, Chairman of the Environmental
Audit Committee (EAC), has written to the Secretary of State for
the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) emphasising the
Committee’sconcerns about industry’s ability to
prepare for the proposed transition to UK
REACH.
A number of businesses have written to the EAC expressing
concern about the process for transferring registrations from the
EU system. A key issue they face is that many businesses do
not own the full data package necessary
for registering on to the UK REACH system, expected to be
established from 1 January 2021. For many chemicals
the data set required for
registration is owned by third parties in the EU. UK
businesses argue the two-year timetable for UK
registration is unlikely to be
sufficient, if duplicate testing is
required to ensure they have the necessary data for
the new system.
The EAC is also seeking clarity on
how UK businesses can continue to
export chemicals into the EU once the
transition period ends and what the likely costs and
regulatory impacts on UK manufacturers will be.
If these fundamental issues are not
addressed by the end of the transition
period, the EAC has encouraged the Government to re-consider
associate membership of EU REACH and the ECHA (European Chemicals
Agency). This would ensure the UK chemicals industry can have
clarity for their future trading
position.
Environmental Audit Committee
Chairman, Rt Hon MP,
said:
“The UK chemical industry is a
significant part of the UK economy, with over 3,500
companies supporting half a million UK jobs. It
generates £50 billion of exports, of
which 60% are into the
EU.Chemical products are critical to the wider
manufacturing, construction and agricultural sectors.
“It is therefore imperative that
the chemicals industry receives the
clarity it needs to continue
trading effectively. The
Government’s proposal to establish a standalone UK REACH is
continuing to leave many fundamental issues unaddressed. How
businesses will be able to
continue operating as the Brexit transition draws to a close and
the costs incurred for businesses must be addressed now,
particularly as time is running out.”
The EAC is also expecting a response from the Secretary of
State on the cost breakdown for different UK businesses for the
new UK REACH system.
Notes to editors:
