Coatings Industry Warns of Serious Consequences of a No-Deal Brexit
COVENTRY, UK — The coatings industry is urging government to avoid a no-deal Brexit at all costs, given the significant ramifications for the sector, according to the British Coatings Federation (BCF), the trade association for paints, coatings, printing inks and wallcoverings manufacturers.
The industry relies heavily on the UK’s membership of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in order to access chemicals, which has been thrown into disarray since the EU referendum. 60% of the sector’s raw materials come from the EU, and each chemical the industry uses will have to be registered in a separate UK REACH IT system, if there is no deal to maintain a relationship with ECHA. In addition, leaving with no deal is likely to have a significant impact on sterling, which will add to the cost of importing raw materials and more than counter the proposed removal of 6% tariffs from chemical imports from outside the EU.