import conditions related to phthalates in march 2013 the european union raised concerns regarding chinas recent measures on phthalates in spirits and wine. some ports in china had requested a testing report on phthalates and had applied the migration limit of the food contact material as the maximum residue limit. on the basis of these limits some eu consignments had not been released. the measure was applied without any lead time and the testing had been excessive and had only targeted imported products at such frequency. the european union had been informed that china was only now developing a standard for phthalates for food and that the testing had been performed in order to have data to set the appropriate level for the risk assessment in china. the european union indicated its willingness to share any scientific aspects of risk assessment and testing methods on phthalates. at the same time the european union requested china to withdraw the current temporary measure to base its decisions on science and to inform other trading partners with sufficient time of any new appropriate and justified measures. china stated that according to the results of the food safety risk monitoring conducted by its authorities alcohol in imported distilled spirits might have been contaminated by phthalates. to tackle the problem china had established expert panels and had organized meetings to discuss the issue. a seminar on the testing and risk assessment of phthalates was scheduled to be held in april. china was willing to discuss its measures on phthalates in food with the european union and other relevant members. in june 2013 the european union reiterated its concern regarding chinas import measures on phthalates in spirits and wine. in bilateral discussions china had indicated that the two territories shared the same legal framework regarding phthalates. despite this there had been a disruption in trade and an unnecessary delay of eu consignments into china based on recent measures. china had said it was undertaking a risk assessment on phthalates in food and would base its risk management measures on the results. the european union was willing to share any scientific information that could aid china in this process. further the european union urged china to remain transparent in this process and consistent with its own legal framework. china observed that it had discovered a risk of phthalates in both domestic and imported distilled spirits and aqsiq had been monitoring phthalates in imported spirits since january 2013. in some of those spirits china had discovered phthalate levels which exceeded the temporary maximum put in place during the investigatory period. spirits with levels that exceeded the temporary maximum were not permitted onto the chinese market. china had established expert panels to conduct risk assessments on phthalates in food and an eu-china worksho on risk assessments for phthalates in food was held on 17 april 2013. china would continue working with the european union and related members to find an effective solution to this issue. in june 2016 the european union reported that the testing requirements for phthalates in spirits and wine imposed by china since 2013 had been lifted following extensive cooperation between china and the european union. the european union remained convinced that this temporary measure had been unjustified disruptive and unnecessarily long to remove but was grateful for its repeal by the chinese government. the european union expressed hopes that this experience would pave way for faster resolution of similar issues in the future. the european union would continue monitoring trade to ensure it flowed without further obstacles