February 2009

U.S. Mission to the EU WEEE/RoHS Update

RoHS 

Second RoHS Webinar:
There will be a second Department of Commerce webinar on the proposed revision of the RoHS Directive on February 12, 2009. Click here to register.  The fee for the webinar is $50. 
            
WEEE/RoHS Update Webinar
February 12, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. Eastern Time (90 mins)
Program:
11:00 - 11:05 Welcome and Introduction by Chris Sherwood, WEEE & RoHS Specialist at the Commercial Service in the U.S. Mission to the EU
11:05 - 11:20 Putting the proposals in context (presentation by Chris Sherwood)
- the process
- the timing
- the institutions
- the challenges and opportunities
11:20 - 11:45 What is being proposed? (presentation by Dr. Paul Goodman of ERA Technology)
- key elements of the proposals
- what is not proposed
- implications for business compliance
11:45 - 12:25 Q&A (with Chris Sherwood and Paul Goodman)
12:25 - 12:30 close
Value Added:
1. Separate myth from fact
2. Get early warning of possible changes
3. Understand the time line
4. Get answers to your questions from Brussels-based business and regulatory experts

Warning: Potentially Misleading Public Consultation on Exemptions
A public consultation was recently launched by the Öko-Institut, which is under contract with the European Commission to examine RoHS exemption requests as they arise. The document refers both to the “ELV” (the End-of-Life Vehicles) and RoHS Directives. The consultation in fact relates only to the ELV Directive, and not the RoHS Directive. The mention of RoHS is there because the organization’s contract covers exemptions under both pieces of legislation. U.S. companies should be aware that there are currently no RoHS exemptions being considered by the Öko-Institut. The last batch of 5 requests was added in the Öko-Institut’s report on all existing exemptions and will probably be treated as part of that broader review.

WEEE

UpcomingWebinar
A webinar examining the proposed revision of the EU’s WEEE Directive (as opposed to the RoHS Directive) will take place in the next few weeks. Additional information will be posted shortly. Alternatively, please visit the U.S. Commercial Service Europe website: http://www.buyusa.gov/europe/team_events.html

January 2009

RoHS 

Save the Date! Two Department of Commerce webinars on the proposed revisions of the EU’s WEEE and RoHS Directives will probably take place on January 12th and 15th, 2009, and will focus on RoHS. Highlights will include explanations of the timing of any new rules, an in-depth look at the proposed changes, and Q&A with experts. Full details will be available shortly on our web site.
Further webinars on WEEE and RoHS will be announced in the coming weeks.

Exemptions: New exemptions, exemption repeal delayed until 2009
The European Commission has proposed six (6) new exemptions. In addition, it has proposed to end the current exemption 22 (Lead as impurity in RIG (rare earth iron garnet) Faraday rotators used for fibre optic communications systems) from January 1st, 2010. These proposals will be subject to a vote by EU countries in January 2009, rather than the planned date of November 24th 2008. This will be followed by a three-month period during which the European Parliament may seek to amend the exemptions. The current text of these proposals is: 

 "33. Lead in solders for the soldering of thin copper wires of 100 μm diameter and less in power transformers. 
34. Lead in cermet-based trimmer potentiometer elements. 
35. Cadmium in photoresistors for optocouplers applied in professional audio equipment until 31 December 2009. 
36. Mercury used as a cathode sputtering inhibitor in DC plasma displays with a content up to 30 mg per display until 1 July 2010.
37. Lead in the plating layer of high voltage diodes on the basis of a zinc borat glass body.
38. Cadmium and cadmium oxide in thick film pastes used on aluminium bonded beryllium oxide."
and
"22. Lead as impurity in RIG (rare earth iron garnet) Faraday rotators used for fibre optic communication systems until 31 December 2009."

Expert Report on Substances Published
The European Commission has now published the delayed expert report on substances that are not currently regulated under the RoHS Directive. The report, drawn up by consultancy Öko-Institut, recommends consideration of restrictions on five substances. These are:

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A)
Hexabromocyclo-dodecane (HBCDD)
Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
Butylbenzylphthalate (BBP)
Dibutylphthalate (DBP)

It is important to note that the European Commission, in its recent proposals for a revision of the RoHS Directive, has not called for restrictions on any of these. Rather, for the last four substances, it has proposed further scientific assessment with a view to determining whether restrictions are appropriate. And it has not called for any process to be initiated with a view to possible restriction of TBBP-A. However, the publication of this report is likely to lead to calls from some stakeholders for restrictions on all five substances during the upcoming legislative process. Further information is available on our web site.

December 2008

WEEE & RoHS

Impact of new RoHS and WEEE Directives on Manufacturers and Importers
 
The Commission’s draft new RoHS and WEEE Directives published on December 3rd 2008 will place increasing challenges on manufacturers and importers.  Industry will welcome the Commission’s decision to drop its plans to ban TBBP-A (a flame retardant used in over 90% of all circuit boards.  However, the RoHS compliance burden will increase considerably by including RoHS within the CE marking regime and placing new obligations on importers and distributors.  There are also concerns that the new policy on exemptions will limit innovation in some sectors.  
 
The Commission justifies its position that exemptions will only be valid for 4 years and that industry will need to apply for any renewals by stating that “the use of those substances in such applications should become avoidable”.  However, in many industry sectors the physical or chemical properties of lead, cadmium, mercury or other hazardous substances provide significant technical advantages that far outweigh the environmental impacts.  Innovative new designs require considerable investment and time to bring them to market.  Requiring all RoHS exemptions to be renewed every 4 years will prevent these long term investments.   
 
Under the CE marking regime, manufacturers will be required to carry out internal production control procedures for RoHS compliance in line with Module A of Annex II of 768/2008/EC and provide an EC declaration of conformity.  Importers will be required to check that non-EU manufacturers have completed these conformity assessment procedures and that the CE marked product is accompanied by the required documents.  Importers are also required to mark the product with their brand and contact address, or where that is not possible, to include these details on the packaging or product documentation.  Distributors are required to check that importers have complied with these marking requirements and are prohibited from selling products which they have reason to believe are not RoHS compliant, including carrying out product recalls if necessary. 
 
The draft new WEEE Directive introduces several measures which will simplify producer registration and reporting requirements for manufacturers who sell products in multiple member states.

August 2008

U.S. Mission to the EU WEEE/RoHS Update:

WEEE & RoHS

Review: Draft Legislation Delayed
The European Commission has delayed its publication of draft legislation reviewing the WEEE and RoHS Directives, planned for September 2008. The drafts will not now be published until later in 2008, with November and December more likely than October. You will be informed immediately when these drafts become available, and we plan to run a webinar for U.S. companies who want to learn more about them when they come out. The WEEE review is likely to contain proposals to harmonize national WEEE registration and clarify legal responsibilities. The RoHS review is likely to propose an extension to the scope of the products covered by Directive, and may propose new substance restrictions.

RoHS

Exemptions: New Public Consultation
The European Commission’s contractor, Öko-Institut, has published a public consultation on a new exemption request. Interested parties are invited to contribute. The request is for an exemption for:
“Lead in solders for the connection of very thin (<100 μm) enamelled copper wires and for the connection of enameled clad aluminium wires (CCAWs) with a copper layer smaller than 20 μm”
All details can be found at: http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/index.php?id=68

Archive

For previous updates on WEEE and RoHS, please visit our Archive section.