The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called on the government to make sure that the UK follows the rules and regulations of certain European organisations, including the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), in order to maintain its global influence and protect the economy.
Its latest report, The Room Where it Happens, stresses that these European bodies set out their industry policy standards at a worldwide level, not an EU one. And as such, implementing the rules that these organisations have in place already will allow the UK to enjoy greater control over the future.
CBI head of EU negotations Nicole Sykes commented: “There will be tough decisions and compromises ahead, but negotiators must put jobs and living standards first when making those calls. Where it is sensible and practical to do so, the UK government is right to repatriate some rules and that will mean more responsibility for some UK authorities. These extra responsibilities must be matched by extra resource.
“But in other areas, like chemicals, product standards and aviation, UK businesses will continue to have to apply EU rules to trade – no matter what deal is struck. That’s not just trading companies but the thousands of firms in their supply chains.”
Ms Sykes went on to state that as the UK moves into the second phase of talks, it’s important to note that it’s in the country’s best interests to follow EU rules and the groups that have set these rules out – particularly in areas like data, aviation and medicines. Doing so will mean that the UK is able to continue “leading the rest of the world” and ensure that prices are kept down for both businesses and customers in both the UK and the EU.
Late last month (December 21st), Steve Baker of the Department for Exiting the European Union told MPs that current EU chemical laws – including REACH – will be incorporated into UK law. Discussing the EU withdrawal bill and the possibility of bringing in a new clause that sets out to make sure the UK participates in REACH after Brexit has happened, Mr Baker also said he believes this new clause is unnecessary.
This is because the government has plans to use its powers in this new bill to convert EU chemicals law into domestic law.
But chair of the House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee MP Mary Creagh – who tabled the new clause – explained that the bill is attempting to cut and paste EU law into domestic law, which cannot be done for the chemicals industry and more work must be done to make sure the UK continues with the current level of environmental protection, Chemical Watch reported at the time.
Previous research from the University of Birmingham found last year that the UK will be five times more vulnerable to economic disasters than the rest of the EU after Brexit, with the country in a very weak position with regards to bargaining powers.
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