Chinese chemical enterprises have been confronted with tightened regulatory measures from the European Union (EU).
The REACH policy, or policy for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, a new stringent chemical management policy of the EU, was passed at the EU Competitiveness Council in December 2005, and will be enacted in January 2007.
The United States, Australia, Japan and India released various statements last month, saying REACH will hinder the development of international trade and will not significantly benefit the environment.
"Chinese chemical enterprises have little knowledge about REACH, which aims to collect detailed information about hazardous substances of chemicals, and will affect our exports to the European Union," said Yang Weicai, vice-chairman of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association. Yang viewed the policy as a non-tariff barrier.
Compared to current international conventions on chemical management the Convention of Rotterdam on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade (PIC Convention), and the Convention of Stockholm (POPs Convention), REACH has stricter regulations on chemical products in multiple areas and demands considerable registration fees.
The expense of the basic examination for each chemical substance is around 85,000 euros (US$10,795) and the expense for the examination of each newly registered chemical substance is up to 570,000 euros (US$723,000).
According to the policy, the European Union has put some 30,000 varieties of chemical products, as well as their downstream products such as textile, light industry and pharmaceutical products produced in its member countries into three systems registration, evaluation and authorization.
Enterprises that fail to register will not be allowed to sell their products in the EU market. All the stringent examination and evaluation fees will be undertaken by enterprises.
The affected market value of Chinese enterprises is expected to total 3.7 billion euros (US$4.73 billion), insiders say.
Astrid Klug, vice-minister for Environment Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in Germany (BMU) advised: "Chinese enterprises should deepen their co-operation with their EU counterparts to enhance their knowledge about REACH, which is aimed at protecting human beings and environment. It will take one to three years for Chinese enterprises to adapt themselves to the new regulated market."
Currently, EU enterprises, in particular German enterprises, have geared up to prepare themselves for REACH, especially in relation to their production processes and data collection, she told Environment China.
"In addition, they (Chinese enterprises) should fully adopt the consultation mechanism of the regulation, in a bid to obtain information as soon as possible," Klug suggested.
To enhance the awareness of Chinese chemical exporters, the high-profile Sino-German Chemical Management Symposium sponsored by the BMU and the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was held from July 11 to 12 in Beijing.
"No matter how strong the impact will be on Chinese enterprises, we have to take an active attitude to cope with the challenges," Yang said. However, Chinese enterprises' preparation and awareness towards the policy is very insufficient, he admitted.
According to Klug, when Germany takes the presidency of the European Union next year, the country will organize the third Conference of Parties to the POPs Convention, and will aim for the discussion to include a greater look at persistent organic pollutants.
It will also strive to lift REACH into an international standard.
