Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, addressed the Consumer Specialty Products Association’s International Committee’s mid-year meeting, May 6 in Chicago, providing CSPA members with an update on international product policy issues. CSPA, which represents hundreds of companies that manufacture, formulate, distribute and sell a wide range of consumer products, is a member of USCIB.
Medina presented an overview of USCIB’s product policy priorities, which include a science-based approach to chemicals life-cycles management and bringing downstream users’ perspectives to policy-making decisions. She also discussed three important international forums for USCIB Product Policy Working Group:
- work in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) process
- the UN’s Strategic Approach to International Chemicals’ Management (SAICM) process, and
- the work of the UN Environment Program.
In addition, USCIB has been working to provide input on Korea’s new chemical regulation, referred by many observers as “Korea REACH” due to the legislation’s similarities to the European Union’s REACH (registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals) rules.
Medina’s main takeaway points were that these inter-governmental discussions of product policy matter for companies of all sizes, that business can and must be involved in the process, and that different industries must work together to present a common private-sector viewpoint and positions.
Staff contact: Helen Medina
