More than 700 chemical substances risk not being available on the EU market after 31 October 2019 in the case of a no-deal Brexit, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic, Brussels / Belgium; www.cefic.org) and the UK's Chemical Industries Association (CIA, London; http://www.cia.org.uk) have warned.

In a joint statement, the associations pointed out that as the Brexit date approaches, 48% of UK companies had not yet transferred their registrations under REACH regulation to EU-based entities. This is despite advice from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA, Helsinki / Finland; www.echa.europa.eu) to “initiate” transfers before exit day.

They added, however, that they knew many companies had prepared for a potential transfer but were waiting for more certainty on the situation. In the meantime, they said effective communication throughout chemical supply chains remained crucial to ensure that downstream users were fully informed about the availability of their raw materials after Brexit.