A fifth of British chemicals companies are already investigating registering elsewhere in the European Union (EU) in a move that could cost jobs and investment, a committee of MPs warned Saturday.
The Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons has called on the government to urgently provide certainty to the industry over the future of chemicals regulation.
The all-party report describes the British chemicals industry as the second largest exporter to the EU after cars, selling almost 15 billion pounds worth of chemical products into the European single market a year.
"UK companies will have spent an estimated 250 million pounds in order to comply with an EU registration deadline in May 2018, yet have received no guarantees over whether these registrations will remain valid after the UK leaves the EU," says the report, adding: "This uncertainty means that one in five UK chemicals companies represented by the Chemical Business Association are already investigating registering elsewhere in the EU."
MP Mary Creagh, who chairs the committee, said: "It is disappointing the government have not provided the certainty that UK businesses urgently need on their plans for the future chemical regulation in the UK. The timing of Brexit means that companies face significant costs to comply with EU regulations before we leave, with no guarantee that that investment will be useful to them in the future."
The committee has urged any future government to ensure the chemical industry is not forgotten during EU negotiations and the development of any future domestic legislative framework for chemicals.
It wants any future regulations to mirror those in force across Europe, but the report said the government had admitted that the cost of taking on the roles currently provided by the European Chemicals Agency of the EU could be in the "tens of millions" of pounds.
It called on the government to look at the U.S. where an updated federal system of chemicals regulations is being introduced.
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