The insanity of Brexit can be seen in this story (HERE) about regulations concerning the chemical industry after we leave. Questioned about what we will do after Brext, Michael Gove said the system we will develop to regulate the manufacture and sale of chemicals would be "better" than the EU's. After years of complaining about over regulation and with many Brexiteers voting to leave specifically to enable us to escape the "shackles" of the EU, we are now proposing to forge our own with what I assume will be tighter regulations. Of course, it could be that better might mean looser in Gove's mind, who knows?
But here is the madness. If they're looser we cut ourselves off from our largest overseas market. If they're tighter it will cost more and make us less competitive in our largest market. If manufacturers produce to different standards for domestic and Europe use it will effectively double the number of products we have to make, again adding to the burden of regulation and cost.
The article argues that setting up a whole new chemical regulation and authorisation system is going to be expensive anyway and continuing with some sort of cooperation with the EU and keeping things as good as they are now is probably the best option. However, to copy REACH, the EU's system, would be anathema to Brexiteers since it would acknowledge that the EU get things right so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see us develop a totally different system regardless of the damage to our own chemical industry. We'll do it - because we can.
Initially, the government intends to simply make minor changes to EU regulations to make them usable immediately post Brexit and Richard North (HERE) picks an example provided by DEXEU on how it intends to do it. The 1,355-page Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures – the CLP Regulation is the EU law which implements the UN's Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (known as GHS). In the governments delegated powers explanatory memo (HERE) he notes the proposed change would have the unintentional result of excluding all British chemical manufacturers from the CLP regulations.!!
This is one example of the problems that we are about to face. There are thousands of regulations and laws implementing directives that will have to be gone through and modified without error to avoid legal problems that might run on for years afterwards. It looks like a task well beyond our civil service to undertake in eighteen months.
Initially, the government intends to simply make minor changes to EU regulations to make them usable immediately post Brexit and Richard North (HERE) picks an example provided by DEXEU on how it intends to do it. The 1,355-page Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures – the CLP Regulation is the EU law which implements the UN's Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (known as GHS). In the governments delegated powers explanatory memo (HERE) he notes the proposed change would have the unintentional result of excluding all British chemical manufacturers from the CLP regulations.!!
This is one example of the problems that we are about to face. There are thousands of regulations and laws implementing directives that will have to be gone through and modified without error to avoid legal problems that might run on for years afterwards. It looks like a task well beyond our civil service to undertake in eighteen months.
