50 Chemicals Companies Move To EU Regulations In Fear Of ‘No Deal Brexit’

There is just over a month left before Britain leaves the European Union (EU), but no arrangement has been finalised on how this will take place.

This has left many people and businesses in the UK and Europe fearful there will be a ‘no deal Brexit’, with Britain forced to leave the EU on March 29^th without any exit strategy.

As a result of this, more than 50 companies, including chemical manufacturers, have decided to apply to use EU regulators, so they can continue to receive critical authorisations to allow them to continue to do business after the end of March.

If they remain with UK regulators, their current authorisations will be worthless without a concrete arrangement with the EU, reported The Guardian.

This is despite government telling UK businesses in the chemical industry recently to register chemicals on a new regulatory system – UK REACH (Registration, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) – if Britain has to leave the EU without a deal.

One such business that has shifted its approvals away from Britain is German chemicals distribution company Brenntag.

Speaking with the news provider, a spokesperson from the firm said: “The cost of companies affected by Brexit piles up along diverse dimensions: physical [longer delivery times], administrative / financial [customs duties, paperwork] and regulatory burden.”

It was added that large multinational businesses that have supply chains within the UK could experience an “increase in transaction costs” as a result of Brexit.

This comes after the Chemical Industries Association said a ‘no deal Brexit’ would affect the country’s largest export sectors, which would be an “economic price that is just too high to pay”.