RoHS |
China RoHS Laws Notified to WTO
China notified its proposed 'RoHS' law to the WTO on September 28th. The proposed text is still available only in Chinese. The notification initiates a 60-day consultation period, with a target of 31st December 2005 for adoption and 1 July 2006 for entry into force.
Information from the notification and previous drafts has been compiled by Design Chain Associates on their website. The approach differs slightly from RoHS in that a 'catalogue' of applications will be published and reviewed every 4 years.
There are references to 'other toxic and harmful substances' in addition to the RoHS elements, with a set of marking and labelling requirements. There may not be any exemptions, giving rise to questions about, for example high-lead solders used in die-attach applications.
The indications of a possibly broader scope than RoHS and a lack of clarity on key points could give rise to concerns in the industry.
More information available on ELFNET
