The Chemical Business Association (CBA) recently announced that it is pleased with the government’s intention to “agree data sharing mechanisms” as part of its Brexit negotiations with the EU.
Since the UK voted to leave the EU, the CBA and its members have called on successive governments to maintain regulatory parity with the EU once the UK goes it alone at the end of this year.
Peter Newport, chief executive at the CBA, said that the organisation takes this move by the UK government as a “positive step”.
“It is an approach CBA has advocated as the simplest and most cost-effective method of maintaining chemical safety and animal welfare,” he asserted.
The UK government has also revealed that it plans to explore further cooperation on the Global Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, something else that the CBA welcomed.
In addition, the government intends to develop a memorandum of understanding which is similar to the one that the European Chemicals Agency has agreed with countries such as Canada and Australia.
There could be opportunities for the UK when it diverges from EU legislation too. Chemicals Watch recently shared the findings of a report by thinktank Green Alliance, which stressed the importance of the UK finding solutions to “shortcomings in EU regulations for food contact materials (FCM)”.
According to the Green Alliance, the issue comes from the fact that current regulations relating to FCM cover its use in plastics, but not other materials like card, paper and linings that are increasingly being used as substitutes for plastics in food packaging.
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