Brexit: chemical regulation

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Series Details (2017-19)HL215
Publication Date 07/11/2018
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The EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee of the House of Lords EU Select Committee published a report Brexit: chemical regulation on the 7 November 2018.

Key findings

The report warned that the Government's preparations for regulating chemicals after Brexit were not progressing quickly enough, risking human and environmental health and with potentially severe consequences for the chemicals sector.

The Committee found that UK-based chemical companies could be in danger of losing access to the EU market unless they transferred their registrations to a company or representative based in the EU, but this transfer might not be possible before the UK left the EU. The chemicals sector was the second biggest manufacturing industry in the UK, exporting £18 billion of products to the EU in 2017. A delay to registration carried the risk of a trading hiatus as well as disruption to the many supply chains that relied on access to chemicals produced across the EU.

The Committee expressed concerns about the Government's alternative plan to create its own database of chemicals approved for use in the UK. In evidence given to the Committee the Minister responsible said they planned to simply 'copy and paste' information from the EU's database, which the Committee concluded was not credible and raised serious legal concerns.

The Committee called on the Government to:

+ urgently explain how its independent regulatory regime would work;
+ put forward a more credible plan for collecting information on chemicals;
+ identify which UK agency would take on the role of chemical regulation;
+ and enable UK chemical businesses, including SMEs, to take steps to maintain their access to the EU market ahead of exit day.

Source Link https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldeucom/215/215.pdf
Related Links
Chemical Industries Association, August 2018: The Chemical Industry – Brexit priorities for UK growth https://www.cia.org.uk/Portals/0/Brexit%20update_August%2018.pdf
ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/
UK: GOV.UK: Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs: Guidance, 24.09.18: Regulating chemicals (REACH) if there’s no Brexit deal https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-chemicals-reach-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/regulating-chemicals-reach-if-theres-no-brexit-deal
United Kingdom: House of Commons: Library: Briefing Paper No.8403 (06.11.18): Brexit and chemicals regulation (REACH) http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-and-chemicals-regulation-reach/
United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Lords: Committees: News, 07.11.18: Brexit: chemical regulation report published by Committee https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-energy-environment-subcommittee/news-parliament-2017/brexit-chemical-regulations-report/

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