On 19 April 2023, the European Parliament adopted the final text of a new EU Regulation aimed at tackling deforestation and forest degradation (the “Deforestation Regulation”) requiring companies to undertake due diligence into the source of a wide range of commodities, including cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm-oil, rubber, soya and wood, to ensure that they have not been obtained as a result of deforestation. Once in force, obligated will have 18 months to implement the new…
The United Kingdom has agreed with the European Union a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland which seeks to significantly reduce the number of checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework would create two ‘lanes’ for goods which are arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain: A green lane for goods remaining in Northern Ireland (for which there will be minimal checks or paperwork); A red lane for goods…
On 14 November, the UK Government confirmed that it would continue to recognise the CE marking in Great Britain for another two years (until 31 December 2024) giving businesses extra time to prepare for the mandatory introduction of the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking. Businesses can continue to use the new UKCA marking voluntarily until then, giving them flexibility to choose which marking to apply. The UKCA marking announcement covers most types of goods which…
At the end of last month the UK government announced a range of proposed measures to ease the transition to the new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) regime that will replace the EU’s CE marking regime for the Great Britain market (England, Scotland and Wales) in respect of most types of CE marked products from the start of 2023. Note, products sold in Northern Ireland will continue to need to be CE marked as a result…
The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax (“PPT”) becomes effective on 1 April 2022 and applies to plastic packaging in the UK that contains less than 30% recycled plastic content at a rate of £200 per metric tonne. You can access our recent webinar on PPT here. The tax is aimed at encouraging the use of more sustainable plastic packaging, increasing the use of recycled plastic and helping to reduce plastic waste. The PPT has been promoted by…
Baker McKenzie’s Global Supply Chain Compliance Blog published“EU Commission Publishes Draft Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence” which can be viewed here.
Baker McKenzie’s Global Compliance News Blog published “Global: 2022: International Trade Developments in a Challenging New World,” which can be viewed here.
The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax (“PPT”) is due to take effect from 1 April 2022 and will be payable by manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled plastic content at a rate of £200 per metric tonne where certain thresholds are met. See our previous client alert on this topic here. According to the HM Revenue & Customs policy paper, the objective of the PPT is to “provide a clear economic…
On 17 November 2021 the EU published a draft Regulation seeking to introduce new due diligence requirements aimed at tackling deforestation and forest degradation (see press release here). As set out in the proposal, deforestation and forest degradation impacts climate change and the loss of biodiversity and, as a consumer of commodities connected with this issue, the EU contributes to the problem. The proposal forms part of the EU Green Deal initiative and is intended…
Baker McKenzie’s Global Supply Chain Compliance Blog published “Proposed EU Forced Labour Import Ban,” which can be viewed here.