disneydream06

This is for my European friends. Please don't let Georgie get you guys.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION STEPS UP PRESSURE ON EU TO WEAKEN PROPOSED CHEMICAL LAWS

In its aggressive campaign to water down proposed new toxic
chemical regulations in Europe, the Bush administration is now
making vague accusations that the European initiative violates
World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements governing how nations
do business with one another.

At a July 1 meeting of the WTO's Technical Barriers to Trade
Committee meeting, the administration submitted general comments
that parroted the U.S. chemical industry's objections to the
proposed regulations, known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation,
and Authorization of Chemicals). However, U.S. officials failed
to spell out how REACH would conflict with current WTO
agreements -- despite recent demands from two U.S. senators that
they do so. [1]

Prior to the July 1 meeting, U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg
(D-NJ) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT) wrote to U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Zoellick, asking that he cite the specific
WTO provisions that REACH would allegedly violate.

"We are troubled by reports that the position of this
administration on REACH may reflect the interests of a narrow
segment of U.S. industry without consideration of the broader
ramifications for the U.S. economy, national interest, public
health, and the environment," the letter stated. [2]

The REACH initiative -- the most sweeping change in European
chemical policy in decades -- would require chemical
manufacturers to provide the public with information about the
potential harmfulness of their products before placing them on
the market. It would also provide stricter regulations for
thousands of chemicals already on the market.. Although the
proposal would only govern countries in the European Union, U.S.
chemical manufacturers would have to comply with the new rules
in order to export their products to Europe.

The Bush administration, which has consistently favored policies
beneficial to the U.S. chemical industry, has teamed up with
American chemical companies to lobby against REACH and has
already succeeded in weakening some of the proposed rules.
Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell himself
stepped up pressure on the EU when he cabled U.S. diplomats with
a list of talking points, urging them to voice these objections
to European officials. [3]

In its latest attack, the Bush administration is working to
rally support among allies outside of Europe, to show that REACH
would create barriers to trade among nations. The
administration's argument "reflects a lot of industry arguments,
such as the new regulations being too 'costly' or 'burdensome,'"
Mary Bottari, an analyst for Public Citizen, told
BushGreenwatch.

"Once again, we have the U.S. position equals the chemical
industry position," agreed Joe DiGangi, a scientist with the
Environmental Health Fund.

Supporters of REACH say sweeping changes in chemical regulations
are urgently needed, both here and abroad. Currently, little is
known about the safety of chemicals manufactured in the U.S. or
Europe. Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. does not require
companies to test chemicals for human exposure risks before
placing them on the market.

###

SOURCES:
[1] US comments submitted to WTO Technical Barriers to Trade
Committee, July 1, 2004; Letter to US Trade Representative
Robert B. Zoellick from Sens. Lautenberg and Jeffords, Jun. 22,
2004.
[2] Ibid.
[3] BushGreenwatch, Apr. 9, 2004.

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