US manufacturers organise to tackle REACH
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is to set up a “manufacturers’ network on chemicals regulations” to help US industry meet the challenges posed by REACH and the growing tide of international legislation impacting chemicals in products.
The primary aims of the group are to:
Share and disseminate information on chemical regulations
Identify issues of concern
Share best practice
Explore training needs
Leverage resources
Over the next few weeks the network will become fully organised to deliver these priorities through a more detailed action plan.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the largest US industry association with over 14,000 members, is to be a partner in the initiative.
Bill Primosch, NAM senior director of international business policy, said: “There is a growing recognition among US manufacturers of how they are going to be affected by EU regulation. They also have to be alert to other [legislative] developments, for example in China.”
He added that a lot of US manufacturers had not focused on REACH as they thought its impact was chiefly on the chemicals sector. This is changing.
“US companies take regulation very seriously,” he commented. “Our legal liabilities are severe. Companies spend a lot of resources to comply with legislation because the financial implications of non-compliance can be serious.”
A big concern for US manufacturers, noted Mr Primosch, is the contingent liability of product shipped to Europe, in particular ensuring that all elements in the supply chain are compliant. Another major issue for US industry is identifying the chemicals that will have to be authorised under REACH. Manufacturers want to know the implications for their supply chains and processes as soon as possible, he said.
Mr Primosch described the network as a serious initiative to help as many manufacturers as possible. He added that it would work closely with the US government through the Commerce Department and US trade representatives around the world.
Some 30 companies joined the network when it was approved during an ANSI conference in August entitled “Action and reaction: developing a sustainable approach to emerging chemical issues”. It focused on the potential impacts on US manufacturers of REACH, along with the sister EU 2002 Directives on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the restriction of hazardous substances in such equipment (RoHS).
