ILMA Compoundings - November/December 2020 - 28

" The annexes are, we think, as fundamental to the REACH
regulation as the articles, " said Wright.
The U.K. also refuses to be bound by any decisions from
the European Court of Justice, the final arbiter on EU
regulations - including REACH.
The U.K. drew the red line so sharply that it began
developing its own U.K. REACH around the time of EU
withdrawal. Wright's UKLA members participated in a
software test of the new system in early 2020. " Initially, it
will just copy EU REACH - but with the ability to diverge

Brexit: Is
a Deal
Possible?
By James Eggenschwiler
As we enter the fourth calendar
quarter of 2020, the U.K. and the
European Union (EU) are rounding
the final turn into a deadline to sign
a " deal " - or completely sever all
formal ties with each other. As the
year began, the separation decision
was officially made and announced,
but for an agreement between them
concerning details by which they
would cooperate on select topics of
importance. This began an 11-month
window in which the U.K. would
negotiate ways the U.K. and the
EU would agree to cooperate. At
that time, the parties seemed poised
to systematically work through the
process and reach agreement on a
select list of subjects. Any items not
included, or on which they cannot
agree, will be exclusively controlled
according to U.K. law. The specific
topics upon which they respectively
agree will be part of the joint deal
- an agreement that functions as a

28

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020

over time, " said Wright. " It's like the Swiss model, which
mirrors but can diverge. It's independent of. "
EU companies placing chemicals inside the U.K. must
establish independent, U.K.-based legal entities, or they
must port their EU REACH registrations to an " Only
Representative, " such as a consultancy.
As announced in September, all existing EU Reach
registrations held by U.K. companies will be ported
automatically to the new U.K. REACH on Jan. 1, 2021.
However, there will still be paperwork and certification.

treaty between them. At this point,
only easier topics have been decided.
Those that remain are the subject of
great divide, making a no-deal departure by the U.K. seem likely.
THE UNDERLYING DRIVER TO
THE ISSUES: SOVEREIGNTY
While there were many reasons that
drove the U.K. to initiate its exit
from EU statehood, the core items
were all seen as fundamental to U.K.
sovereignty. That remains true of the
lingering issues as well. However, the
identity of the most challenging issues
has become more specific and, in that
sense, poses a sharp contrast to the
broader motivations raised earlier in
the year. For instance, at the original
decision and announcement, the
primary reasons were cited as:
1.	Continual erosion of the U.K.'s
fundamental sovereignty over
their governing laws, enforcement
of those laws, and the courts and
jurisprudence that ultimately
interpreted and applied those laws;
2.	The inherent and growing
obligation of the U.K. to
financially subsidize the roughly
25 member states whose financial
wherewithal has been shrinking in
recent years; and
3.	Control over the seemingly
endless migrant poor and refugees
who for years have increasingly

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displaced U.K. nationals from
jobs by their willingness to work
for lower wages and benefits.
In contrast, the primary key issues
standing in the way of a negotiated
agreement are subjects such as:
1.	Standards that apply to U.K.controlled Northern Ireland;
2.	Exclusive control by the U.K.
over fishing of its waters; and
3.	The governance of any future
agreement, including the authority by which the current deal (and
future deals) will be enforced.
These might seem relatively small or
easily handled, but they actually pose
significant tension between the parties
and are currently seen as virtually
irreconcilable.
NORTHERN IRELAND
This particular subject began as controversial but, in reality, has the best
potential for an agreeable solution. Yet
that by no means suggests it will be
easy or occur by Dec. 31. This issue
couched within the U.K.'s " Internal
Market " bill, which is designed to
ensure that trade among all four home
(internal U.K.) nations (Great Britain,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
remain without barriers after Brexit.
The problem: Northern Ireland, since
it shares a border with the Republic
of Ireland (an EU member state).
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