Reach could cost India €1.5bn in lost EU trade

15 February 2008 17:04  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--Europe's Reach policy could cost India around €1.5bn ($2.2bn) if the subcontinent chose not to trade with the EU due to complications involved in the legislation, a senior industry official said on Friday.

“The cost to exports of organic chemicals to the EU from India affected by Reach would be about €300m to €400m,” Reynold D'souza, manager Reach, SGS, told ICIS news, adding that it was only a conservative estimate.

D'souza was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on Reach, focusing on polymers.

“The Reach norms have complicated our business with the EU and it is an expensive affair as each company deals with multiple chemicals and attaining registration for each would eat up on our profitability,” a trader said.

There is growing concern among some European countries that due to so many regulations and complications their business could go to others, an official said.

However, these complex laws were not likely to make Indian traders to look away from EU as the market in India was very competitive, traders said.

“The present concern with the Indian companies is not if they would invest or not in the EU but it is to attain registration for their products,” VB Lall, chairman of Indian Plastics Institute said.

“America and Japan are expected to follow a similar model like Reach,” D’souza said.

Reach- the EU's registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals scheme - came into effect in June 2007 and will replace around 40 separate pieces of legislation covering the sale and use of chemicals

($1 = €0.68)

By: Isha Jha
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