EU REACH and UK REACH (UK from 1st Jan)

Like CLP (see my blog post on CLP), the key principles of the European Union (EU) REACH Regulation are retained. This document is included (separated into four line entries) in our Brexit Consolidated Law project (the coloured list in Cardinal Environment EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists).

From 1 January 2021, UK REACH and EU REACH will operate independently from each other. Companies that are supplying and purchasing substances, mixtures or articles to and from the EU/EEA/Northern Ireland and Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) will need to ensure that the relevant duties are met under both systems.

EU REACH will apply to Northern Ireland from 1st Jan, while UK REACH will regulate the access of substances to the GB market.

GB- based Businesses holding EU REACH Registrations (in ECHA)

The EU REACH registration will be (and must be) legally recognised (grandfathered) in the UK REACH system after 31st Dec, but information will be supplied to the HSE (the UK REACH regulator) via an account (the holder sets up) on the new UK REACH IT system.

* initial information on the existing EU REACH registration within 120 days of 31st Dec.

* technical information (required under UK REACH) within 300 days plus either 2, 4 or 6 years of 31st Dec. The deadline depends on the tonnage and/or hazard profile of substances.

Grandfathering will be available (and will be required) for all registrations (including intermediates) held by GB-based entities, including importers and Only Representatives (ORs) based in Britain, and to sole, lead or joint registrants.

All GB-based registrations that exist on 31st Dec, and all registrations held by GB entities at any point since 29 March 2017 will be grandfathered. This means that if a GB registration was transferred to an EU/EEA/NI-based entity in the run-up to 31st Dec, it will still be grandfathered into UK REACH.

Grandfathering will not apply to registrations held by entities established outside of Britain, regardless of whether they are part of a group of companies which also has a presence in Britain. Those registrations will not be grandfathered, unless they have been transferred to a GB entity before 31st Dec.

Before transferring any registrations, the HSE asks you to consider how this would affect your operations in the EU/EEA and Northern Ireland, and your ability to access the EU/EEA and NI markets in future.

The HSE says any ECHA decisions relevant to a registration(s) will remain valid.

Access to the technical information used for EU REACH registration may require renegotiating commercial contracts/letters of access which were originally put in place for EU REACH under a Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF).

UK REACH will not require GB companies to form a Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF) to submit registration data, including under the grandfathering provisions. UK REACH will include a similar Article 26 substance inquiry system to EU REACH to facilitate the principle of ‘one substance, one registration’ which will be retained under UK REACH.

This link gives access to HSE details of the information that must be submitted (scroll down)

Separate Rules apply for GB- based businesses that are downstream users and distributors if they continue to be supplied from the EU/EEA – read here.

GB- based businesses importing non EU/EEA substances Businesses that act only as importers of substances will not be able to appoint an Only Representative (OR) under EU REACH (only a manufacturer, formulator or producer of articles can do so). This means that, as a GB-based importer, you will not have the option to transfer your EU REACH registrations to an EU-based entity OR to continue selling into the EU/EEA or Northern Ireland.

To sell chemicals to EU/EEA or NI customers you should:

* help your EU/EEA and NI-based customers to register with ECHA as importers

or

* work with the non-EU/EEA or NI-based manufacturer who supplies you to encourage them to appoint an OR based in Northern Ireland or an EU/EEA country, who can register the substance with ECHA. The HSE advises you will need to consider in each case whether this registration will be sufficient to allow you to export the substance into the EU/EEA or Northern Ireland.

For mixtures to be placed on the EU/EEA or NI markets you should ensure that each substance at one-tonne or over is registered with ECHA in accordance with EU REACH directly by someone EU-based in your supply chain (again see above re OR).

GB- based Businesses holding EU REACH Authorisations (in ECHA)

Again, these will be grandfathered. The deadline here is 60 days from 31st Dec for information supply to HSE –

* the information included in the application for the authorisation

* any other information provided to ECHA by the applicant for the authorisation which was material to the formation of ECHA’s opinion

* any information required to be submitted or recorded before 31st Dec under any condition under which the authorisation is granted.

Separate Rules apply for GB- based businesses that are downstream users and distributors if they continue to be supplied by anyone with an EU REACH authorisation – read here.

Link to HSE information for GB- based Businesses bringing to GB NI- registered goods under EU REACH (qualifying Northern Ireland goods – QNIGs) – here.

Link to HSE information for NI- based businesses trading QNIGs – here.

Note : see above re GB holders of EU REACH registrations.

LINK to HSE for further scenarios.

EU-UK Readiness post 1st Jan 2021 (EU 1st Jan 2021)

The European Commission published a Communication “Getting Ready for Changes. Communication on readiness at the end of the transition period between the European Union and the United Kingdom” today 9th July. This document is here.

The Communication is posted on the European Commission’s End of Transition Period Readiness Page here, where other notices, with various publication dates, are posted.

Key points in the 35 page Communication (this is not a full list):

(1) As of 1 January 2021, the European Union and the United Kingdom will be two separate regulatory and legal spaces.

(2) As of 1 January 2021, licences issued to railway undertakings by the United Kingdom will no longer be valid in the European Union, and certificates or licences issued in the United Kingdom to train drivers will no longer be valid for the operation of locomotives and trains on the EU’s railway system.

[I Blog posted recently specifically re Railways]

(3) As of 1 January 2021, air carriers holding operating licences granted by the UK licensing authority for the commercial carrying by air of passengers, mail and/or cargo, will no longer be able to provide air transport services within the European Union. EU air carriers and holders of aviation safety certificates will need to ensure, and uphold compliance with European Union requirements, including airlines’ requirements on principal place of business and EU majority ownership and control, as well as the European Union aviation safety acquis.

(4) As of 1 January 2021, road transport operators that are established in the United Kingdom will no longer hold a European Community licence. In the absence of a reciprocal access agreement, the limited quotas already available under the mechanism of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) will be available for EU operators to conduct journeys to the United Kingdom, and for UK operators to conduct journeys to the EU.

[I Blog posted in 2019 about this topic]

(5) As of 1 January 2021, EU REACH registrations held by manufacturers and producers established in the United Kingdom will no longer be valid in the European Union. These entities will have to ensure that their substances are registered with a manufacturer or importer in the European Union or appoint an ‘Only Representative’ in the European Union as registrant for the substance.

[A UK REACH will operate in the UK, I Blog posted about this in 2019]

(6) As of 1 January 2021, downstream users in the EU will have to check whether chemical substances they use are registered by a registrant established in the European Union. Where this is not the case, they should:

* check whether the UK registrant they deal with plans to appoint an ‘Only Representative’ in the European Union; or

* register the substance in the capacity of importer.

Re Northern Ireland specifics (this is not a full list)

(1) Checks and controls will take place on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, for example on food products and live animals to ensure adherence to sanitary and phytosanitary (‘SPS’) requirements. Goods leaving Northern Ireland to enter the EU must comply with EU standards and rules.

(2) EU customs duties will apply to goods entering Northern Ireland unless the Joint Committee (set up under the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol) sets out a framework of conditions under which these goods are considered not to be at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market. Based on such a framework, no customs duties will be payable if it can be demonstrated that goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK are not at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market.

EU Law in UK 2021 (UK Brexit)

Exit day is 31st January (end of this month)

Implementation period completion day is 31st December (this is the end of the transition period)

The Chancellor speaking to the Financial Times, confirms there will be no dynamic alignment with EU Law after 2020.

I am not yet clear which laws will diverge, but please note the Brexit laws allow divergence, for example the Brexit Agriculture Bill provides for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to create their own marketing standards (Scotland will need to enact its own Brexit Agriculture Bill).

The EU Exit regulations (statutory instruments) we (Cardinal Environment) are consolidating into domestic law only deal with the pre-Brexit period to end Dec 2020.

It is the FT front page today (Saturday 18th January) and the lead on BBC online.

EU Law per se will not apply anyway. Note, there may be some long tail implementation left over from pre-Brexit that will be implemented.

We (Cardinal Environment) are already consolidating the EU Exit regulations into domestic law, and creating the Retained EU Law (EU Regulations, not Directives, that are adopted). Progress in this project can be seen by clicking the Brexit Consolidated Law List on the top right hand side of EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists homepages (both ENV and OHS).

We are working to the deadline of 31st December 2020 for completion of this project.

In addition, EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists will see the home page choice of ENV or OHS have additional Post-Brexit choices, and the existing links relabelled Pre-Brexit.

The Post-Brexit links will direct to shadow Registers & Checklists that will run from the end of Q1 to hit the end Dec 2020 deadline, for switch over to Post-Brexit.

Post-Brexit shadow Registers & Checklists running in 2020 will have Brexit Consolidated Law loaded (accessibility will stay from the main Brexit Consolidated Law list), and will display a changed Register layout.

Post-Brexit EHS Legislation Registers layout – EU Law will be moved from the top to below Guidance. We will still supply up to date EU Law to UK customers, but this is where it will be found. Retained EU Law will be displayed at the top of the Register.

REACH No 2 (UK Brexit)

Exit day is 12th April

I posted yesterday (DEFRA post) that a second REACH SI (Brexit Law) would be enacted. It is now laid, and comments may be made on it for the next few days only.

The document is here.

The instrument amends the REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the “REACH SI”). It adds to one of the transitional provisions relating to imported substances.

The REACH SI is here.

[the Brexit Law List in subscribers’ Cardinal Environment EHS Legislation Registers and Checklists is being updated again today. So check later today.]

Information per the Explanatory Note here

What did any relevant EU law do before exit day?

Controls on the use of chemicals are set out in Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals and establishing a European Chemicals Agency (“the EU REACH Regulation”). The REACH SI makes amendments to the EU REACH Regulation to make it operable in the domestic context and create a domestic regime for chemicals. The REACH SI contains a number of transitional provisions to allow for uninterrupted production and supply of chemicals, including one to allow the continued import of substances from the European Economic Area (“the EEA”) (“the transitional import provision”). That provision allows the importer of the substance two years from exit before they have to register the substance with the UK Agency. In the meantime the importer must provide the UK Agency with a notification within 180 days of exit.

Why is it being changed?

After the REACH SI was laid, the Department received representations from industry about the transitional import provision. Industry was concerned that, as drafted, it would still lead to disruption in the supply chain in the case of substances imported from outside the EEA. Industry was also concerned that the provision did not allow an only representative to send the required notification to the UK Agency. Only representatives are UK-based entities appointed by non-UK manufacturers, formulators or producers to fulfil the obligations of importers under the REACH Regulation. The EU REACH Regulation contains an equivalent provision regarding EEA-based only representatives. While industry has not provided detailed evidence of the impact, the Government has decided to reduce the risk through this instrument.

What will it now do?

This instrument adds to the transitional import provision. The revised version will also apply to imports to the UK from outside of the EEA where an EEA-based only representative had registered the substance under the EU REACH Regulation prior to exit. It also inserts a new provision that allows UK-based only representatives to provide the notification to the UK Agency.

REACH and Pesticides (UK Brexit)

UPDATE (31 Jan 2019) : the Pesticides area is now elaborated with new guidance – here.

I posted before about HSE having the role of registering Chemicals (in the event of no deal), because there would no longer be access to ECHA. HSE has now elaborated its online presence a bit more, with guidance and instructions. This online presence also gives access (left hand side) to Pesticides instructions.

Here

In addition, a draft REACH Brexit statutory instrument was published. This is loaded into the Brexit Law List, accessed from subscribers’ Cardinal Environment EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists systems.

This draft instrument identifies the new domestic law will be a UK amended version of the EU REACH Regulation.

It is a complex draft instrument, it confirms the safety data sheets would be continued, with some changes, and confirms the downstream user obligations would also continue, again with some changes. The document is here.

In due course, we (Cardinal Environment) will produce a consolidated version of this new domestic law.

Please see this Chemical Watch analysis of the draft instrument, here.

In the event there is a deal, or a FTA, the law could change again. I will update this post, and/or issue a new port.

HSE Guidance (UK Brexit)

HSE has now created an online resource for the UK Brexit Notices (the ones it is dealing with) and it’s own guidance for its new role in Chemicals Regulation (I posted about the new role for HSE recently). This online resource is here.

On this resource is new additional REACH guidance here.

Plus an important table with key dates here. Note the downstream user stipulations in this table.

Chemicals Regulation – REACH (Brexit UK)

This is a repeat post on the subject, this time drawing attention to gaps.

ECHA has guidance (continually updated) to companies in the form of Q&A – here. I posted about this before.

The UK has a Technical Notice (REACH) – here. I posted about that before.

The UK Technical Notice confirms –

“UK would ensure UK legislation replaces EU legislation via the EU Withdrawal Act, establish a UK regulatory framework and build domestic capacity to deliver the functions currently performed by ECHA. The legislation would preserve REACH as far as possible, while making technical changes that would need to be made because the UK has left the EU.”

And“• Businesses with existing EU REACH registrations being automatically grandfathered into the UK regime or authorisations would have to validate their existing registration with the UK authority (the HSE), opening an account on the new UK IT system and providing some basic information on their existing registration within 60 days of the UK leaving the EU. This IT system is being tested with a range of different users so that it is ready to support registrations of chemicals in the UK from March 2019.

• Companies with grandfathered registrations would have two years from the day the UK leaves the EU to provide the UK authority (the HSE) with the full data package that supported their original EU registration and is held on the ECHA IT system.

• Businesses that imported chemicals from the EEA before the UK leaves the EU (but who did not have an EU REACH registration), would need to notify the UK authority and provide some basic data on the chemicals within 180 days of the UK leaving the EU, instead of having to undertake a full registration immediately. This would be an interim arrangement for those importers and they would need to move to full registration at a later date following a review of this approach.

• Importing businesses would be responsible for identifying appropriate risk management measures and recommending them to their customers.”

No Brexit law is yet drafted, but note the above IT system notification requirements. (Reminder, subscribers to Cardinal Environment EHS Legislation & Registers have a global OHS and ENV Brexit Law list supplied, updated)

REACH does not only deal with registration of chemicals, it also has obligations on downstream users to inform, and REACH regulates the content and distribution of safety data sheets.

The ECHA Q&A has it (2017) that UK users of chemicals will have no obligation to inform of uses back up the chain (one of the REACH downstream user obligations). The UK Technical Notice is silent, bar the IT system interaction.

Both are silent on Safety Data Sheets.

I will update this post, if information comes to light this side of Christmas. Otherwise there will be a new post on the general topic in 2019.

New Chemicals Instructions (EU Brexit Preparedness)

ECHA (the European Chemicals Agency) has new support pages – here.

These pages contain the most detailed information so far.

The UK has also issued Technical Notices, some of these are relevant for Chemicals. But, many gaps still persist.

Please visit the Chemicals category on this Blog, for the posts I have written on Chemicals and Brexit Preparedness.

We still have no instruction on Safety Data Sheets.

UK exits the EU (ECHA advice to companies)

I posted earlier with the European Commission Notices to Companies. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has also issued advice to companies. This covers :

(1) general

(2) Reach

(3) CLP (Classification, Labelling & Packaging)

(4) BPD – Biocides (see also my earlier post on the European Commission Notice to Companies, and Q&A)

(5) PIC

The ECHA information is accessed here.