INTERVIEW: Time to conclude on Reach - BASF

29 November 2006 18:13  [Source: ICIS news]

By Hilde Ovrebekk

LONDON (ICIS news)--It is time to come to a final conclusion on Reach so that companies can get on with the new legislation, the director of environmental policy for BASF said on Wednesday.

Hans Eichhorn said in telephone interview with ICIS news that BASF supports the common position on the proposed chemicals legislation - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals - which was agreed upon  in June by the European Parliament and the Council.

This common position, he said, was balanced from BASF’s point of view.

However, a new proposal based on the latest set of amendments is being negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, and talks are due to resume on Thursday evening following a break for the parliament to discuss further amendments made by the council.

Eichhorn said it was difficult to predict what the outcome of these talks would be.

He said that at current estimates it would cost around €550m ($724m) for BASF to implement Reach over the next 10-12 years, adding that after this period costs were expected to be minimal.

But, commenting on the impact on competition with other regions such as the US and Asia, where there is no similar legislation in place to add to production costs, Eichhorn said Reach would definitely have an impact on product pricing in Europe.

“The costs have to be borne by someone and this would lead to an increase in the cost of the product,” he said.

He added that in the long run this could give other markets a competitive advantage.

Eichhorn said company was not happy with suggestions in the amended legislation that the cost of setting up the new chemicals agency in Helsinki, Finland, would increase by around 300%, part of which is expected to be funded by chemical companies.

He added that a good chemicals agency was important and that it should employ very good experts. Although with a lack of adequate expertise in the industry, this could be difficult to achieve, Eichhorn said.

In hindsight, he said, the chemicals agency should have been located in a different European city, more central to the industry and less costly for potential employees to relocate to.

BASF is heavily involved in the Reach implementation process, which Eichhorn said would be a lengthy process and would go on at least until the middle of next year.

The US has expressed its concerns with Reach and has said the new legislation would not be compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) competition rules. There have been recent reports that the country has been trying to block the proposed legislation through UK officials.

However, Eichhorn said chemical companies were not involved in those politics and added that if the US wanted to make an impact on Reach, it would have to go through individual member states on a political level.

Going forward, Eichhorn said the main challenges would be to achieve a workable and balanced Reach as soon as possible, but if no agreement is reached it would be difficult to predict what the next step would be.

By: Hilde Ovrebekk
+44 20 8652 3214

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