Firms prepare for EU rules on chemical goods imports
By Diao Ying (China Daily)Updated: 2006-12-16 13:08
The Chinese Government is telling enterprises to prepare to meet the latest
European Union regulations on chemical substances, another of many international
standards that stifles China's manufacturing-heavy foreign trade.
The
European Parliament passed on Wednesday a new regulation on the import of
chemical substances to the European Union. The new system, called Registration,
Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH), is to be enforced from June
2007. It will require the registration of some 30,000 chemical substances in use
today.
REACH comes after the EU's WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in
Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives, both of which have posed
challenges to industries in China.
The European Union is the largest
importer of China's chemical substances and relevant products. The country now
has 30,000 enterprises directly related to the chemical industry, said Zhang
Shaoyan, a director from the Shangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine
Bureau.
The new rule, though targeted at chemical substances, will
influence about 5 million types of products ranging from textiles, cosmetics,
electromechanical products, and other related products.
Statistics from
the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine
(GAQSIQ) show that China's exports to the European market may fall 3.7 billion
euros (US$4.8 billion) if the chemical substances and relevant products from
China fail to meet the new requirements.
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