A recent ECHA annual report shows that exports from the EU increased by 19% in 2021 compared to 2020. A total of 791,576 tons of petrochemicals were exported throughout the year.

▌PIC Chemical Exports

Exports of benzene, which is used in the manufacture of plastics, resins, synthetic fibers, dyes and rubber lubricants, increased by 143 percent to about 187,000 tons in 2021.

Non-EU countries mainly import benzene for the petrochemical industry and analytical research and development. Dichloroethylene (1,2-dichloroethane), an industrial chemical used mainly in the production of PVC and solvents, was the most exported petrochemical for the third consecutive year.

▌PIC Chemical Imports

As a non-EU country, the UK also contributes significantly to the increase in imports into the EU. in 2021, the total amount of PIC chemicals imported into the EU was 883,120 tons, an increase of 20% compared to 2020. About 284,000 tons come from the UK. In line with the export trend, benzene imports to the EU have also increased. 500,000 tons of PIC chemicals imported in 2021 represent about 57% of the total PIC chemicals imported into the EU. Dichloroethylene (1,2-dichloroethane) is again the second most imported PIC chemical. Of the 343,000 tons imported into the EU during 2021, nearly 73% came from the UK.

▌Background

Under Article 10 of the PIC Regulation, importers and exporters are required to provide annual trade information on chemicals listed in Annex I of the Regulation to their designated national authorities by March 31 of the following year. Each EU country is required to provide aggregated information to ECHA for aggregation at the EU level and to make non-confidential information publicly available.

Twenty-four countries provided the ECHA with data on PIC chemical exports from the 532 EU exporting countries in 2021. Three EU countries and Northern Ireland announced that they do not export PIC chemicals. 22 EU countries provided data on imports of PIC chemicals into the EU from 195 importers in 2021. Five EU countries and Northern Ireland declared that they did not import petrochemicals. For the first time, UK exports and imports are within the annual report, with the number of exporters increasing by 6% and the number of importers increasing by 42%.

From the data collected above, we can easily see that the UK plays a relatively important role in the import and export of chemicals to and from the EU. Of course, the new UK-REACH was also birthed after the UK's exit from the EU. The UK has officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, and the transition period has ended on December 31, 2020. From January 1, 2021, the UK will officially implement the independent chemical regulation, namely UK-REACH, which is called "Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals". It is a localized chemical regulation based on the EU-REACH regulation, which basically replicates the requirements of the EU- REACH regulation. According to the UK-REACH regulation, companies outside the UK are required to fulfill the registration obligations under UK-REACH if they export ≥1 ton/year of substances (including the substances themselves, substances in mixtures or substances intentionally released from articles) to the UK.

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