CLP and International activities
The CLP Regulation is the EU's implementation of the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). As such it is expected to facilitate global trade in chemicals. The Commission therefore continues to be involved in the international bodies responsible for maintaining the GHS and promoting its implementation, as described below.
UN – ECOSOC subsidiary bodies
The UN Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (CETDG/GHS) is responsible for strategic issues, whereas the Sub-Committee of Experts on the GHS (SCE GHS) is responsible for technical issues, such as:
- acting as custodian of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), managing and giving direction to the harmonisation process;
- keeping the system up to date;
- promoting understanding and use of the system.
Both the Committee and the Sub-Committee report to the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Further information
The SCE GHS might request the OECD, as one of its technical focal points, to examine the possibilities for developing criteria for health or environmental hazards.
WTO
The CLP Regulation has been notified to the WTO and its Members under the TBT Agreement (reference G/TBT/N/EEC/163).
Further information on this procedure and on the notification of the regulation can be found on Enterprise and Industry DG's TBT database and on the WTO website.
Transport
For international transport purposes, classification and labelling systems mirror the international transport regulations for all modes of transport. The Commission Services responsible for implementation in transport have introduced GHS, in the framework of the Directives on Transport of Dangerous Goods, based on the “Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations”. For the maintenance of the legal instruments and codes governing the international transport of dangerous goods is within the remits of the Sub-Committee of Experts of the Transport of Dangerous Goods SCE TDG).
Bilateral activities
The Commission has also initiated dialogues with a number of important trade partners in order to exchange inform about implementation of the GHS in the EU and in the countries concerned, in order to improve mutual knowledge and work towards a harmonised implementation of GHS.
