EU Updates Impacting U.S. Toy Community

November 17, 2020 | The Toy Association is alerting members of updates from Europe that impact the U.S. toy industry:

EU Imposes Tariffs on U.S. Products: As a result of the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and the European Union on aircraft subsidies, Europe has announced that it will impose an additional $4 billion in duties on American imports, including an additional 25 percent tariff for most games originating from the U.S. The measures came into effect on November 10.

Prepare for Submitting SCIP Notifications: The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will host a webinar on Thursday, November 19 to help companies prepare for submitting notifications to the Substances of Concern in Articles or Complex Objects (SCIP) database established under the Waste Framework Directive (WFD). Manufacturers of products that are articles (as contrasted with mixtures or pure chemical substances) sold in the EU that contain “substances of very high concern” (SVHCs) on the EU’s REACH candidate list (in a concentration above 0.1 percent weight-by-weight) must submit their information as of January 5, 2021. The webinar is accessible online; the ECHA homepage will also feature a video on how to use the tool for submitting notifications.

Members will continue to be kept apprised of international developments. Questions on global issues impacting toys may be directed to Alan Kaufman, senior vice president of technical affairs.