Check here for information on our latest news and events.
Latest Events:
REACH Seminar and Information Exchange Workshop
30 June 2008
12:00 - 3:00 pm
$75 in advance, $100 at the door
East Hartford, CT
The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) and the U.S. Department of Commerce have teamed up to help American industry and business interests learn more about REACH, the upcoming chemicals legislation in the European Union.
For information on how this legislation will impact exports to the EU and how your business can become compliant, CCAT and the Department of Commerce will hold a joint networking lunch and seminar with guest speaker Rosemary Gallant of the Foreign Commercial Service from the US Mission to the EU. For more information, email: Sharon.Bongiovanni@mail.doc.gov .
Latest News:
"D-Day" for REACH: On June 1st, pre-registration and
registration started under REACH, and pre-registration lasts
until December 1st. Over 2,500 substances have already been
pre-registered. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) officially
opened on June 3rd, and while the IT system is not yet fully
functional, temporary measures have been put in place to receive
data from industry. New Guidance on substances in Articles, on
Only Representatives, and chemical safety reports have been
posted on the ECHA website. For more information on REACH, check
the CSEU REACH web page. Flavie.guerin@mail.doc.gov
Consultation on Metrology: The Commission plans to
simplify a number of areas affected by legal metrology
(measurements) and has published a consultation to invite input
from stakeholders by July 15, 2008. For more information or
to provide your input, please click here. sylvia.mohr@mail.doc.gov
Review of Emissions of Non-Road Mobile Machinery: The
Joint Research Center published its draft report reviewing
emissions. This document lists options for the Commission
to review the existing directive. Sylvia.Mohr@mail.doc.gov
Interoperable Security: The European Organization for
Security (EOS) held its launch event focusing on developing the
EU security market. A Proposal for a Directive on
European Critical Infrastructure (CI) will be adopted and enter
into force before the end of 2008 (there is already unanimous
agreement in the Council). The Proposal will focus on
identifying and designating CI in the energy and transport
sectors (the ICT sector will come later as criteria for
identifying what is critical still needs to be developed).
Jennifer.Kane@mail.doc.gov
Report on BTIs: The Court of Auditors (ECA) released a
report on Binding Tariff Information (BTI) based on an audit
carried out in 6 Member States and concluded that the BTI system
has shortcomings including: 1) not all MSs systematically check
the eBTI database to see if BTI has been issued for similar
products; 2) the time it takes for classification matters to be
resolved in the Nomenclature Committee is too long; 3) BTI
holders are not obliged to refer to their BTI when they declare
goods to customs; and 4) the eBTI database is not always updated
quickly by the MSs. In 2007, there were approximately
170,000 BTIs in force. Jennifer.Kane@mail.doc.gov
Updated - EU Remedies in Public Procurement: Public
authorities in the European Union spend around €1500 billion
annually, or 16% of GDP on public purchases. The EU Public
Procurement Directives ensure that contracts are awarded in an
open, fair and transparent manner, allowing domestic and
non-domestic firms to compete for business. When there are
violations of the EU Public Procurement Directives, the Remedies
Directives should guarantee that wronged parties have access to
quick means of redress. US companies responding to public
procurement calls for tender may find the need to get expert
advice on actions to take in case of suspicion of infringement or
blatant procurement malpractice. This report outlines some of the
remedies recently put in place by EU legislators and national
administrations, and useful networks destined to help bidders who
feel they have been discriminated against. http://www.buyusainfo.net/docs/x_9220286.pdf
Isabelle.Maelcamp@mail.doc.gov
Modernized Customs Code (MCC): The new MCC was published
in the Official Journal on 4 June 2008 and comes into force 24
June. It is expected to reduce the complexity of rules and
procedures for companies by allowing all electronic filing of all
customs declarations. Implementing Provisions for several
articles will most likely take another year to be adopted.
Through the MCC, the Commission hopes to save $2.5 million a
year. Jennifer.kane@mail.doc.gov
RFID Dialogue: Preliminary planning is underway for a transatlantic Symposium on the societal benefits of RFID, tentatively set to be held in Washington, DC, September 22-23. Topics include broad policy issues and applications that will benefit consumers and business as well as issues concerning privacy. For more details on how to participate, email: Chris.Sherwood@mail.doc.gov
“Export Helpdesk” for developing countries: The European Union website allows a search for standards/regulations by product customs code. Since standards/regulations are the same for all exporters – developed and developing – it could be a good start for further research. http://exporthelp.europa.eu/, Sylvia.Mohr@mail.doc.gov
Information to Patients: On April 3, Enterprise Commissioner Verheugen spoke to the European Parliament's Environment Committee on the upcoming Information to Patients proposal, which the European Commission hopes to table in late September/early October. Verheugen will include it in a package of pharmaceutical legislation that will also include legislative framework on combating counterfeiting and on pharmacovigilance. Basis for the proposal: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/pharmacos/docs/doc2008/2008_02/info_to_patients_consult_200802.pdf, Susana.Getman@mail.doc.gov
Privacy Regulators Target Search Engines: On April 4th, the committee of EU Member State Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) issued an Opinion setting out its interpretation of the applicability of existing EU privacy law to search engines. Search engines were criticized for retaining personal data (including IP addresses, in some cases) for too long, and for failing to provide EU citizens with sufficient information on their use of personal data. The DPAs recommended a maximum 6-month retention period for personal data. The Opinion is not legally binding, but may give “cover” to DPAs that intend to target search engines for enforcement actions. Chris.Sherwood@mail.doc.gov