The UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, entering a transition period that ended on 31 December 2020. During the transition period the UK will follow EU REACH. After transition, a separate UK regulatory framework and regulator is likely to come into play.
The REACH processes and regulation in the EU remain the same, but without the UK. This has implications for UK-based manufacturers with chemicals registered under REACH. Downstream users may also be affected as chemicals they use may no longer be registered under REACH. Learn more by reading our UK-REACH eBook.
How to maintain access to the EU chemical market after Brexit
At the end of the transition period, the UK will be outside the EU with no legal access to its chemicals market. UK-based registrants will also have their substance registrations removed from EU-REACH. If you are a UK-based registrant, you need to identify the chemicals affected and plan how to ensure access post transition. This means appointing an EEA/EU-based OR and transferring your registrations. If you are an EEA/EU based registrant then you also need to consider how you manage access to the UK market.