Irish Downstream Users Warned of 'Significant' Brexit Challenges

Irish downstream users of chemicals have been told of the serious problems they could face when the UK leaves the EU, and warned they need to start thinking about their supply chains immediately.

Speaking at a conference in Dublin organised by the Irish REACH competent authority, the Health and Safety Authority, Sharon McGuinness, chair of Echa's Management Board, said that Brexit means "not only will we lose a valuable member state, and its potential influence at the table, but for you as companies, you need to start thinking about what it means if there's no REACH in the UK."

Ms McGuinness, who is also the HSA's assistant chief executive, told the audience at the REACH ten-year anniversary event that if the UK keeps REACH after Brexit "we're all fine". But if it doesn't there will be significant challenges.

She said: "Lots of Irish companies are supplied through the UK. Now if they don't have REACH, every single one of those companies in Ireland becomes potentially an importer."

As importers of a substance firms could be made to submit their own registration dossier.

To try and avoid this, companies must think about their supply chains now, Ms McGuinness warned.

"What do you do? Will you be able to get another company? What happens if you potentially become an importer under REACH?"

In what she called the worst-case scenario, she asked: "What happens if supplies from the UK dry up and everybody tries to get more single suppliers in the EU ... It's something you need to be really aware of."

Klaus Berend, who until recently headed up the REACH unit at DG Growth, said the European Commission, Echa, and other agencies, will start communicating on this issue with the aim of giving early advice on what needs to be considered.

Could UK registrations be transferred?

"You might become an importer, or we will discuss with Echa other possibilities to transfer registration from a company in the UK to one based in Ireland, or in other EU member states, so that you don't have to resubmit an entire dossier."

Mr Berend, who recently moved across to DG Sante where he is head of pesticides and biocides, said: "We will definitely discuss this with Echa and also put out warnings and information for stakeholders, as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has already done in cooperation with DG Sante, to give early alert to authorisation holders about the [possible] consequences.

"But everything depends on what kind of agreement can be found in the end between the UK and us. But the worst case is that there won't be one and we need to be prepared."

In April, the EMA, which will have to leave its London offices and relocate to a different member state when Brexit happens, held a meeting with members of its Management Board and heads of national competent authorities, to start discussing how the work related to the evaluation and monitoring of medicines will be shared between member states in view of the UK's withdrawal.

Chairing a panel session at the conference, Michael Gillen, vice-chair of the HSA board, said that with 80% of freight transport coming to Ireland through the UK, Brexit was in danger of "becoming a nightmare of gargantuan proportions".