Chemicals are subject to a common EU system of registration and regulation. In addition to customs and regulatory compliance requirements importers of chemicals and third countries and manufacturers who established himself in Ireland would remain within the EU chemicals regulatory regime. They may register their chemicals with the European chemicals agency and have the assurance that they may move goods through out the EU under its a single system of regulatory control.
In contrast those producing and exporting chemicals from outside the EU must comply with the obligations by procuring the services of a representative to take on their legal duties under the regulations by ensuring that the EU-based importer themselves whom they supply fulfilled the reach regulations. The classification labelling and packaging regulations require a uniform EU wide system for identification and labelling of hazardous properties of chemicals as well as appropriate packaging to ensure appropriate levels of protection for human health and the environment.
In the absence of movement of chemicals under the common EU framework or under a new bilateral agreement between UK and EU the Rotterdam Convention on prior informed consent for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in International trade applies to defined categories chemicals of hazardous chemicals. An Irish as registered establishment under reach would ensure that importers another EU state would not have to register the chemicals. Downstream users of authorisations can rely on upstream EU authorisations granted in Ireland
UK entities would need to continue to register under REACH. Only an EU/EEA based company can register a substance under the REACH regulations. UK registrations will no longer be valid. It would be necessary to either establish a presence in EU state or appoint a representative in an EU state.
The Health and Safety Executive is the principal UK authority. In the event of a hard no deal Brexit, UK proposes to preserve the basic legislation on the regulation of chemicals REACH. It proposes a new but equivalent regulatory framework whichallows registration of new chemicals through a UK IT system similar to the existing EU IT system
- provides the specialist capacity to evaluate the impact of chemicals on the health and the environment
- ensure sufficient regulatory and enforcement capacity in the HSE, the Environment Agency and other regulators.
- ensure sufficient regulatory and enforcement capacity in the HSE, the Environment Agency and other regulators.
In principle, companies and businesses registered in the UK would no longer be able to sell into the EU/EEA market without transferring the registrations to an EEA organisation so as to preserve EEA market access.
UK downstream users currently importing chemicals from an EEA country would be subject to new registration requirements. Under the UK replacement requirement, each importer would have to register chemicals. UK downstream holders authorisations would no longer be able to rely on them as an EU authorisation.