US and EU officials to co-ordinate chemicals regs

06 July 2007 00:43  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US and EU officials said on Thursday they are taking steps to co-ordinate their respective regulatory programmes for chemical controls in hopes of avoiding unwanted costs for business and consumers.

 

In remarks earlier on Thursday in Brussels in a meeting with the US delegation to the EU, European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen said that he and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab have reached agreement “on co-operation projects in the regulatory area for cosmetics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals and electrical equipment”.

 

“In every one of these sectors, duplicated or incompatible product regulations impose unnecessary costs on businesses and, in the end, on consumers, without any real benefits to either,” Verheugen said.

 

“Aligning our rules will reduce costs and consumer prices and increase the competitiveness of industry and the quality of life for citizens of both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

 

Verheugen’s comments were made available by the EU office in Washington.

 

On 1 June the EU began implementing its sweeping new regulatory programme for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH), a plan that was strongly opposed by the US chemicals industry.  Many in the US industry fear that REACH ultimately will impact US chemicals manufacturing.

 

“Think of it like a game of football,” Verheugen said.  “We all know that in football the Americans have different rules to ours.  What is important is not whose rules are the best.  What is important is that if you put two teams on the same playing field, but each plays by different rules, you will not get a fair game.  Nobody wins.”

 

Officials at Schwab’s office were not immediately available for comment on Thursday.

 

However, a spokeswoman at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the agency has been holding bilateral discussions with EU officials on the workability or practicability of REACH. 

 

She said the agency is working with the EU “to develop information systems that can interact to facilitate the sharing of information and reduce duplication of effort”.

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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