Last Friday, 20 February, the medical journal El Global published the following article «Europe confirms that it will not harmonise lists of banned cosmetics with TTIP». Given how unnoticed the news has gone unnoticed by much of the domestic cosmetics sector, GTF has decided to write our point of view on the harmonisation of cosmetics between the US and the EU.
An undeniable barrier for the cosmetics industry is the fact that there are different laws for cosmetic products in different countries. Restrictions in this regard make it more complicated to import/export cosmetic products, and this is something that the US administration and the EU should reinforce and encourage.
However, we believe it is good news that these lists are not harmonised for the time being, given the disparity of banned products from one administration to another. Understanding the mechanism by which the European Union bans substances in the manufacture of cosmetics, we are aware that we are keeping the population safe through exhaustive safety filters on the matter.
Unless the US intends to incorporate the 1,328 substances banned in Europe into its restrictions, it does not seem very reasonable to try to harmonise the lists at this stage.