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Brexit Negotiations ‘Ringing Alarm Bells’ For Chemicals Industry

Now that Article 50 has been triggered and Brexit negotiations will soon get underway, chemical companies have voiced concerns about the potential for disruption, with the director-general of the European Chemical Industry Council saying that the industry is at particular risk because of the intensity of its cross-Channel shipping operations.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Marco Mensink said there is a risk that the negotiations will veer off course and a disconnect is apparent in communication between both the UK and the EU.

He went on to say that there are so many regulatory challenges posed by Brexit that it will be necessary to come up with a business-friendly approach to the transitional period between the UK’s departure in 2019 and any agreements relating to future relationships with the EU.

“The real question is: will there be political will for a transitional agreement? Settling the Brexit questions affecting chemicals will be like unscrambling an omelette back into eggs. We urge policy makers to find solutions,” Mr Mensink said.

A few weeks ago, the government came out and said that a lot of EU environmental law will not be simply copied and pasted into UK law, which could well have an impact on chemical regulations in the future. Businesses in the industry will need to keep a close ear to the ground to see what happens and make any necessary adjustments to their operations moving forward.

However, Marcus Navin-Jones from law firm Keller and Heckman did say he believes that legislation probably won’t change that much, at least in the short term.

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