The EU’s new law affects Ningbo’s exports of over 100 million U.S. dollars of products

Recently, the European Commission issued Regulation No. 26 of 2016, requiring that the content of nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (NPE) in textile products shall not exceed 0.01% (100ppm). The transition period of the regulations is 5 years, that is, starting from February 2021, products that do not meet the limit requirements will not be allowed to be sold or imported in the EU market. The EU is our city’s largest textile export market, with exports exceeding US$3.4 billion in 2015. This ban will have a greater impact on the export of key products such as Ningbo’s clothing, indoor textiles, yarns, and weaving fabrics.
It is understood that the impact of the new regulations on enterprises is mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, more than half of the products will face the risk of being eliminated. NPE is the most commonly used detergent and dyeing auxiliary in the textile industry, accounting for more than 80% of my country’s market share. Currently, more than 50% of textile products on the market will fail to meet the EU NPE limit requirements, especially in printing and dyeing, leather, chemical fiber and other industries. Second, production and testing costs will increase significantly. In order to comply with the new EU regulations, production companies need to upgrade scouring, bleaching, dyeing and other processes. The processes are complex and parameter control is difficult, resulting in increased corporate costs. At the same time, raw material and testing costs also need to increase by 10% to more than 30%. Third, some textile companies will be out of business early. Although the EU has given a transition period of more than 5 years, according to the investigation, some EU customers have asked our textile companies to use the new version of the directive for product inspection. The actual implementation time of the directive has been greatly advanced, and some products will face the threat of being eliminated early. .
The Ningbo Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau reminds relevant export companies that first, they should pay close attention to and track the progress of the new NPE regulations, understand the specific content of the ban, and proactively formulate detailed response strategies; second, they should take advantage of the transition period of the regulations to improve production processes. , do a good job in research and development of NPE substitute products, and improve the level of clean production technology of enterprises; third, improve the quality management system, strengthen the quality of purchased raw materials and the quality control of the production process, and ensure that the quality of export products meets the laws, regulations and contract requirements of the importing country. .