Latest Updates on Brexit and UK REACH

With Brexit being 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 is no longer a member state of the EU and until the end of the transition period market access would continue the same terms as before. During this transition period, the UK will continue to remain strongly committed to the effective and safe management of chemicals. The UK will exit the transition period on the already set date 31st December 2020. 

The formal, ninth and final round of talks on a post-Brexit free trade treaty between the EU and the UK which had begun on September 29 were called off early in this month due to lack of progress. The UK and Europe are however set to resume the trade talks later this week. 

At the end of the Transition Period, the EU REACH Regulation will be brought into UK law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and will be known as UK REACH regulation. REACH, and related legislation, will be replicated in the UK with the necessary changes to make it functional from 1st January 2021. The key principles of the EU REACH Regulation will be retained in UK REACH.  

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will play a key role in the UK's chemicals regulatory process together with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA) to ensure the effective and safe management of chemicals to safeguard human health and the environment. 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), early in September 2020, had announced tonnage band specific, staggered submission deadlines that will apply for the full submission of data. The full registration dossiers would hence need to be submitted within 2, 4 or 6 years, starting from October 28, 2021.  

In a private and very recent (October 2020) communication of Global Product Compliance (Europe) AB with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), they have indicated that, the chemicals legislation that will apply in the UK after the end of the transition period (31st December 2020) is subject to ongoing EU-UK trade negotiations, and the precise details are still being decided. Having said that, the legislation is likely to be very similar to that which was drawn up for a “no deal” scenario. The HSE authorities have indicated that the future legislation is likely to be similar to that which was drawn up for a “no deal” scenario (UK REACH) and as specified in the original ‘no-deal’ Statutory Instrument for UK REACH. The SI will be amended to account for any changes, including the date in which it comes into force any changes to REACH that can be retained as EU law. The notification/registration processes for the UK and non-UK based companies under UK REACH will be as per the most recent government guidance as published on 1st September 2020. The authorities have indicated that, UK REACH will apply to UK companies and non-UK companies will not have any duties under UK REACH. However, a non-UK manufacturer, formulator or producer of articles will have to appoint a UK-based only representative (OR) to fulfil the obligations of the UK importers. 

Global Product Compliance (Europe) AB has already set up a UK based OR entity ‘GPC UK’, to support its 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@uk.gpcregulatory.com 

GPC invites you to our webinar on UK REACH regulations and its impacts for manufacturers of cosmetic products and raw materials on Nov. 6th at 14:00 (CEST)/18:30 (IST). Register here.