We identify and keep track of worldwide regulatory changes with the focus on areas such as:
product compliance, product safety, vehicle type approval and homologation, import restrictions, international trade law, radio certification, material compliance, chemistry, environmental regulations, electric vehicles, cybersecurity and autonomous driving.
Below you will find an excerpt of the world News on regulations from these areas.
Please contact us for a comprehensive overview of the topic or specific countries.
The British government announced recently that companies are to be given two additional years to start using the new product safety marking – the UKCA marking.
It was announced by the UK government on 14 November 2022 that businesses are to be granted two additional years to apply the new UKCA product safety marking for most products placed on the market in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Commission presented its long-awaited draft for a new product liability directive on Sept. 28, 2022.
The industry may have to prepare for a drastic tightening of product liability legislation in Europe. One of the main new aspects in this draft, is the cybersecurity requirements of the product.
The proposal is based on internationally agreed definitions and standards.
National authorities will be authorized to remove products produced in forced labor from the EU market following an investigation. EU customs authorities will both identify and stop products produced in forced labor at the EU’s external borders.
After 11 years, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs is amending the Commodity Labeling Act again.
The purpose of the Amendment is to further promote the proper labeling of goods, to protect the reputation of business owners and the rights and interests of consumers. Taiwan’s Commodity Labeling Law mandates that all commodities sold in Taiwan must be labeled in Chinese and may be supplemented by English or another foreign language, if necessary.
Switzerland makes amendments to the Energy Efficiency Ordinance, which provides for adjustments for mass-produced vehicles and appliances.
Increasing energy efficiency is a cornerstone of the Energy Strategy 2050. Accordingly, the Federal Council also emphasized the importance of improving energy efficiency and, in particular, electricity efficiency in its dispatch in 2021. Against this background, the planned amendments to the Energy Efficiency Ordinance will make adjustments for series-produced vehicles and appliances.
The draft takes a cross-sectoral approach and aims at a fairer distribution of the value creation associated with data.
According to the EU Commission, the potential of machine-generated data has so far remained largely untapped. The draft Data Act enables certain private and public actors to access and use data. The aim of the new Data Act is to give consumers and businesses more say in how their data is used by clarifying who has access to the data and under what conditions.
The German legislator has enacted the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which is scheduled to enter into force on 1st of January 2023.
The new Supply Chain Sourcing Obligations Act in Germany will be applicable across all sectors from 2023 for companies with at least 3,000 employees. From 2024, companies with at least 1,000 workers will also be required to comply with these regulations. This law is intended to contribute to compliance with human rights and environmental standards in other countries.
Probably in March the EU Parliament decide on the new Battery Regulation
At the end of 2020, the EU Commission presented proposals for new rules for batteries in the EU (as we reported in our Insight). Soon, the Commission’s text with amendments may be adopted by the EU Parliament. This would finally give the industry the clarity about what to prepare for (a transition period of four years will be probably given to implement all the requirements).
The EU Commission launched a public consultation on the New Legislative Framework, its set of rules for harmonized product regulation on the single market.
The New Legislative Framework (NLF) came into force in the EU in 2010. It is an overall concept for the unified product conformity assessment, the technical harmonization of the national legal regulations for certain product groups and the dismantling of trade barriers within the European single market.
Great Britain published recently the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill containing cybersecurity requirements for IoT devices
The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill creates a new regulatory scheme to ensure that consumer connectable products are more secure against cyber attacks.
A new edition of the Harmonized System was published and will apply from January 1, 2022
The Harmonized System is an index of goods that classifies goods based on a six-digit code. It forms the basis for international trade in goods. Almost all countries use at least the first few digits of the codes of the HS, which makes it easier to research taxes incurred abroad as well as to find out which products are in scope of different product regulations.
UK finally published a law which officially allows adding the UKCA marking using a label or accompanying document instead of direct marking on the product till the end of 2023
The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2021 published recently finally make the information about the UKCA labelling published on the official government websites legally binding.
New harmonized standard for the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances directive has just come into force
The new standard EN 63000:2018 Technical documentation for the assessment of electrical and electronic products with respect to the restriction of hazardous substances replaced the current one on November 18, 2021.
A proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) was published
The draft Regulation introduces provisions that will regulate the development, marketing and placing on the European Union market of AI systems, including AI solutions used in products.
From November 15, 2021, the conformity assessment program PECAE will apply to almost all goods that are to be imported into Cameroon
The Cameroonian standards authority Agence des Normes et de la Qualité (ANOR) announced in a press release that from November 15, 2021 all products will be subject to the PECAE (Program d’Evaluation de la Conformité avant Embarquement) program which was first introduced for certain products only in 2016.
