US alerts hemp sector to new Chinese CBD regulations

China is shifting its regulations on CBD production that could lead to legalized production in the East Asia country, according to a memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The United States’ top source of all imported goods, China also has some of the strictest domestic bans on cannabidiol, though the substance can be exported.

China gives CBD a ‘clear’ classification

Under new rules that take effect Sept. 1, CBD is one of seven substances to be incorporated into China’s “precursor chemicals management system,” the USDA said in its Aug. 9 memo, based on a translation of a Chinese government announcement.

With regard to CBD, “Regulations, and its production, operation, purchase, transportation, import and export activities comply with the relevant regulations on non-pharmaceutical precursor chemicals,” the announcement noted.

The upshot is that “CBD now has a clear” classification under China’s internal “harmonized tariff system,” according to the USDA.

And if  “applications are filed in accordance with PRC (People’s Republic of China) regulations, CBD can be legally produced and marketed nationwide, instead of being produced only in Yunnan and Heilongjiang as it is now,” according to the USDA memo.

Impact on U.S. interests?

What impact China’s decision will have on the U.S.-based hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid industries is unclear.

While China is a leading source of imported hemp fabric and seeds, most of the hemp oil imported into the U.S. – a likely source for CBD products on the market – comes from Canada, according to the USDA’s National Weekly Hemp Report.

The update on Chinese CBD policy comes as American hemp interests eagerly anticipate updates to both the U.S. Farm Bill and state regulations.

One draft Farm Bill in Congress would ban most intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products, and similar restrictions are moving through state legislatures across the country.

Meanwhile, some major marijuana multistate operators are embracing hemp as a source for low-THC gummies and beverages.