The Chinese Government is telling enterprises to prepare to meet the latest European Union regulations on chemical substances, another of many international standards that stifles China's manufacturing-heavy foreign trade.

The European Parliament passed on Wednesday a new regulation on the import of chemical substances to the European Union. The new system, called Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH), is to be enforced from June 2007. It will require the registration of some 30,000 chemical substances in use today.

REACH comes after the EU's WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives, both of which have posed challenges to industries in China.

The European Union is the largest importer of China's chemical substances and relevant products. The country now has 30,000 enterprises directly related to the chemical industry, said Zhang Shaoyan, a director from the Shangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

The new rule, though targeted at chemical substances, will influence about 5 million types of products ranging from textiles, cosmetics, electromechanical products, and other related products.

Statistics from the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) show that China's exports to the European market may fall 3.7 billion euros (US$4.8 billion) if the chemical substances and relevant products from China fail to meet the new requirements.

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