Interview: "We are concerned about the way the UK negotiates a free trade agreement with the EU"

After years of discussion, Britain has officially left the European Union. We talked to David Park of the British Coatings Federation about its membership in CEPE and the UK.
does BCF's membership in CEPE affect me?
Park: "We are pleased to
that the BCF will remain a member of CEPE after Brexit

. Obviously there will be some common issues and topics that will affect our members across Europe, where we want to be able to contribute to the debate, and CEPE will certainly find it useful to continue to engage closely with us. In addition, by pooling resources and expertise, we can continue to maximize the voice of the entire European coatings industry.
David Park
. BCF Public Affairs Manager
BCF has investigated its members. How are British companies prepared for Brexit?
:
we conducted a survey of members in October 2019, when the threat of a no-deal Brexit seemed very real and imminent, so the survey was very concerned about this no-deal situation. Although the results of no deal appear to have decreased, they have not disappeared, so most of the responses we receive will still be meaningful. At the time, 90 per cent of our members were ready for a no-deal scenario, while more than 75 per cent said they were confident of taking steps to deal with the new customs procedures without a deal.
clearly, we want a free trade agreement between the EU and the UK to minimize disruption to our member states. However, there are currently a large number of announcements and public statements on both sides, which makes it difficult to determine the plan in advance. For example, the UK government has only recently begun to know better how businesses will expect customs checks to bring some "friction" and may delay border and related VAT payment changes. But we are still waiting to hear about the post-Brexit REACH regime.
, while most of our members have correctly taken preventive measures and have done their best to plan appropriately, it is difficult to identify firm strategies. We need to see certainty as soon as possible so that businesses can implement reliable plans.
do you think is the most important thing for the UK's future chemical regulations?
: We
want to see high standards maintained, that's for sure. Industry has come a long way in recent years in terms of safety, sustainability and environmental protection, and we do not want to go backwards in these areas. However, we would also like to ensure that future legislation does not significantly increase the cost and bureaucracy of its members.
are concerned about the UK's approach to negotiating free trade agreements with the EU. The government has said it does not want to be in a regulatory relationship with the post-Brexit EU, which could mean a separate UK REACH system. Under the current proposal, this would require all substances in the EU REACH database to be re-registered in the UK REACH database. This will lead to the kind of bureaucratic duplication and cost that we want to avoid. A recent survey by BCF members found that 90 per cent of paint manufacturers were concerned about a range of chemical regulations passed through REACH in the UK.
need governments to understand the complexity of integrated chemical supply chains and propose appropriate free trade agreements to prevent (or at least minimize) significant increases in costs or disruption to our members.
interview with Vanessa Bauersachs
.