The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has welcomed a Government U-turn on plans to ditch the CE safety mark on British goods and products.
The CE mark was due to be replaced with a new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark at the end of next year after its original implementation was delayed following lobbying from business groups.
Now the Government has confirmed it will allow businesses to continue using the CE mark indefinitely, alongside the new UKCA system.
BCC Head of Trade Policy, William Bain, said: “Businesses will breathe a sigh of relief that the Government has decided to take a pragmatic approach to the safety marking of products sold in Great Britain.
“With inflation still high and interest rates continuing to rise, this announcement will bring some welcome respite. There would be significant costs involved in removing the usage of the CE mark, even for just the UK internal market.
“BCC research carried out in 2021 found that only 8% of business were in favour of getting rid of the current EU marking system, called CE, by the start of 2023, and 59% of businesses, affected by the decision, wanted to keep it.
“They saw strong benefits in retaining the most recognised system for testing and marking of industrial and electrical goods for business. Having to use two marking systems, one for in the UK and one for the EU market, would have also led to limited choice for customers if firms decided not to do both.
“This outcome means businesses will be able to decide which system to use, or both. This will also help businesses in Northern Ireland and Great Britain in terms of the operation of the Windsor Framework.
“The BCC strongly made the case for continued use of CE marking to Government for more than two years. It is a relief to see the strong voice of businesses across the UK being acted upon.
“Now we must develop processes for regulatory co-operation between the EU and UK, so that businesses can avoid any unnecessary cliff-edges on the introduction of future regulations affecting UK-EU trade in goods.”
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