The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and entered a transition period. During this transition period, the UK remains within the EU REACH regulatory framework and the regulatory obligations currently held by UK industry will be retained. The transition period will end on 31 December 2020 at which point GB REACH will come into force.

Both the EU and UK would operate REACH but the two systems, EU REACH and GB REACH would not be linked in any way. Businesses will need to take steps to ensure regulatory requirements are fulfilled for both EU REACH and GB REACH to maintain continuity of supply chains. Companies from both markets would have ‘third country’ status in the other.

Surfachem is continuing the process of ensuring that we, together with our suppliers have relevant systems and procedures in place to ensure continuation of supply in the short, medium and long terms.

Many of the products which Surfachem supply are purchased from both within and outside the EU.

For products that we import into the UK we will be:

• Submitting a Downstream User Import Notification (DUIN) to confirm our intention to continue importing substances from the EU/EEA and the rest of world.
• Ensuring that our suppliers have a UK legal entity or only representative (OR) who will register the substances with GB REACH at the relevant time.

For products we supply in the UK that are not imported we will be:

• Submitting a Downstream User Import Notification.
• Ensuring that any EU REACH registrations held by UK-based manufacturers we deal with are legally grandfathered into GB REACH. We will ensure that registrations for EU REACH are transferred to EU legal entities or EU OR’s to deliver continued EU REACH registration.

At this moment in time, the UK government does not have a deal with the EU and these circumstances can change. Surfachem will continue to do everything we can to ensure ongoing supply of the chemical materials you purchase from us.

To find out more about the contingency measures Surfachem has in place to mitigate against any interruptions to supply, please click here

For more information about Surfachem’s Brexit preparations, including REACH regulations, please contact technicalservices@surfachem.com.

Mrs Fakhara Jones | Technical Director | Surfachem