February 17, 2023, ECHA has released two substances that are proposed to be identified as substances of very high concern (SVHC) for public consultation. Related enterprises may make comments on the two substances before April 3, 2023.

On January 12, 2023, the Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration supplemented a total of 15 chemical substances to the concerned chemical list in the following 3 categories: 5 substances with concerns about food safety risks; 2 new psychoactive substances (NPS); and 8 explosive precursors.

On February 9, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee tweeted that it has endorsed the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a measure aimed at responding to climate change and preventing carbon leakage, with 63 votes in favor, 7 votes against and 7 votes in abstention.

What you need to know about the South Korean MSDS submission process and CBI protection

On January 13, 2023, five countries – Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden – submitted a restriction proposal to ECHA on Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under REACH. On February 7, ECHA published the detailed restriction proposal of roughly 10,000 PFASs, which is the broadest restriction proposal in history. Next, ECHA will start a six-month public consultation on PFASs on March 22.