No ‘Brexit’ from EU chemical regulations

London – Withdrawal from the EU will not lead to any major watering down of the European health & safety and environmental regulations that currently apply in the UK, officials of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) believe.

“If we want access to markets, there will have to be accepted harmonisation on a lot of regulations,” Tom Crotty, president of the association and director of Ineos, said at an 11 July CIA press meeting in London.

“This is not going to happen  as far as we are concerned.”

 These views were echoed by CIA chief executive Steve Elliot, noting for example that “we would have  a devil of a job with companies that have already gone down the REACH registration path”.

Elliot went on to say that, based on recent soundings from in-coming UK prime minister Theresa May, the chemicals industry will now have a few months to determine exactly what it needs from Brexit negotiations.

 The CIA, its chief executive pointed out, has already set out its priorities for such talks as being around: market access; availability of skilled labour; and access and security of affordable energy.

 According to the latest CIA data,  Europe still remains the biggest export region for the UK chemicals and pharma industry, with this trade on a growth track – at least pre-Brexit.

The value of the UK chemicals and pharma exports to the EU grew 6 percent in the first five months of the year, compared with the same period last year.