{"id":8631,"date":"2021-01-29T10:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T10:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=8631"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:50:38","slug":"uk-chemicals-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/uk-chemicals-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"UK chemicals regulation: What businesses need to be aware of in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStrategy, Legal & Operations<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUK chemicals regulation: What businesses need to be aware of in 2021\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Asavin\"\t\t\t\tAsavin Wattanajantra<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Before Brexit, UK trade in chemicals was highly integrated with the single market, with complex supply chains seeing products crossing multiple borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, the chemicals industry contributed \u00a312.6bn to the UK economy<\/a> and chemicals are a major UK export worth \u00a331.4bn, comprising 9% of all exported UK goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK has now left the European Union (EU) and a trade deal has been reached. However, there are still important decisions to be made regarding chemical trade regulations moving forward. But what are they? We cover them in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chemicals regulation before 1 January 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before 2021, the UK followed EU REACH (Registration and Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation), the primary EU legislation for regulating chemicals in the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regulation is designed to improve the protection of human health and the environment while enhancing the industry’s competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It places the burden of proof on businesses and requires them to identify and manage the risks linked to the substances they manufacture and market in the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It meant British companies had to have substances manufactured in or imported into the European Economic Area (EEA) registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), along with safety information about the chemical and its uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK businesses were required to register substances that they manufactured or imported into the EEA (in quantities of more than one tonne).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You needed to provide a registration (called a registration dossier) that provided information about the properties and hazards of the substance, and any risk management measures associated with its use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside this, you needed to be supported by scientific evidence such as the results of safety testing experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Brexit means for chemicals regulation in the UK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The UK no longer follows EU law<\/a>. Even though tariffs will be avoided on chemical trade with the trade deal, there is still uncertainty over the regulatory framework to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In brief, the UK government needed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n