Industrial Chemical Products, REACH and CLP Regulations and PIC
2021.1.20
How does Brexit affect Spanish companies with suppliers and clients of Industrial Chemical Products in the United Kingdom (REACH and CLP Regulations)?
If your company is established in one of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU-27) or a state in the European Economic Area (EEA), you will be affected by the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU if your supply chains as client or supplier extend to the UK.
If your supplier or client is established in the United Kingdom, remember as from its withdrawal from the EU, EU legislation on chemical products, including REACH and CLP, will no longer be applicable in the United Kingdom.
Prepare yourself by identifying your current role in the supply chain and your suppliers and clients in the UK. This will determine how you will be affected by Brexit.
For more information:
- The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) website has a link with FAQ related to Brexit.
- ECHA published additional information in question and answer format referring to aspects of priority and preparation, including the treatment of chemical substances already on the market.
- The Ministry of Ecological Transition has a national information service (Information portal on REACH-CLP) where you can ask about the implications of Brexit and compliance with the REACH and CLP regulations.
How does Brexit affect Spanish exporters to the UK of chemical products included in the PIC Regulation?
Once the UK becomes a third country (non-EU), any export from Spain of substances under Regulation 649/2012 concerning export and import of hazardous chemicals (the PIC Regulation) will require an active reference identification number (RIN) to be obtained prior to export.
Those exporting companies that plan to send the ePIC computerised processing system administered by ECHA to the United Kingdom, incorporates this possibility and the RIN license must be obtained in advance with the prior time established by the PIC Regulation as regards its date of completion.
Make sure of you use this option in good time so your request can be processed and you can obtain an active RIN at the start of the Brexit process, so that your ability to export is not interrupted. It is important as always to fill in the export notification correctly in order to avoid further delays if it has to be corrected.
Export consent granted to the UK by importing countries will continue to be valid as always for all the other EU countries and their exporters, until the validity period allowed by the importing country expires.
In Northern Ireland the PIC Regulation remains in force and therefore the references to the United Kingdom must be understood as referring to Great Britain in this case.
Under Article 17 of the PIC Regulation, the substance or mixture exported must be accompanied by a safety data sheet that complies with the CLP Regulation (unless this clashes with a UK regulatory requirement).
How does Brexit affect the marketing of biocidal products?
In accordance with the Biocide Regulation, the suppliers of active substances and product authorisation holders must either be located in the EU or have a representative located in the EU.
Suppliers of active substances that are included on the list established by Article 95 will appear on this list with their corresponding representative if they are located outside the EU, including those located in the UK once Brexit is effective. Suppliers who do not have a representative in the EU will be removed from the list of suppliers.
The holders of authorisations for biocides who are at present located in the UK must have a representative located in the EU before Brexit enters into force to be able to continue place their products in those Member States where they have an authorisation in force.
To sum up, Spanish companies with suppliers in the UK will be affected if these suppliers do not designate a representative in the EU.
Any biocide placed on the market must be evaluated and registered in advance in Spain. Spanish companies that distribute biocides registered by UK companies in Spain must ensure that the registration holder has a representative in the EU. This change in holder must therefore be applied for and appear in the decision to authorise the biocide.
How does Brexit affect the marketing of plant protection products?
Regulation 1107/2009 on the marketing of plant protection products is not applicable in the UK from 1 January 2021. The UK cannot act as rapporteur Member State for the evaluation of active substances or their renewal or for the evaluation of phytosanitary products under Regulation 1107/2009. Therefore, applications for the evaluation of plant protection products cannot be submitted to the UK.
Hence, authorisations granted by the United Kingdom are no longer valid in other EU countries. Therefore, the United Kingdom cannot act as the reference Member State in authorisations through the mutual recognition procedure.
Lastly, parallel trade permits granted under Article 52 of Regulation 1107/2009 for plant protection products whose reference products are authorised by the United Kingdom are no longer valid.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to Northern Ireland:
- Phytosanitary products marketed in Northern Ireland must comply with the provisions of Regulation 1107/2009
- Phytosanitary products manufactured in Northern Ireland and sent to the EU are not considered import, but what is transported from the UK to Northern Ireland
- Parallel trade is allowed with authorised products in Northern Ireland
However, Northern Ireland will not be able to act as rapporteur Member State for the evaluation of active substances or plant protection products, and authorisations granted in this territory will not be valid for obtaining Mutual Recognition.
More information in the following document prepared by the European Commission (PDF).
Non official translation