How does Brexit affect you?

The planned transitional period will run until 31 December 2020. After the end of the transition period, EU legislation will no longer apply directly to the UK. If your business is in any way affected, you will have to prepare for those changes. While the final details are still uncertain and again depend on aspects being discussed in the next weeks, some details are already clear.

Know your role

Is your company established in the EU/EEA or in the UK? Do your supply chains extend to the UK? Or do you export from the UK to EU/EEA countries? Where and with whom you do business will determine how the withdrawal will affect you.

First of all, you need to identify your role in the supply chain and your future connection to the EU and EEA market. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) distinguishes between seven different roles that are affect by the withdrawal and gives a starting help for each of these roles how to prepare for UK’s withdrawal.

In short, UK-based companies that want to continue operating in the EU should appoint an Only Representative within the EU to manage REACH registrations and, if necessary, transfer their REACH authorization to him. However, an EU-based company that buys a chemical substance from a UK-based company can no longer rely on the substance being legally registered after the end of the transition period.

REACH becomes UK REACH

REACH is already embedded in UK Law and it will remain so. However, the details will change, and it will become UK REACH.

The effects will vary depending on whether you are UK-Based or EU-Based and where you sell your products.

Major Changes include: –

• Registration of Chemicals will now need to be done with ECHA and with the UK Authority. This will not be enforced in the UK
• Companies will have to switch to using Only Representative or a legal entity in order to sell in the EU and UK.
  For example a UK Based Company will need an EU based Only Representative or legal entity to sell their products inside the EU.

The unknown areas at this time include: –

• whether the UK will update the SVHC list at the same time as the EU
• whether the UK will implement their own version of SCIP

What about SCIP in the EU?

As far as SCIP is concerned, a UK-based company is no longer required to report in SCIP or cannot report at all. EU-based importers of the product are obliged to report instead. The importer will of course need data from the manufacturer, i.e. the company in the UK will have to provide SCIP compatible information when it sells to the EU market.

UK RoHS

RoHS is already embedded in UK Law and it will remain so. However, the details are likely to change over time and may not follow EU exemption details and timelines in the future.  Companies may have to comply with both EU RoHS and UK RoHS

UK CA replaces CE

Under EU law many products must be CE marked to confirm that the product has been checked against all applicable safety laws including RoHS.

From 1^st January 2021 all new products sold in the UK will need the UK CA mark.

Existing Products can still use the CE mark until 2022.