Anyone out there trying to follow the UKCA type approval and "new and improved" UK product safety law proposals?

As far as I can determine, imported products bearing CE marking and with appropriate declaration of conformity are intended to remain legal for supply indefinitely in the UK post-Brexit (and I would suggest to do otherwise would severly restrict our consumer and business choice).

According to gov.uk blurb any product manufactured in the UK for internal supply to UK will also require UKCA conformity approval.

A question arises: Why would any UK manufacturer in his right mind deliberately choose to apply UKCA and thereby severely limit his market when he could apply via a EU registered body for CE type approval to satisfy both markets? What is the point of this separate 'UK only' system other than to satisfy political post-Brexit hubris and posturing or else to enable a lesser standard of safety for our internal market? 

What are the odds on a Govt U-turn when suppliers in mainland Europe can't be bothered to get UKCA marking as well as CE and there are shortages in GB come early 2022?

GB (manufacturers) status as an EU natural legal entity was lost when we became a third country.

At the same time the EU de-listed all UK based organisations involved with conformity assessment.

As we are no longer a natural legal entity within the EU we cannot directly apply the New Approach Directives when marketing products - the CE mark.

Transition arrangements from the Brexit negotiations permit CE marked goods already on the GB market before 1st January 2021 to continue to be traded until 1st January 2022 by which time UK Conformity Assessment must be applied. NOTE: we are still awaiting the EU parliament ratifying the agreement which was meant to have been completed by the end of February.

It is not a lack of CE goods come 2022 that will be the issue rather that the Approved Bodies listed by UKAS required to undertake conformity assessment to Designated Standards do not have the necessary expanse of conformity accreditation within their UK facilities to meet the deadline.

I think the expression was something like "divergence" rather than lower standards.

Local byelection tomorrow in my Council ward. The electors voted almost identically YES and REMAIN in the last two referenda.

Even for HMG that will be a big ask implementing Grenfell recommendations and DILUTING standards.

Even now the market is demanding more than what is legally required - anyone know where to source non-combustible timber (other than a petrified forest) according to one subbie that is what his client wants.

Edited by user 17 March 2021 20:17:16(UTC)  | Reason: Victor Meldrew moment

Thanks all for the feedback. So, even worse than I thought - CE mark worthless in the UK as of next Year.

What an absolute shambles and what a ridiculous burden on UK business trying to compete in Europe (or even export to Northern Ireland). And as others say, why would an EU business even bother exporting here?

There were precious few resources in the UK checking conformity previously, and as of next Year I would expect the floodgates of non-conforming and potentially unsafe imported products to burst wide open.

At best, our choice of consumer items such as white goods is likely to be restricted in future.

Caveat emptor.

This is IMHO beyond incompetence. We're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. And that wasn't written on the side of the Big Red Bus either. "Oven ready deal" - but only if you can find a compliant oven!