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Finance - EU rule looms for exporters

 October 18, 2008 

EU rule looms for exporters

By Jiang Wei
Updated: 2007-08-10 09:06

Exporters of energy-using products have been told to get ready for a new
EU environmental protection regulation that will take effect from
tomorrow.

The EU directive on the eco-design of energy-using products (EuP) will
affect all links in the industry chain - from design, manufacturing and
transport to disposal.

So said an official from the bureau of fair trade for imports and exports
under the Ministry of Commerce, but he declined to be named.

The directive will influence the trade of all energy-using products
except vehicles and will have “a direct impact on companies involved in
the machinery and electronics industries, chemicals and metallurgy”, he
said.

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The EuP directive was announced in 2005 and aims to reduce environmental
harm. Products will be required to meet power consumption guidelines set
by the European Union. Most manufacturers will also have to do lifecycle
assessments of their products to determine environmental impact.

In the short term, the directive will increase companies’ outlay in
product development - including research, environmental impact
assessment, procurement of technologies and patents, and energy
consumption testing, the official said.

“In the medium and long term, however, firms can lower their costs by
optimizing design, controlling materials during manufacture and reducing
disposal costs, because environmental impact will be factored into their
strategies,” he said.

Companies “shouldn’t see it as an increase in costs or view as a loss any
decline in exports as a result of the directive”. But he suggested firms
exporting in certain areas to the European Union get prepared for the
change.

Most exporters have been preparing for the regulation since it was
announced several years ago, said Chen Yansheng from the China
Association of Lighting Industry.

He said a small number of exporters could give up on the EU market if
they don’t think they’ll meet the requirements of the directive.

The EuP directive will eventually become law in EU member countries.

It follows three other EU directives on environment protection: RoHS,
banning individual hazardous substances; WEEE, on the disposal of
electronic products; and REACH, restricting the use of chemicals.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

>> I will continue the story on my next post, happy reading!