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COMMERCE BUSINESS DAILY ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 9,1996 PSA#1675BELGIUM: LAW ON PRODUCT STANDARDS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC
HEALTH The following notification is being circulated in accordance
with Article 10.6. G/TBT/Notif.96.263. 1. Member to Agreement
notifying: Belgium. If applicable, name of local government involved
(Articles 3.2 and 7.2): 2. Agency responsible: Cabinet Jan Peeters, Av.
Galilei 5, 1210 Brussels. Agency or authority designated to handle
comments regarding the notification can be indicated if different from
above: 3. Notified under Article 2.9.2. 4. Products covered (HS or
CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. ICS numbers
may be provided in addition, where applicable): 5. Title, number of
pages and language(s) of the notified document: Law on Product
Standards to Protect the Environment and Public Health and to Promote
Sustainable Methods of Production and Consumption. 6. Description of
content: The objective of the Law is to create an overall and
coordinated legal framework for the introduction of product standards
so that their manufacture, use (see Article 3.1(a) of Directive
91/156/EEC) and disposal make no contribution or make the smallest
possible contribution to increasing the amount or harmfulness of waste
or creating any other form of pollution. The King is empowered to take
the implementing measures inter alia to prohibit marketing, to
introduce prior authorization or notification, to have withdrawn from
sale, to regulate the properties of the product, to encourage reuse, to
establish compulsory analyses or tests, to impose an information
requirement, ...(Article 4.1). The draft provides the legal bases for
any sectoral agreements concluded (voluntarily) with industry,
prescribing inter alia that the agreements become binding upon
signature by all the parties (Article 5). The draft contains special
chapters on biocides and packaging (Articles 8 to 14). The draft's
final provisions include monitoring provisions as well as the customary
penal provisions and also allow for the possibility of establishing by
royal decree fees to finance the responsibilities given to
administrative authorities under this Law. 7. Objective and rationale:
There is no horizontal legal framework in Belgium to permit the
application of standards and products for the purposes mentioned above.
The provisions also allow speedier implementation of the harmonization
directives on the environment adopted in the EC. 8. Relevant
documents: N/A. 9. Proposed date of adoption: Proposed date of entry
into force: 60 days. 10. Final date for comments: N/A. 11. Texts
available from: National enquiry point (X) or address and telefax
number of other body: CIBELNOR. (249) Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0344 19960906\FO-0003)
FO - Foreign Government Standards Index Page
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