ECHA liberalises biocide registration rules

European Union (EU) paint and coatings companies have been offered new flexibility over securing authorisation for biocidal products. A new rule that came into force on November 1 allows companies to get a national authorisation when an authorisation, or an application, for an EU-wide consent has been made for an identical product. Companies can also secure sanction for a line which is ‘part of a product family’ already subject to an authorisation; and permission for a ‘product family when it is part of a larger product family for which an authorisation (or authorisation application) exists’. A note from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) said: "The regulation was updated by the European Commission after a request from industry stating that the changes would help reduce the costs and administrative burden for companies.” See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2016.275.01.0034.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2016:275:TOC

ECHA has updated its biocides submission tool (R4BP 3) to support these new rules, including allowing companies to create a biocidal product family entry, with sub-families. https://idp-industry.echa.europa.eu/idp/

* Meanwhile, ECHA’s Biocidal Products Committee (BPC) has backed authorising the use of dichlofluanid for antifouling products, in a review under the EU biocidal products regulation. A note from the agency said: "The intended use for dichlofluanid is in antifouling products to be applied by brush or roller by non-professionals to pleasure crafts to protect surfaces from algae, diatoms and other fouling organisms”.

* Elsewhere, the EU has finally signed (on October 30) a formal text for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA), which will remove existing tariffs on paints, coatings and their ingredients traded between the EU and Canada, while cutting red tape impeding imports, exports and investment. Canadian and EU tariffs on paints and coatings trades that will go once the deal has been ratified include, for instance, paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium, based on polyesters (6.5%) and acrylic or vinyl polymers (6.5%). The agreement had been held up by a dispute with the Belgian regions of Wallonia and Brussels over its investment protection rules. A European Parliament vote could lead to the deal being implemented provisionally, although excluding some controversial elements, such as investment protections, which can only be applied in specific EU member states if their national parliaments formally ratify all CETA’s terms.