BRUSSELS—The United Kingdom will have a major job on its hands if it decides to transpose REACH into national law, according to Silvia Segna of the U.K. Chemicals Industry Association.
"Copy (and) paste is not possible where REACH is concerned, because some laws just cannot be directly copied in U.K. law," Segna said at a CEFIC meeting on the future of the European Union chemical safety legislation.
"Some changes will certainly have to be proposed by the U.K. government, using secondary legislation," the U.K. representative told the conference, held June 27 in Brussels.
A recent public enquiry into REACH by the House of Commons in the U.K. sought to examine this. It found that more work needed to be done to ensure that chemicals imported into Europe meet required standards for health and environmental safety.
The CIA is advocating for the U.K. to pay if necessary in order to still maintain their participation in REACH.
The London-based chemical industry association has listed tariff-free access to the EU's single market and regulatory consistency among its key priorities for Brexit negotiations.