The UK had planned to phase out the CE marking following the Britain’s departure from the EU. However, the plan faced opposition from business who said that they would incur extra costs because the UKCA marking has far less sway internationally than the CE mark.
The UK government has now announced that manufacturers could choose which scheme to use when selling products in Britain. The indefinite extension to the CE mark will not apply to every product category sold in the UK, though it will apply to most consumer electronics.
The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking was introduced as part of the UK’s regulatory framework post Brexit. Prior to the recent government U-turn, the UK had said it would completely replace the CE mark with the UKCA by the end of 2024.
The UK government’s recent change of plan with the CE mark is similar to many other post-Brexit plans which it has been forced to roll back. For example, earlier this year it scrapped plans to remove all EU laws by the end of this year.