US to raise EU Reach plan as conflicting with WTO

24 June 2004 19:03  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--The Bush administration plans to bring before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) its concerns that Europe’s proposed chemical regulations would disrupt trade and undermine global regulatory efforts, CNI learned Thursday.

 

The US government submitted written comments this week to the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. The US will formally present its views during a 1 July committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

The comments mark a significant broadening of the US strategy for pressing the European Commission (EC) to weaken its proposed “registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals” (Reach) regulations. The proposal requires the testing of some 30 000 chemicals to ensure health and environmental safety.

 

Bush administration opposition to Reach primarily reflects chemical industry concerns about costs associated with the testing requirement and the impact on global trade. Until now, US lobbying efforts have largely focused on persuading European politicians to oppose the Reach regulatory scheme in its current form.

 

But by bringing its concerns to global trade officials, the US has expanded and re-focused its opposition to the EC proposal to highlight Reach’s conflicts with WTO efforts and those of other international bodies to harmonize the global regulatory framework for chemicals.

 

The US comments said: “We remain concerned that the Commission proposal does not adequately recognize ongoing international efforts designed to assess risks posed by existing chemicals. The Commission approach should supplement, not supplant, these ongoing efforts.”

 

Given the cost and logistical burdens of complying with the proposed testing requirements, and given the widespread use of chemicals in manufactured goods, Reach “could impact the majority of US goods exported to the EU,” the comments said.

 

Reach would unfairly impact small businesses and downstream users, adversely impact innovation and create global market uncertainty of the availability of certain chemicals, the US said.

 

CNI Sources who monitor the WTO disagree on whether the US decision to bring its concerns before the WTO committee signals an intention to file a formal complaint charging that Reach would violate technical trade barrier rules. The US did not call for specific action by the TBT committee.

 

Bill Primosch, a global trade expert at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), said he knows of no decision by the US government to pursue a formal technical trade barriers case. “That would be a decision that would be considered very carefully,” he said.

 

“This is probably an attempt to raise the profile of the issue to get the European Commission to start thinking about the problems,” Primosch said. “In that sense, we’d say this is a good thing.”

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