European Chemicals Agency Prepared for “No Deal” Brexit
The European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, urged companies in February to prepare for a “no deal” scenario ahead of the United Kingdom’s anticipated withdrawal from the European Union, an action often referred to as “Brexit.” The U.K. was set to leave the EU at the end of March, following a June 2016 referendum in which U.K. constituents voted to withdraw from the EU. As of early April, the situation was still developing.
A no-deal scenario would mean that the U.K. would leave the EU with no withdrawal agreement in place regarding the future relationship between the U.K. and the EU. Instructions published on ECHA’s website in February were intended to help companies that are placing chemical substances onto the markets of the EU and European Economic Area prepare for Brexit.
ECHA recommended that companies continue to comply with their obligations under the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, which requires companies to identify and manage the risks linked to the substances they manufacture and market in the EU; the EU regulation on the classification, labelling, and packaging of substances and mixtures, or CLP; the Biocidal Products Regulation, or BPR; and PIC, the EU regulation concerning the export and import of hazardous chemicals.
ECHA’s press release includes links to resources such as information on Brexit and a list of substances registered only by U.K. companies.
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