Brexit and UK REACH Regulation: Latest Updates

With Brexit having been implemented from 31st January 2020, the UK has formally left the EU with a withdrawal deal and it is currently into an 11-month transition period. The UK and the EU have ruled out the possibility of extending the transition period beyond December 2020 and therefore, the UK will now indeed exit the transition period on 31st December 2020.

The UK has also released policy papers on its draft UK-EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and the annexes on its plans for future trade relationship with the EU. The draft specifically does not mention about REACH, but it proposes to cooperate on chemicals regulation, share data and align approaches towards classification and labelling. The draft annex suggests that both parties would agree to continue and strengthen their cooperation on chemicals regulation to facilitate trade in a way that benefits consumers, businesses and the environment and provides for the protection of human and animal health. This may include promoting and encouraging cooperation between the respective public or private organisations responsible for the manufacture, distribution, sale or regulation of chemicals.

In our private and recent communication with the UK authorities, they have indicated that during this transition period, the UK businesses need to continue to comply with EU REACH in their current roles and in their supply chains.

We have already set up a UK based OR entity ‘GPC UK’, to support our existing and new potential clients, to be able to comply with the challenges posed because of Brexit, on substance exports to the UK.

For more information or queries, please write to us at: compliance@gpcregulatory.com