G/TBT/W/606  
 
22 March 2019  
(19-1780) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
EUROPEAN UNION - DRAFT COMMISSION REGULA TION LAYING DOWN ECO -DESIGN 
REQUIREMENTS FOR ELE CTRONIC DISPLAYS PUR SUANT TO DIRECTIVE 2 009/125/EC  
OF THE EUROPEAN PARL IAMENT AND OF THE CO UNCIL, AMENDING COMM ISSION 
REGULATION (EC) NO 1 275/2008 AND REPEALI NG COMMISSION REGULA TION  
(EC) 642/2009 (AND I TS ACCOMPANYING ANNE XES)"  
STATEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES  TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRAD E 
6 AND 7  MARCH  2019 
The following communication, dated 21 March 2019 , is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the United States . 
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1.  The United States requested the E uropean Union re-notify Draft Commission Regulation 
suppleme nting EU Regulation 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regarding 
energy labeling of electronic displays on 11 January 2019.  
2.  The numerous changes made in the text of the regulation on Electronic Displays in 
mid-December  2018 material ly altered the scope and requirements from the text notified to the 
WTO in October 2018. The E uropean Union did not provide WTO Members an opportunity to 
comment on these significant changes.  
3.  The US ICT and flame retardant  industries have significant concerns with the draft regulation and 
the ICT industry is concerned about being locked out of an approximately USD 25 billion annual 
market.1 
4.  In addition to the need to provide an opportunity for WTO Members to comment on the new 
provisions in the revised version, we are concerned whether comments submitted to the original 
notification were taken into account in adopting the revised December version.  
5.  For instance, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Information Techn ology Industry 
(ITI) submitted comments via the WTO TBT Inquiry Point just before the mid -December meeting at 
which the EU adopted the revised version.  
6.  The short time between the close of the comment period and the adoption of the revision at the 
mid-December meeting raise questions regarding the EU's WTO TBT commitments to the principle 
of transparency.  
7.  The notified draft regulation allowed for the use of halogenated flame -retardants as long as the 
technical file accounted for them. The final version of t his regulation bans halogenated flame -
retardants from frames around televisions and from stands of displays. The EU provided no comment 
period on these new provisions.  
                                                
1 From Consumer Technology Association.  G/TBT/W/606  
 
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  8.  Besides affecting both the flame retardant and television industries, this measure circu mvents 
the REACH Regulation and RoHS Directive. The potentially conflicting regulatory requirements 
between those measures and the Eco -design Directive raise questions about transparency in 
regulating these products.  
9.  Manufacturers of industrial monitors a re also impacted by a late change made in the scope of 
the regulation. They had understood the notified draft to exclude industrial monitors from the scope 
of this measure. The EU provided no comment period on new provisions that lead industry to believe 
some industrial monitors may be included within the scope.  
10.  Industrial monitors often operate in harsh environments such as nuclear power stations, 
manufacturing plants, and oil refineries, and their inclusion within the scope and applicability of the 
requir ements of the revised measure could result in safety problems for users of these products.  
11.  The strict energy requirements for televisions will prevent import or domestic sale of a 
disproportionate percentage of new high -resolution display technologies to the EU market and will 
deprive EU consumers of the latest innovations in picture quality.  
12.  We urge the EU to re-notify the revised measure in draft for a sixty -day comment period, so 
that comments can be received on the aforementioned significant changes.  
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