Bath, Wiltshire, UK. According to Thinkstep Compliance, manufacturers who sell products through distributors in Europe can increase sales flexibility and reduce business risk by taking advantage of new rules in the recently revised Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2012/19/EU. The WEEE Directive is implemented through EU Member State regulations and requires the producer to register in each country, report the quantity of products that they import and sell, and finance the collection and recycling of waste products.
Article 17 of the revised WEEE Directive enables a manufacturer to appoint an authorized representative who can manage WEEE compliance for all product sales by all distributors in a Member State. This increases sales flexibility for the manufacturer who can now partner with any distributor in that country—the manufacturer is no longer limited to choosing distributors who agree to manage WEEE compliance for products they import and sell. The reduced business risks are illustrated by a case study explaining a four-month stop sell in Germany experienced by a U.S. manufacturer when its distributor refused to manage WEEE compliance in Germany.
Thinkstep Compliance is offering free webcasts on Thursday March 10 that will explain how companies can protect product sales across Europe by appointing authorized representatives in EU Member States. The event will also explain how Thinkstep Compliance can manage the appointments and guarantee companies’ compliance to WEEE, battery, and packaging regulations across Europe through its www.ec4p.com (Environmental Compliance 4 Products) web portal.
Registration for the first webcast on March 10 at 9 a.m. Central European Time is available at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/438923215271616001. Registration for the second webcast on March 10 at 4 p.m. Central European Time time is available at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5801964902586651137.
