On 13 December 2024, a new EU regulation came into force which changes the landscape for UK exporters who sell goods into the European Union. The European General Product Safety Regulation (the Regulation) places a number of requirements on all manufacturers who sell their goods in the EU, but for UK manufacturers, one requirement may be of particular interest.
This blog provides information on the new Regulation and has been produced in response to SPICe receiving a number of enquiries about this new Regulation.
The European General Product Safety Regulation
According to the European Commission, the Regulation:
“Modernises the EU general product safety framework and address the new challenges posed to product safety by the digitalisation of our economies. The GPSR requires that all consumer products on the EU markets are safe and it establishes specific obligations for businesses to ensure it.
It applies to non-food products and to all sales channels. The GPSR provides a safety net for products or risks not regulated in other EU legislation. This safety net function means that EU consumers are always protected against dangerous products, be it now or in the future.”
The objectives of the new Regulation are:
- ensuring the safety of all products, including those linked to new technologies;
- addressing challenges posed by the growth of online sales and in particular via online marketplaces;
- ensuring better enforcement of the rules and more efficient and even market surveillance;
- improving the effectiveness of recalls of dangerous products in the hands of consumers.
In line with the provisions of the Windsor Framework, the new Regulation will be applicable in Northern Ireland including where GB manufacturers sell goods in Northern Ireland. According to the UK Government, the Regulation:
“Requires that all consumer products placed on the NI and EU markets are safe and establishes specific obligations for businesses to ensure that safety. The Regulation applies to products placed on, or made available to, the market where there are no sector-specific provisions with the same objective.”
The Regulation does not apply to:
- medicinal products for human or veterinary use
- food
- feed
- living plants and animals, genetically modified organisms and genetically modified microorganisms in contained use, as well as products or plants and animals relating directly to their future reproduction
- animal by-products and derived products
- plant protection products.
What’s the main impact on UK manufacturers?
From a UK perspective, as a third country, the requirement in the Regulation which is likely to have the biggest impact is that it also requires UK manufacturers who export products to the EU to ensure a responsible economic operator based in the European Union is in place to ensure compliance tasks are fulfilled. The obligations of a responsible economic operator are set out in Article 4 of the EU Regulation on Market Surveillance and Compliance and Article 16 of this Regulation.
Article 16(1) states:
“A product covered by this Regulation shall not be placed on the market unless there is an economic operator established in the Union who is responsible for the tasks set out in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 in respect to that product.”
Article 16 of the Regulation also sets out additional roles for the economic operator:
“The economic operator referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall, upon request by the market surveillance authorities, provide documented evidence of the checks performed.
The name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, and contact details, including the postal and electronic address, of the economic operator referred to in paragraph 1 shall be indicated on the product or on its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.”
Where UK manufacturers are no longer economic operators established in the European Union, they will need to appoint an authorised representative who is based in the European Union to represent them and carry out certain duties on their behalf including those set out in Article 16 of the Regulation.
For UK based providers of online marketplaces which sell into the EU, the Regulations also require that they designate a single point of contact allowing for direct communication, by electronic means, with Member States’ market surveillance authorities in relation to product safety issues.
UK Government guidance
Guidance on complying with the requirements set out in this particular Regulation was published by the UK Government on 3 December 2024, ten days before the Regulation came into force. The guidance states the UK Government’s belief that:
“There are various ways to meet the requirements of Article 16 of the GPSR, and most UK businesses will likely have sufficient arrangements in place, especially if they already trade with the EU. However, businesses should review this guidance to make certain their arrangements are sufficient or to make necessary changes.”
On the Regulations application in Northern Ireland, the UK Government guidance states:
“The GPSR applies in NI. For a GB-based business wanting to place a product on, or make a product available to, the NI market, it will have to comply with the requirements of the Regulation – this includes the responsible economic operator requirement outlined in section 3.
If a GB-based business has already taken steps to trade in the EU, it will not have to make any additional changes in order to operate in NI, as it will already be meeting the requirements of the Regulation. Most UK businesses that sell goods in NI will likely have sufficient arrangements in place already in order to sell into the EU.”
What support are Scottish and UK businesses getting to navigate new EU rules such as these?
The issue of help for businesses exporting to the European Union was a theme of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee (CEEAC) inquiry into the Review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Committee heard:
“extensive evidence about the challenges that businesses have faced in managing the new administrative burden of importing or exporting goods between the UK and the EU, including keeping pace with changing EU regulations to ensure compliance.”
The Committee also heard:
“a consistent view that there was a need for greater support to be provided to business to monitor changes in EU regulations and consequently regulatory divergence, in order for them to comply with EU regulations where necessary for trade.”
When asked by the Committee how the Scottish Government is supporting Scottish businesses to navigate the new trading arrangements, the Cabinet Secretary said that “there is a constant effort to work out how we can ameliorate the challenges”, and that the Scottish Government and its agencies “will do everything that we can to ensure that unnecessary red tape or barriers to trade are removed.”
Scottish Development International (SDI) told the Committee that its:
“focus has been on supporting companies to operate after Brexit using the microsite to provide a Scottish entry point to appropriate UK-wide sources of funding and advice including information on VAT, taxes, customs, funding, logistics and labelling.”
SDI also explained that its support for businesses has included:
“engaging intensively with exporters on a one-to-one basis, to support them to understand new rules and regulations and to adapt to a new trading relationship with Europe, providing advice and guidance, gathering insights and exploring solutions where challenges exist.”
The Committee conclusions included the following recommendations:
Recognising the significant difficulties that Scottish businesses are experiencing in navigating and complying with the customs and regulatory requirements of trading with the EU, the Committee’s view is that greater support and guidance is required from the UK Government and Scottish Government to manage the complexity of the new trading environment.
The Committee invites the UK Government to explore, in collaboration with the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations, establishing a formal mechanism to monitor relevant changes to EU law and track the emerging and increasing divergence in policy or technical standards between the EU and the UK, including where the extent of divergence or alignment with the EU differs in Scotland from the rest of the UK. As noted above, this information should be made publicly available as a resource for industry so that this monitoring burden does not sit with individual businesses and business representative bodies.
The Committee also heard that there is a need for simpler guidance to be developed for businesses in the UK and EU on customs procedures, rules of origin and other issues relating to UK-EU trade. The Committee invites the UK Government and European Commission to engage with businesses and representative bodies to develop clear guidance which meets their needs.
In terms of support for businesses exporting to the EU, Scottish Enterprise provides support to Scottish businesses. The UK Government also provides guidance on exporting to the EU at Export support for UK businesses – great.gov.uk – great.gov.uk, this site also includes details about complying with Trade restrictions, regulations and licensing. The UK Government has also published a step by step guide which sets out the process for exporting goods.
Iain McIver, SPICe Research