Government bows to pressure from industry over costs of switching over to British marking

 

 

The UK will retain the EU’s product safety mark indefinitely, in the latest climbdown from proposed post-Brexit changes, after the government bowed to pressure from industry and manufacturers.

The CE (Conformité Européenne) mark is used by the bloc to certify that a wide range of items – from electrical goods and construction materials to medical devices and toys – meet safety standards.

 

The safety marking had been expected to be replaced by a new UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark for goods sold in Great Britain from the end of 2024, after several extensions to the deadline for the changeover.

 

Businesses had called on the government to extend the use of the CE mark, saying that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which would initially duplicate EU product standards, would add significant costs at a time when many have been trying to get over the disruption caused by the pandemic and stubbornly high inflation.

The UKCA mark would not have been recognised in the EU, so would have been required only for goods to be sold in Great Britain.

 

FULL STORY

 

 

 

 

Climb down or a cunning plan...........????

The interesting thing about this latest BREXIT climbdown is the fact that keeping the CE certification requires keeping the laws, regulations and standards upon which the CE certification is founded.

 

 

Oh dear, looks like the old kite mark has flown away again ????

3 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The interesting thing about this latest BREXIT climbdown is the fact that keeping the CE certification requires keeping the laws, regulations and standards upon which the CE certification is founded.

 

 

Another confirmation of F.I.N.O.

18 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The interesting thing about this latest BREXIT climbdown is the fact that keeping the CE certification requires keeping the laws, regulations and standards upon which the CE certification is founded.

 

 

The article is very misleading. The CE mark can be used for certain products under a self certification process and this I think is what the article is referring to. Effectively a domestic arrangement.

Many products have however have to be certified in order to use the mark by what is known as a "Notified Body" and for some years now UK  manufacturers have had to use a Notified Body located in the EU where the necessary regulations are in place. All UK Notified Bodies were closed down a few years back.

Any company engaged in international trade would require the CE mark for many countries other than Europe as it is now established as an international standard.

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

The article is very misleading. The CE mark can be used for certain products under a self certification process and this I think is what the article is referring to. Effectively a domestic arrangement.

Many products have however have to be certified in order to use the mark by what is known as a "Notified Body" and for some years now UK  manufacturers have had to use a Notified Body located in the EU where the necessary regulations are in place. All UK Notified Bodies were closed down a few years back.

Any company engaged in international trade would require the CE mark for many countries other than Europe as it is now established as an international standard.

It’s not a ‘Domestic Arrangement’ it’s the continuing implementation of the EU CE mark by the UK, as lobbied for by UK manufacturers.

And the ditching of the proposed UKCA mark.

 

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/ce-ukca/

22 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The interesting thing about this latest BREXIT climbdown is the fact that keeping the CE certification requires keeping the laws, regulations and standards upon which the CE certification is founded.

 

 

No it has no impact on that.

 

If companies want to sell into the EU they have to have the CE mark. So any company exporting to the EU will build their products to EU standards anyway.

 

If companies want to sell in the UK they need the CE mark or the UKCA mark.

 

Under the change companies wanting to sell to both markets would need both certifications. And that would have meant that companies in the EU would have to get the UKCA mark if they wanted to continue to sell to the UK, which would have lead to price increases by the manufacturers, and some companies no longer selling to the uk as it would not be financially viable.

 

Now the change has been scrapped, neither UK businesses wanting to sell internally nor EU businesses wanting to sell to the UK need pay the extra costs for dual certification.

 

So in summary, no changes to standards requirements as companies will always make products to the standards required to the markets they sell to. The climbdown just means that businesses won't have any additional costs and paperwork, and consumers won't have to worry about price increases and products becoming unavailable.

28 minutes ago, JayClay said:

No it has no impact on that.

 

If companies want to sell into the EU they have to have the CE mark. So any company exporting to the EU will build their products to EU standards anyway.

 

If companies want to sell in the UK they need the CE mark or the UKCA mark.

 

Under the change companies wanting to sell to both markets would need both certifications. And that would have meant that companies in the EU would have to get the UKCA mark if they wanted to continue to sell to the UK, which would have lead to price increases by the manufacturers, and some companies no longer selling to the uk as it would not be financially viable.

 

Now the change has been scrapped, neither UK businesses wanting to sell internally nor EU businesses wanting to sell to the UK need pay the extra costs for dual certification.

 

So in summary, no changes to standards requirements as companies will always make products to the standards required to the markets they sell to. The climbdown just means that businesses won't have any additional costs and paperwork, and consumers won't have to worry about price increases and products becoming unavailable.

That only makes sense of you believe manufacturers are going to be applying two sets of standards, by definition an increases cost and paperwork.

 

 Clearly this is a significant BREXIT U-Turn, the Government have given in to industry lobbyists.

 

It’s another of those steps away from the impacts of BREXIT.

 

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

That only makes sense of you believe manufacturers are going to be applying two sets of standards, by definition an increases cost and paperwork.

 

 Clearly this is a significant BREXIT U-Turn, the Government have given in to industry lobbyists.

 

It’s another of those steps away from the impacts of BREXIT.

 

Huh?? If they wanted to sell to both markets they would have had to apply for two sets of standards certification. Now they won't have to.

 

The rest of your post I agree with 100%. But there's still a lot of pain to come with the rest of the implementation of Brexit. Dropping the UKIP certification requirement was a good step, but there's more pain to come which won't be u-turned on, unfortunately.

20 hours ago, Jeff the Chef said:

Oh dear, looks like the old kite mark has flown away again ????

Easy now. On a Thailand forum, the expression 'flying a kite' has a different interpretation.????

28 minutes ago, JayClay said:

Huh?? If they wanted to sell to both markets they would have had to apply for two sets of standards certification. Now they won't have to.

 

The rest of your post I agree with 100%. But there's still a lot of pain to come with the rest of the implementation of Brexit. Dropping the UKIP certification requirement was a good step, but there's more pain to come which won't be u-turned on, unfortunately.

The UKCA mark might have an application, it could be apply to products manufactured in the UK that meet lower UK standards but fail to meet EU standards.

 

The mark of lower quality goods for the UK market.

 

A real BREXIT benefit.

What's the difference between CE mark, UKCA mark, BSI Kitemark™ and G-Mark?

The most basic difference is that the CE mark, UKCA mark and G-Mark demonstrate that a product or service meets legal requirements, whereas the BSI Kitemark is a mark of trust and confidence,  demonstrating a level of quality, safety, sustainablity and/ or security over and above any basic legal requirements. This means the CE and UKCA marks are often mandatory, whereas Kitemark certification is often voluntary. In many cases Kitemark certification is required for market access or as a tender requirement at an industry level.

https://www.bsigroup.com/en-IN/blog/kitemark-blog/ce-mark-ukca-mark-bsi-kitemark-and-g-mark---whats-the-difference/

UKCA and CE marks states the product meets the legal requirements for the country the product is sold in 

22 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The UKCA mark might have an application, it could be apply to products manufactured in the UK that meet lower UK standards but fail to meet EU standards.

 

The mark of lower quality goods for the UK market.

 

A real BREXIT benefit.

Equally the UKCA mark might have an application for products that are sold in the UK that conformed to a higher standard than the CE Mark  The mark of higher quality products for the UK market A real Brexit bonus

7 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Equally the UKCA mark might have an application for products that are sold in the UK that conformed to a higher standard than the CE Mark  The mark of higher quality products for the UK market A real Brexit bonus

Rather unlikely unless there’s a profit in applying a second layer of certification and adding costs of higher quality for a fractional part of the market.

 

 

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Rather unlikely unless there’s a profit in applying a second layer of certification and adding costs of higher quality for a fractional part of the market.

 

 

But still its a possibility but as  shown some industries prefer to see the  BSI Kitemark as a mark of trust and confidence,  demonstrating a level of quality, safety, sustainablity and/ or security over and above any basic legal requirements

such as CE or UKCA markings

31 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

But still its a possibility but as  shown some industries prefer to see the  BSI Kitemark as a mark of trust and confidence,  demonstrating a level of quality, safety, sustainablity and/ or security over and above any basic legal requirements

such as CE or UKCA markings

Odd then that it’s manufacturers that lobbied the Government to retain the CE mark and ditch the UKCA.

 

14 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Odd then that it’s manufacturers that lobbied the Government to retain the CE mark and ditch the UKCA.

 

You have already stated this incorrect statement and your post was corrected by @JayClay  No plans to ditch the UKCA mark if Businesses are only selling there products in the UK markets and other markets they can still continue to use the UKCA mark if they want to sell their products exclusively to the EU market they use the CE mark or if they want to sell to UK and EU markets they can use CE mark or UKCA mark for UK and other markets outside the EU and CE mark for products sold in the EU

As stated in your original link

Tina McKenzie, the policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the continued recognition of CE-marked products would “allow time for small firms to adjust to the UKCA marking system and focus on growing their business both at home and overseas”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/uk-eu-safety-mark-brexit-climbdown

4 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

You have already stated this incorrect statement and your post was corrected by @JayClay  No plans to ditch the UKCA mark if Businesses are only selling there products in the UK markets and other markets they can still continue to use the UKCA mark if they want to sell their products exclusively to the EU market they use the CE mark or if they want to sell to UK and EU markets they can use CE mark or UKCA mark for UK and other markets outside the EU and CE mark for products sold in the EU

As stated in your original link

Tina McKenzie, the policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the continued recognition of CE-marked products would “allow time for small firms to adjust to the UKCA marking system and focus on growing their business both at home and overseas”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/uk-eu-safety-mark-brexit-climbdown

Another BREXIT can kicked down the road.

 

The UKCA is dead in the water.

 

 

13 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Another BREXIT can kicked down the road.

 

The UKCA is dead in the water.

 

 

Another fake statement  even the Guardian doesn't agree with you

Edited August 2, 20232 yr by vinny41
typo

1 hour ago, vinny41 said:

Equally the UKCA mark might have an application for products that are sold in the UK that conformed to a higher standard than the CE Mark  The mark of higher quality products for the UK market A real Brexit bonus

Goody goody, there MIGHT be a Brexit bonus.

 

Looking forward to flying my kite in the sunny uplands of Brexit, I can't wait.

22 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Another fake statement  even the Guardian doesn't agree with you

Because of course given the indefinite extension of the CE mark British businesses will be eager to adopt the now necessary UKCA mark.

 

Well of course they will not:

 

https://www.conformance.co.uk/about/news/452-ce-mark-recognition-extended-indefinitely-by-uk-government

14 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Because of course given the indefinite extension of the CE mark British businesses will be eager to adopt the now necessary UKCA mark.

 

Well of course they will not:

 

https://www.conformance.co.uk/about/news/452-ce-mark-recognition-extended-indefinitely-by-uk-government

From your original post link

. Companies will also be able to choose whether to use either the UKCA or the CE mark when selling their products in Great Britain.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/uk-eu-safety-mark-brexit-climbdown

36 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

From your original post link

. Companies will also be able to choose whether to use either the UKCA or the CE mark when selling their products in Great Britain.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/uk-eu-safety-mark-brexit-climbdown

Yep, they can use the UKCA for goods that don’t come up to EU standards.

 

Or they can take advantage of economies of scale and stick with the CE mark, which is why manufacturers lobbied Government to keep the CE mark.

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

Yep, they can use the UKCA for goods that don’t come up to EU standards.

 

Or they can take advantage of economies of scale and stick with the CE mark, which is why manufacturers lobbied Government to keep the CE mark.

Did you read the article that in the original link that you posted

Businesses had called on the government to extend the use of the CE mark, saying that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which would initially duplicate EU product standards, would add significant costs at a time when many have been trying to get over the disruption caused by the pandemic and stubbornly high inflation.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/uk-eu-safety-mark-brexit-climbdown

So more rubbish posted by you as the Businesses had called on the government to extend the use of the CE mark, saying that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which would initially duplicate EU product standards,

Its quite simply if you have a product that is intended for the UK market only you would use the UKCA mark if you have a product that you plan to sell in Europe you would use the CE mark 

Are you a closet Brexiteer as all my remainer friends advise me that its only brexiteers that post false information 

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Another BREXIT can kicked down the road.

 

The UKCA is dead in the water.

 

 

You must be in heaven being able to have yet another crack over Brexit.......????

40 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Did you read the article that in the original link that you posted

Businesses had called on the government to extend the use of the CE mark, saying that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which would initially duplicate EU product standards, would add significant costs at a time when many have been trying to get over the disruption caused by the pandemic and stubbornly high inflation.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/uk-eu-safety-mark-brexit-climbdown

So more rubbish posted by you as the Businesses had called on the government to extend the use of the CE mark, saying that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which would initially duplicate EU product standards,

Its quite simply if you have a product that is intended for the UK market only you would use the UKCA mark if you have a product that you plan to sell in Europe you would use the CE mark 

Are you a closet Brexiteer as all my remainer friends advise me that its only brexiteers that post false information 

Indefinitely extended by a Government facing annihilation at the next election.

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Indefinitely extended by a Government facing annihilation at the next election.

Where to start fake posts, deviation from topic off topic my remainer friends must be right you are a closet Brexiteer as  its only brexiteer's that post false information 

26 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Where to start fake posts, deviation from topic off topic my remainer friends must be right you are a closet Brexiteer as  its only brexiteer's that post false information 

No deviation at all, the application of the CE Mark is extended indefinitely by a Government facing annihilation at the next election.

 

Why a ‘BREXITEER’ would point out this example of the Government walking back its own post BREXIT ‘freedom’ policies is something for you to explain. 

35 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

No deviation at all, the application of the CE Mark is extended indefinitely by a Government facing annihilation at the next election.

 

Why a ‘BREXITEER’ would point out this example of the Government walking back its own post BREXIT ‘freedom’ policies is something for you to explain. 

Your must be wearing your Mystic Chomper Higgot hat today if you know the outcome of the next General Election I am not a betting man but all the media reports stated that Labour would win Uxbridge & South Ruislip by a landslide

I might have a punt at Corbyn as  independent for the next Mayor of London

I would have lost money if I had place a bet that Coutts would never offer Nigel banking facilities again as it appears they now have