The House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee has
published a report on the EU’s new General Product Safety
Regulation (update)
Conclusions and action
1.21 It has been clear from our own previous assessment—as well
as from the various statements made by the Minister in his
Explanatory Memorandum, his oral evidence and his most recent
letter—that the EU’s draft new legal framework on the safety of
consumer goods could have significant ramifications for the UK,
and in particular for Northern Ireland and for British exporters.
1.22 We are grateful for the Minister’s latest letter, and in
particular his reassurances that no current adverse impact of the
proposal on the UK has been identified, including under the
Northern Ireland Protocol. However, it would seem prudent for the
Government to engage proactively with the EU institutions while
the Regulation is still in draft form to ensure the UK’s
interests are taken into account to the extent necessary, given
the relevance of the proposal for both Northern Ireland and
exporting British businesses. We also remain concerned that the
interaction between the Protocol and the Internal Market Act
could over the longer term, harm the integrity of the UK’s own,
post-Brexit product safety regime as and when there is
substantive divergence from EU rules in this area (for example
when the new EU GPSR takes effect). In particular, there is a
risk—mostly hypothetical at present—that future UK-specific
safety standards in Great Britain, for example resulting from the
Government’s Product Safety Review, could be circumvented
lawfully by traders bringing in goods that only meet EU standards
via Northern Ireland. The commercial incentives for doing so are
likely to be most attractive where there is the greatest future
divergence between UK and EU product standards, in particular if
they were to require separate manufacturing processes.
1.23 In this context, we welcome the Minister’s reference to the
Government using the new Specialised Committee structure of the
EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement to discuss EU regulatory
changes and their impact on the UK. However, in cases of
particular interest (especially where the UK’s legal obligations
under the Protocol are potentially engaged), the Government’s
discussions with the EU may need to go beyond only exchanges of
information at such meetings. We would also question whether the
high-level principles on regulatory issues as set out in the
UK/EU trade agreement amount to what the Minister describes as
“support for businesses” to trade with the EU, since they are not
intended to prevent regulatory divergence and do not in
themselves prevent the EU from legislating in a way that makes it
more costly for non-EU companies to supply its market. With that
in mind, we will—like the Government—retain a close interest in
the discussions in Brussels on the new EU General Product Safety
Regulation as its legal text evolves.
1.24 We intend to ask the Minister for a more detailed assessment
of its implications for the UK when there is more clarity about
the final substance of the EU GPSR, and what steps Ministers took
to influence the discussions in Brussels. Naturally, we will at
that stage also take into account the state of play in the
Government’s talks with the EU about the operation of the
Northern Ireland Protocol. In the meantime, we draw the
Minister’s latest update about the UK implications of the EU’s
product safety proposals to the attention of the Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy Committee, the Northern Ireland Affairs
Committee and, given its potential impact on trade with the EU,
the International Trade Committee.
To read the full report, CLICK HERE
