G/TBT/N/FRA/197  
30 October  2020 
(20-7614) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  French  
 
  
 NOTIFICATION   
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.  
 
1. Notifying Member : FRANCE  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:  
Ministère de la transition écologique et solidaire  (Ministry for the Ecological and 
Inclusive Transition)  
Commissariat au développement durable  (Commission for Sustainable Development)  
Service de l'économie verte et solidaire  (Solidarity and Green Economy Service)  
Tour Sé quoïa  
92055 Paris -La Défense Cedex  
France  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading . ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable) : This Orde r 
applies to front -loading household washing machines falling within the scope of Regulation 
(EU) 2019/2023 laying down ecodesign requirements for household washing machines 
and household washer -dryers.  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the not ified document : Arrêté relatif 
aux critères, aux sous critères et au système de notation pour le calcul et l'affichage de 
l'indice de réparabilité des lave -linges ménagers à chargement frontal  (Order regarding 
the criteria, sub -criteria and scoring system for calculating and displaying the repairability 
index of front -loading household washing machines)  
6. Description of content : The repairability index consists of a score out of 10 intended to 
be displayed at the time of purchase to inform consumers of th e categories of electrical 
and electronic products . This score is obtained by dividing an overall score of 100 points 
by 10 according to five criteria, each scored out of 20 and of equal weight, making it 
possible to assess the repairability of the product s concerned . These criteria are as 
follows : documentation provided by the manufacturer, ease of disassembly of the 
product, availability of spare parts, relationship between the price of the most expensive 
spare part and the price of the original product, usage counter (optional) or other criteria 
specific to the category of products concerned . This Order applies to front -loading 
household washing machines falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2019/2023 laying 
down ecodesign requirements for household  washing machines and household washer -
dryers . It specifies the criteria, sub -criteria and scoring system applicable to front -loading 
household washing machines to calculate the repairability index by model.  
Producers, importers, or other parties placing electrical and electronic equipment on the 
market, including front -loading household washing machines, shall be required to G/TBT/N/FRA/197  
- 2 - 
  calculate the index for the categories of products concerned, and to make this information 
available.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable : Directive (EU) 2018/851 on waste encourages Member States to take 
appropriate measures to prevent waste generation . In addition, one of the objectives of 
the European action plan for the circular economy (COM (2020) 98) is to improve the 
durability and repairability of products . The stakeholder consultation held in the context 
of the Roadmap for the circular economy, which was presented by the Government on 2 3 
April 2 018, resulted in measu re No. 10, which provides for mandatory information on the 
repairability of electrical and electronic products . The measure aims to promote 
responsible consumption by improving consumer information through the establishment 
and mandatory display of a simpl e repairability index for some of these products . This 
index aims to inform the consumer regarding how easy it is to repair the product 
concerned . This measure thus aims on the one hand to compensate for the asymmetry 
of information between consumers and m anufacturers or distributors concerning the 
repairability of products and, on the other hand, to encourage manufacturers to integrate 
repairability criteria into the design of their products, thus tending towards products that 
are more durable because they  are more robust because they are 'eco-designed '. With 
this measure, a reasonable ambition is to reduce breakdowns of electrical and electronic 
products giving rise to repair in the network of French repairers to 60%, within five years, 
as compared to arou nd 40% today . From an environmental standpoint, this measure will 
allow France to pursue its national objective of reducing the resource consumption linked 
to French consumption : to reduce resource consumption relative to GDP by 30% 
compared to 2010, by 20 30 (Law No 2015 -992). More repairable and therefore more 
durable products will effectively lead to a reduction in resource consumption (reduction 
in the need for new products), a reduction in the quantity of waste electrical and electronic 
products and an associated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions . The household 
washing machines category was selected for implementation of the repairability index 
because these appliances are in general use in France, the impact of this use on household 
budgets and the environmental impacts generated by this product . The most popular type 
of household washing machine in France is the front -loading type.  
8. Relevant documents : - 
9. Proposed date of adoption : December 2 020 
Proposed date of entry into force : 1 January 2 021 
10. Final date for comments : 60 days from the date of notification  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:  
CINORTECH  
AFNOR  
11 avenue Francis de Pressensé  
93571 SAINT -DENIS - LA PLAINE Cedex  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2020/TBT/FRA/20_6401_00_f.pdf