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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : Sub-file(A) to EIC 230/2/11

6 July 2011

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 398/2011

European Union (EU)* : Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 452/2010 dated 5 October 2010, the European Commission (the Commission) has adopted a Directive laying down the rules in restricting the use of hazardous substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) with a view to contributing to the protection of human health and the environment, including the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Details are set out in Commission Directive 2011/65/EU (the Directive) through the following link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:174:0088:0110:EN:PDF

DETAILS

2. Directive 2002/95/EC aims at reducing the use of certain hazardous substances in EEE. It requires Member States to ensure that from 1 July 2006, EEE put on the market should not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Since there is a number of substantial changes made to Directive 2002/95/EC and thus, in the interest of clarity, that Directive should be recast.

3. The new Directive 2011/65/EU shall apply to EEE falling within the categories set out in Annex I of the Directive. Member States shall ensure that EEE placed on the market does not contain the substances listed in Annex II and cannot exceed the maximum concentration value by weight in homogeneous materials as specified. Exemptions are set out in Annexes III and IV. An application for granting, renewing or revoking an exemption shall be made to the Commission in accordance with Annex V. The obligations of manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors are set out in Articles 7 - 11.

4. Directive 2002/95/EC as amended by the acts listed in Annex VII, Part A is repealed with effect from 3 January 2013. Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 2 January 2013. The Commission shall examine the need to amend the scope of the Directive no later than 22 July 2014 and it shall carry out a general review by 22 July 2021.

ENQUIRIES

5. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,



(Miss Anita WONG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.





Note ：

  • (1) While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.
  • (2)The biweekly newsletter "Business Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. The newsletter is available for free e-subscription and can be accessed through
    http://www.tdctrade.com/alert/eualert.htm.