, Article 1 corrects a translation error in the French version by replacing "paragraph" with "subparagraph." Articles 2 to 5 adjust multiple provisions to reflect newly inserted or renumbered paragraphs. Additionally, the decree fixes clerical issues, such as incorrect chapter titles in Article 6 and redundant wording in Article 7.
India: Lists of Newly Established Standards and Criteria for certification of Telecom Equipment under MTCTE published
Japan: Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Rules amended
Lithuania: National Radio Frequency Allocation Table approved
Switzerland: Technical Standards for Radio Communications Installations published