Certivo Regulation Radar — August 2025

Two heavyweight moves this month will shape compliance roadmaps for years: Europe tightened the screws on PFAS under REACH (proposal stage), and China finalized a mandatory national RoHS standard. Below you’ll find the “what, why, when,” plus how CORA handles the heavy lifting.

1) EU REACH | PFAS (U‑PFAS) — Updated Restriction Proposal Published

Published: 20 Aug 2025
Framework: REACH (Annex XV restriction proposal)
Regions: EU (and typically mirrored in the EEA)

What’s new?

ECHA published an updated universal PFAS restriction proposal (“Background Document”) prepared by Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. It incorporates analysis of 5,600+ consultation comments and adds sector‑specific assessments that were not fully detailed in the 2023 submission. This is still not law; RAC/SEAC will finalize opinions before the European Commission drafts any legal text. (ECHA, PublicNow)

Where this sits in the process

• 2025–2026: RAC/SEAC continue technical and socio‑economic review of the updated Background Document.

• 2026 (expected): Committees deliver opinions to the Commission.

• 2026–2027 (expected): Commission + Member States decide the final restriction. Timing will hinge on essential‑use derogations and enforcement practicality. (ECHA)

Important: Don’t confuse the big U‑PFAS proposal with rules already in force.
Separate PFAS measures already apply—most notably PFHxA (Entry 79) under REACH:

• Thresholds (homogeneous material): 25 ppb (sum PFHxA + salts) and 1,000 ppb (sum PFHxA‑related).
  
  

• Key application dates:
  
  

  • 10 Oct 2026: Clothing/footwear for general public, food‑contact paper/cardboard, consumer mixtures, cosmetics.

  • 10 Oct 2027: Other textiles for the general public.

  • 10 Apr 2026: Fire‑fighting foams (training/testing/public services with containment conditions).

  • 10 Oct 2029: Civil aviation foams. (EUR-Lex, GreenSoft Technology, Inc.)

Who’s most exposed?
Electronics, medical devices, textiles, packaging/FCM, transport & energy are repeatedly flagged across ECHA’s PFAS materials. Expect derogations/phase‑outs to vary by “essential use” logic and availability of fluorine‑free alternatives. (ECHA)

What CORA does for you

• Monitors & predicts: Tracks the U‑PFAS docket and flags SKUs/BOMs with likely exposure based on use‑case, article type, and performance claims.

• Normalizes thresholds: Applies PFHxA Entry 79 limits (25/1,000 ppb) across materials and uses; auto‑builds test plans and supplier attestations in native languages.

• Manages derogations: Watches evolving “essential‑use” carve‑outs; recommends alternate materials and dates your engineering teams can actually hit.

• Evidence locker: Version‑controls ECHA docs, test reports, and change logs for audits—secure and searchable.

2) China RoHS — Mandatory National Standard Finalized (GB 26572‑2025)

Published: 1 Aug 2025
Effective: 1 Aug 2027 (mandatory national standard)
Framework: China RoHS (consolidates concentration limits + labeling)
Regions: Mainland China (national)

What’s new?
China issued GB 26572‑2025 as the first mandatory national RoHS standard. It consolidates:

• Concentration limits: (Previously GB/T 26572‑2011 + Amendment No.1)

• Labeling: SJ/T 11364‑2024, which already modernized labeling—including QR‑code options—effective 1 Apr 2025. (Open Standard SAMR, ChemLinked, TÜV Rheinland)

Scope & structure

• Category I (Catalogue products): Must meet limits + labeling.

• Category II (non‑Catalogue): Must meet labeling; limits encouraged (and increasingly demanded by customers). (Code of China)

Catalogue (First Batch) — representative examples that trigger mandatory limits:
Refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, electric water heaters, televisions, microcomputers, mobile communication devices, telephones, monitors, printers, photocopiers, fax machines. (The official 12 classes remain the baseline until MIIT expands the list.) (Intertek, Gov.cn)

Chemicals & thresholds
China now aligns with the “EU‑RoHS‑10” set:

• Pb, Hg, Cr⁶⁺, PBB, PBDE, DEHP, BBP, DBP, DIBP at 0.1%; Cd at 0.01% (homogeneous material).

• Note: The phthalates were already added via Amendment No.1 to GB/T 26572‑2011; that amendment began applying from 1 Jan 2026 and is carried forward into GB 26572‑2025. (sesec.eu, CIRS Group)
  
  

Key dates to operationalize

• Now: SJ/T 11364‑2024 labeling is in effect (QR codes + web‑based disclosures allowed).

• 1 Jan 2026: Phthalate limits effective under the amendment (practical reality for most supply chains).

• 1 Aug 2027: GB 26572‑2025 becomes mandatory nationally (limits + labeling unified under one GB). (TÜV Rheinland, CIRS Group, Open Standard SAMR)

What CORA does for you

• Gap‑close plans: Maps EU‑RoHS‑10 to China RoHS datasets; flags parts with missing Cd/XRF proof, halogenated flame retardants, or phthalate risks.

• Catalogue intelligence: Tags SKUs against the China RoHS Catalogue to decide whether limits are mandatory or “encouraged,” then automates supplier outreach accordingly.

• Audit‑ready dossiers: Collates test reports, supplier SDoCs, and materials declarations with change‑tracking for SAMR/MARKET checks.
  
  

Why this matters (and how to act)

For PFAS (EU):

1. Segment risk by product family: apparel/textiles vs. electronics/medical vs. FCM paper vs. foams.

2. Apply current law now (PFHxA Entry 79) while modeling scenarios for the U‑PFAS proposal.

3. Lock supplier testing windows for 2025–2026 to validate the 25 ppb/1,000 ppb thresholds and plan PFAS‑free finishes or barriers. (EUR-Lex)

For China RoHS:

1. Unify material data so EU‑RoHS‑10 and China RoHS share one source of truth.

2. Switch labeling pipelines to SJ/T 11364‑2024 (QR codes are now fair game and preferable for complex BOMs).

3. Catalogue triage: Verify which SKUs fall into Category I (limits + labeling mandatory) vs. Category II. (TÜV Rheinland, Intertek)

How Certivo shows up

• CORA, your 24/7 compliance copilot: Watches dockets, auto‑extracts regulatory changes (multi‑language), and predicts which SKUs and parts are hit—before the panic emails start.

• Supplier comms on autopilot: Bilingual requests keyed to exact thresholds and use‑cases; reminders and validations built‑in.

• Evidence that stands up: Version‑controlled dossiers, mapping to REACH Annex XVII entries and GB 26572‑2025 articles.

• System synergy: Connects to ERP/PLM/CRM so compliance status is visible where decisions actually get made.

• Economics: Teams report up to 90% lower compliance ops costs vs. traditional methods through automation and fewer retests.

Primary sources & deeper reads

• ECHA — Updated PFAS restriction proposal (Background Document) & process tracker (20 Aug 2025; plus RAC/SEAC status). (ECHA)

• EUR‑Lex — Reg. (EU) 2024/2462 (PFHxA Entry 79): thresholds & staged application dates. (EUR-Lex)

• Greensoft summary — PFHxA dates by sector (quick at‑a‑glance). (GreenSoft Technology, Inc.)

• SAMR/OpenStd — GB 26572‑2025 official listing (publish & effective dates). (Open Standard SAMR)

• ChemLinked — China RoHS explainer & English overview of the new GB. (ChemLinked)

• TÜV — SJ/T 11364‑2024 labeling (incl. QR‑code options) effective 1 Apr 2025. (TÜV Rheinland)

• SESEC draft translation — Limits by substance (0.1% / 0.01%). (sesec.eu)

• MIIT/Intertek — China RoHS Catalogue (First Batch) product classes. (Intertek)