EU to Implement High-Risk Substance Reporting System Starting January Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The European Union (EU) will impose an obligation from January next year for suppliers within the EU to report to the Substances of Concern In articles, as such or in complex objects (Products) (SCIP) database if their finished products contain high-risk substances exceeding 0.1% by weight. In this context, it has become urgent for our industry to prepare countermeasures.

According to an urgent survey conducted in June by the Brussels branch of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) targeting 250 Korean companies operating in Europe, many were unaware of the introduction of the SCIP reporting system itself, and 83% of the respondents expressed a desire to postpone the system’s implementation due to lack of preparation. Some companies interviewed individually stated, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred earlier this year, we lacked the capacity to respond to this issue."

In response, KITA collaborated with over 40 related organizations, including the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), and sent letters twice in June and once in September to EU policy authorities requesting a one-year postponement of the system’s enforcement. However, EU policy authorities are expected to implement the system as scheduled.

With industry response urgently needed, KITA held a webinar on the 13th titled ‘Responding to the EU SCIP Reporting System’ by inviting experts related to the EU SCIP.

The webinar, conducted via the Zoom video conferencing platform with dual live broadcasts from Seoul and Europe, featured presentations by Seo Jeong-ho, Director of External Cooperation at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology’s European Research Institute, and Kim Ji-young, a consultant from the European local consulting firm SCC GmbH. They discussed trends in the SCIP reporting system, precautions for companies, and how to prepare SCIP reporting documents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.