April 2004, Washington

Rep. Waxman has released a report that shows that the Administration, at the request of the U.S. chemical industry, mounted a campaign to block the efforts of the European Union to require chemical companies to adequately assess the risks of chemicals that are sold in the marketplace. The European Union initiative to regulate the chemical industry is known as Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH).

The report is based on documents obtained by the Environmental Health Fund. The documents are a series of emails, cables, and memoranda from the State Department, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Commerce Department, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These documents show:

• Since REACH was proposed in February 2001, Administration officials “have been actively meeting with the U.S. chemicals industry to solicit their views and concerns” regarding the European Union’s proposal to regulate chemicals.
• In March 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a cable directing U.S. diplomatic posts to “raise the EU chemicals policy with relevant government officials” and to object to the REACH proposal as “a costly, burdensome, and complex regulatory system.”
• In April 2003, Secretary Powell sent another cable to diplomatic posts. This cable directed the posts to object to REACH on a priority basis.
• Officials working for the United States Trade Representative exchanged emails with industry representatives identifying European Union nations that needed to be “targeted” and urging industry to “get to the Swedes and Finns and neutralize their environmental arguments.”
• Officials from four federal agencies planned a wide range of actions to build opposition to REACH, including assigning industry representatives to coordinate the lobbying of specific countries, traveling to Europe to meet with government and industry representatives, and urging Asian and other non-European nations to oppose REACH.

The Administration’s efforts led to revisions to the REACH proposal. According to a 2003 report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), “ACC rallied opposition to the draft proposal, including a major intervention by the U.S. government. . . . These efforts . . . brought about significant concessions in the draft.” A memo from the Commerce Department reports that senior chemical industry executives met with senior Commerce Department officials to “thank the U.S. Government for its efforts to garner support for U.S. industry’s position.”

Source: Committee on Government Reform Minority Office / United States House of Representatives.

• Read the full text of the report
• Read cable from Colin Powell to US embassies (21 March 2002)
• More information