Право/ 7.Экологическое, земельное и аграрное право

Сычков Денис Игоревич

Донецкий национальный университет экономики и торговли

Имени М.И. Туган-Барановского, Украина

AFFECTS OF THE EUROPEAN LEGISLATION ON UKRAINIAN EXPORTERS

Taking into consideration the tremendous globalization of the world economy we have to monitor carefully all the latest changes in foreign countries economic policies and legislative bases due to it’s possible effect on Ukrainian manufactures and exporters. When even local legislative base can affect external countries greatly. Without any doubt European Union being one of the key markets for Ukrainian exporters is of great importance. That is why the influence of new European chemical law can be hardly over-estimated, the REACH affects greatly Ukrainian exporters to the EU and has to be studied carefully.

REACH is a new European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007.

The aim of the REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. At the same time, innovative capability and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry should be enhanced. The benefits of the REACH system will come gradually, as more and more substances are phased into the REACH.

The REACH Regulation gives greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers will be required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances, which will allow their safe handling, and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. The Agency will act as the central point in the REACH system: it will manage the databases necessary to operate the system, co-ordinate the in-depth evaluation of suspicious chemicals and run a public database in which consumers and professionals can find hazard information.

The creators and lobbyists of the REACH highlight main aims of new legislation among wich the key issues are safety (according to the REACH any chemical produced or imported in significant quantities has to be tested unless sufficient safety information already exist. The cost should be born by the producer or the importer) , replacement of hazardous chemicals (business will be able to use “substances of very high concern” only if they have authorization from the ECHA, authorization will be granted under specific conditions and will have to be renewed, encouraging companies to seek safer alternatives) and encouragement of innovation.

But producers would have to pay high price for vague ecological benefits, the European Commission has estimated the REACH will cost industry 5,2 bn euros over 11 years. Other estimates put the figure as high as 18 bn euros. But that is only the losses of European companies, foreign companies will have to pay even more. Each product (that include chemicals, steel, glass, raw materials, products with low added value) imported into the EU has to be tested in the specific authorized labs inside the EU that creates a monopoly on the market of such services plus these tests cost significant sums of money from 30000 to 1 million euros that will increase the price of the product and what is also important not only on European markets.

In 2003 the USA and Japan did their best to prevent the applying of the REACH, basing their protest on the fact that this law significantly decreases the market competitiveness of their products, later on China, Brazil and India had joined them in that fight. But however that gave no result because the REACH was built wisely and is protected from such attacks. Firstly it is internal legislation of the European union that formally does not effect interests of non-residents (but only until their products don’t cross the EU borders), the REACH does not have the status of international law but it has direct influence on foreign countries economy. And the strongest argument is that it is an ecological law so strong attacks on it would create a negative image of the producer how would be considered to hide some dangerous components of its products.

To be honest Ukrainian exporters are not ready at all to fulfilling of the REACH, most of them had found out about the new legislation only when were signing contracts for the new year and were asked how the preparation process is going. Considerable shares of the EU market can be lost by companies which won’t pass the certification in time. What is also important, the REACH gives European side an effective mechanism of preventing importing specific types of goods and even barring down import made by concrete companies due to endless bureaucratic process of certification.

Ukrainian companies exporters have no other chance to pass all the barriers made by the REACH but get strong governmental support by means of consulting services and legislative advices. But not much had been done by goverment to overcome that barier, among some weak steps toward Ukrainian businesses can be highligted the creating the Center of coordination and consultation for all questions relative to the REACH legislation founded by the Cabinet of Ministers and National Association of producers of Ukraine on the 5th of November 2007. But that is deffinatly not enough, Ukrainian laws have to be adjusted to new global tendency of constant emplementation of strick ecological norms. In soviet time ecological legislation was even stricker towards importers but that was mainly done to prevent import of foreign goods. However nothing has been done since the 2003 when the REACH appeared as the raw project. Unfortunatly owr goverment is too busy with the fight for power and deligate time to nothing but populistic questions while Ukrainian businesses sufer much and have to build their own way to important European markets. Even Russia had created a national commision on adjusting the REACH legislaton to local norms back in 2006 and since then a huge step was maid towards local exporters.

The REACH is a solid barrier on the way to free trade with such an important market like the EU and Ukrainian exporters along with government have to be extremely serious about matching all the demands and passing all the test required by the REACH.