Driven by proactive European Union regulatory mindsets, regulations are requiring affirmative registration as a condition for shipping and selling manufactured products.  A current “ticking clock” is represented by REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals).  This requires pre-registration by 12-1-08 which earns an 18 month “grace period” during which manufacturers provide rigorous compliance demonstration.  Most companies have not met those pre registration requirements, and will face a requirement to prove compliance in 2009 - - with no grace period.

This REACH regulation alone could bring an exporting manufacturer to its virtual knees, and it is just the tip of a regulatory iceberg which is going to require new attention at the top of your company’s decision pyramid - - no longer “just” an environmental department problem.