UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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Jimgward
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UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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The UK government is to grant a major concession to British business by prolonging the deadline for companies to adopt a new “UKCA” safety and quality mark for their goods after Brexit.

The one-year extension for UK products to continue using the EU’s “CE” safety mark came after businesses warned that they would not be ready for the planned post-Brexit shift away from EU certification at the end of 2021. 

The government climbdown, which will be announced on Tuesday, will give vital breathing space for UK manufacturers, which had warned over risks to the British supply chain if they could no longer use products made overseas.

Under the UK plans, companies will now be given until January 2023 to apply for the new “UK Conformity Assessed” marks, according to a person briefed on the move.

The government said the coronavirus pandemic had made it more difficult for businesses to prepare for the change, which requires manufactured products to be tested and carry UKCA certification to replace the EU’s CE mark.

To win UKCA status, products need to be approved by British-based authorising bodies, which has caused a backlog of applications for key components.

Trade groups, including automotive makers, lift manufacturers and building supplies groups, have repeatedly warned that the UK does not have sufficient capacity to handle the huge demand for the testing of products. 

They also warned the government that EU-based suppliers were in many cases not ready to obtain a UKCA mark in order to supply goods to the UK market, raising the risk of serious gaps in British supply chains.

Businesses added that where EU companies supplied only a small number of goods or components, they were not willing to bear the costs of certifying those products for a handful of UK businesses.

UK certification applies to the processes used to make the parts as well as the parts themselves, adding further complications.

“We haven’t got capacity in many areas such as construction products and pyrotechnics,” said Fergus McReynolds, director of EU affairs at manufacturers trade group Make UK.

“The UK is facing a crunch running up to the end of the year as more companies race to apply. Supplies will also be cut off if overseas supplying businesses are not ready. The question is then how to incentivise them to use the CA markings.”

Trade bodies are also working with officials to streamline the process of transferring existing CE marks to the new UK certification system, which recognises previous EU registrations as valid but requires them to be converted into UKCA marks. 

Nick Mellor, managing director of the Lift and Escalator Industry Association, said the extension was necessary to enable certification bodies to work through thousands of designs and safety components that need to be recertified.

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William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, which has led calls for an extension, welcomed the reprieve until January 1 2023, but warned that the government still had to consult before pulling the plug completely on CE-marked goods after that date.

He added that even with the extension, businesses involved in complex supply chains, such as the automotive sector, would still incur large costs from having to duplicate UKCA and CE marks on some components. “This could compromise the output of these industries, limit availability of goods for consumers and create mounting cost pressures on British businesses,” he added.

Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said that the since UK was unlikely to diverge from EU goods rules in practice in most areas, it made sense to continue to allow CE-marked goods to be sold in the UK, both now and far into the future.

This was also the case because CE marks are to be recognised in Northern Ireland in perpetuity under the terms of the UK-EU agreement covering trade between Northern Ireland and the EU after Brexit.

Russell Beattie, chief executive of the Federation of Environmental Trade Associations, welcomed the government move. “We are keen to work closely with the government to work through these undoubtedly complex issues,” he added.

In a statement, the UK business department said the UKCA mark was designed to allow the UK to have control over its regulation of goods after Brexit. It added that extending the deadline in the light of the continued impact of the pandemic would provide “clarity and certainty” for business.
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Jimgward
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Re: UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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In laywomans terms, this means that any electrical, medical or mechanical and many other goods, imported to the UK, will now need a CE certificate for the EU and a separate UK one for the UK

Fine for large companies. Prohibitive for small.

Also applies to much of the software market and more.
Last edited by Jimgward on Wed Aug 25, 2021 12:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Big Al
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Re: UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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I can imagine this will be a nightmare and could have major issues for the supply chain in the UK, which will lead to higher prices on most things, we are seeing huge issues in the construction industry supply chain at the moment, even on basic things, I can only see this getting worse, & prices are going skywards
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Re: UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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CE marking applies to products, ranging from electrical equipment to toys and from civil explosives to medical devices. The full list of these product categories is below:

active implantable medical devices
appliances burning gaseous fuels
cableway installations designed to carry persons
eco-design of energy related products
electromagnetic compatibility
equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
explosives for civil uses
hot-water boilers
household refrigerators and freezers
in vitro diagnostic medical devices
lifts
low voltage
machinery
measuring instruments
medical devices
noise emission in the environment
non-automatic weighing instruments
personal protective equipment
pressure equipment
pyrotechnics
radio and telecommunications terminal equipment
recreational craft
safety of toys
simple pressure vessels
Jim B
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Re: UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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As most other countries are trying to get alignment on certification the UK is going its own way which is ludicrous. Many companies in other countries just won't bother applying for the UKCA Certification due to cost and inconvenience and they will just avoid buying British equipment rather than double up on their QA-QC specifications.
I think this present government is out to destroy the UK.
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Jimgward
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Re: UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

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It would have been so easy to keep these pan-European standards in place. I think they are being totally irresponsible. There are also the standards for medicines and much more. It will cost the UK a fortune and lead to shortages and items not available at all.
Last edited by Jimgward on Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jim B
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Re: UK extends CE marking beyond 2021 as nobody is ready for UK certification

Post by Jim B »

It will affect all and everyone of us in one way or another wherever we live.
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