UK Seen Likely to Abandon ECHA and REACH

When it exits the EU, the UK will likely exit the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) as well and thus is unlikely to remain compliant with the REACH chemicals legislation, reports said last week – shortly before the British government formally announced it does not plan to apply to extend Brexit beyond the end of 2020.

London’s decision would seem to ignore pleas by the country’s chemical industry groupings, which has fought Brexit as well as government plans to quit the EU internal market.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), along with other organizations, has stressed that the chemicals sector has the most to lose from being outside the pan-European regulatory system, as its products are among the most highly regulated goods.  Some 60% of the UK’s chemical exports go to the EU.

For its part, the UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA) is still grasping at straws, hoping for special regulations to be cemented in a free trade agreement with the EU. To keep trade disruptions to a minimum, staying in the ECHA and REACH network would be the best solution, the association has consistently underscored.

As it now seems obvious that the UK and the EU will have two different sets of regulations, however, the CIA said it is of central importance that any future bilateral trade agreement recognize the need for British standards to be synchronized with those of REACH.

At the end of last week, it looked as if the industry’s fears of a no-deal Brexit could come true, as the UK’s deputy prime minister, Michael Gove, informed the EU negotiating committee of his government’s decision.

Only four and a half months’ time remain to hammer out an agreement, in Brussels’ calculation, as a trade pact would have to be ratified by both sides no later than the end of October.

London has announced that it plans to impose duties on European imports by mid-2021.