Extracts from Committee stage (Lords) (day 3) of the Trade Bill - Jan 30

Thursday, 31 January 2019 08:14

Lord Fox (LD):...On Amendment 44 and REACH, the noble Lord, Lord Hain, spoke about regulatory divergence; if there is ever an opportunity for regulatory divergence, it will be around the complexity of something like chemicals legislation. I will not go into huge detail about UK REACH, but this House needs to understand the scale and the scope of this activity. I have experienced it from a business side, and the commitment of European...Request free trial

Lord Fox (LD):...On Amendment 44 and REACH, the noble Lord, Lord Hain, spoke about regulatory divergence; if there is ever an opportunity for regulatory divergence, it will be around the complexity of something like chemicals legislation. I will not go into huge detail about UK REACH, but this House needs to understand the scale and the scope of this activity. I have experienced it from a business side, and the commitment of European businesses in sitting on literally hundreds of sub-committees, debating and working through the nature of chemicals, how they should be used, and the associated risks, laws and regulations is absolutely huge. I can see looks of consternation.

REACH, as I am sure Ministers know, establishes a common framework of rights and obligations throughout the supply chain around chemicals ranging from chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, formulators and end-users. It touches all of our lives, every day, practically all of the time. Chemicals are produced and put in the supply chain by upstream manufacturers, and there is a very detailed process by which they are regulated.

EU REACH became law in 2007, and the registration for existing chemicals was completed 11 years later. Every day, there are changes to the REACH legislation, and herein hangs the problem. The United Kingdom has stated in the withdrawal agreement, I believe, that we wish to remain in regulatory step with the European Union around REACH. But how do the Government, in the event that the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union, whether through agreement or through falling out without an agreement, envisage this process? Will we simply step back and take every rule that is coming from the EU 27 as the REACH legislation evolves? We will be unlikely to be invited in as equal partners to the REACH process by the European Union. The European Chemicals Agency, which is coming up in Amendment 70—my noble friend Lord Foster will be speaking to that amendment—clearly has a role to play. The United Kingdom’s role within that agency will also be important.

There is an SI which will be inevitable in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This SI is flawed, and I have asked to see the Minister to discuss this particular issue directly. I obviously will not talk about it today.

Suffice to say, this seems like a niche subject—something that only wonks like me should care about—but I have to tell your Lordships that UK companies with a REACH registration will no longer be able to sell into the EEA unless the Government have sorted this out. Downstream users currently importing from the EEA will face new registrations in the UK—whether immediately or over a period of months and days is still not clear. The UK Health and Safety Executive will grandfather existing REACH registrations, but it will then require re-registration or something within a time period within the UK. Formally, the Government have set out that the UK would like to remain part of REACH. How will that be possible?

The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Lord Bates) (Con): My Lords, I thank noble Lords who have taken part in this debate. The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, referred to the pet travel scheme. The noble Lord, Lord McNicol, started the debate by talking about transport. The noble Lord, Lord Fox, referred to arrangements for UK-EU chemicals through REACH in particular. My noble friends Lady McIntosh and Lady Hooper talked about legal services. My noble friend Lord Risby talked about horseracing and the tripartite agreement. The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, talked about transport. My noble friend Lord Lansley talked about authorised economic operators. My noble friend Lord Trenchard talked about horseracing and financial services. The noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, focused very much on financial services. The noble Lord, Lord Foster, talked about telecoms and broadcasting...

On Amendment 44 on REACH—the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals—which the noble Lord, Lord Fox, addressed, the Government recognise the importance of the UK chemicals sector and its trade with the EU. We have set out our aim for a free trade area on goods, including chemicals, which will combine deep regulatory and customs co-operation with no tariffs or quotas. As such, the UK may choose to align with EU rules in relevant areas, including the REACH regulation. In this context, we will also continue to explore with the EU the possibility of co-operation between the UK and the European Chemicals Agency, which is an important part of that regime...

To read all the debate, CLICK HERE