ILLEGAL TRADE ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2021

In this round-up: The United States to learn from EU illegal trade; UK Company fined over £1 million (about €1.2 million) for breaches of the F-gas Regulation; German Chemical Act Amendment to further curb illegal trade in HFCs; Australian authorities seize refrigeration equipment worth more than A$200,000. More information about illegal trade is available at Stop illegal cooling - EFCTC.

The United States to learn from EU illegal trade: The U.S. EPA has now finalised its HFC phase-down rule, which includes a range of measures designed to ensure compliance and deter illegal HFC imports. After a phase-in period non-refillable cylinders will be banned, and an inter-agency enforcement task force will work to block illegal imports. QR codes will be required on HFC tanks and cylinders. There is an article about this in EPA must act to prevent US HFC black market - Cooling Post.

UK Company fined over £1 million (about €1.2 million) for breaches of the F-gas Regulation: The company was fined for failing to ensure that the quantity of HFCs placed on the market did not exceed its quota. See Cooling Post.

German Chemical Act Amendment to further curb illegal trade in HFCs: A new amendment to the German Chemical Act came into force on 1 August and will increase transparency throughout the HFC supply chain. The law requires all those selling HFCs in Germany to provide documentation which proves that gases are legally traded within the European Union’s quota system, introduced by the 2014 EU F-gas regulation. See Statement-for-German-Chemical-Act.pdf (stopillegalcooling.eu).

Australian authorities seize refrigeration equipment worth more than A$200,000: The equipment was imported with certificates stating that HFCs had been removed, allowing import without a licence, but significant number still contained HFCs. See Refrigeration Industry.