U.S., EU To Beef Up Talks On REACH

The European Union's law on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization & Restriction of Chemical substances (REACH) is on the agenda for intensive trade discussions between the EU and the U.S. in the coming months. Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton met in Washington, D.C., and selected a handful of issues, including REACH, for further talks. "Through intensified bilateral engagement, we believe we can find solutions that bring meaningful economic benefits to stakeholders on both sides," Kirk and Ashton said in a joint statement. According to a spokeswoman in Kirk's office, the U.S. government's goal in the talks about REACH is "to ensure transparent implementation, legal certainty, and nondiscriminatory trade" in chemicals. The chemical industry has suggested that REACH could be considered a nontariff trade barrier under World Trade Organization rules because, arguably, the EU law is more restrictive than necessary to protect public health and the environment. Kirk and Ashton directed their staffs to discuss an agenda for the REACH-related bilateral talks.