Insight
Impact Of The Novel Coronavirus Outbreak On Chinese Commodity Sale Contracts
The novel coronavirus outbreak in China has attracted significant attention worldwide with the World Health Organization recently declaring it a "public health emergency of international concern". Reportedly, there is a rising number of infection and mortality cases resulting from the outbreak, with the majority of those cases still being found in mainland China. In response, the Chinese government has taken various significant measures to contain the widening spread of the new disease, resulting in a knock-on effect on industrial and commercial activity within the country. As one of the largest consumers of commodity products globally, the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on international commodity contracts with Chinese buyers raises challenging and important questions of whether it constitutes ground for buyers to be relieved from their performance (and if so the extent of such relief), the procedure for claiming such relief and also the consequences on the overall contractual relationship. Obviously, these are equally important questions for commodity sellers on the other end of the equation. At a high-level and as part of a brief note, we consider some key issues arising and endeavor to provide certain practical suggestions how might parties address the issues in a manner best to safeguard their interests.
10 February 2020
