The window afforded U.K.-based companies a substantial amount of extra time to make changes to their REACH chemical registrations submitted through the ECHAs online portal, called REACH-IT. The aim is to transfer administration to an EU-based only representative to do the ongoing paperwork and to allow British companies to export chemicals products into the bloc.

According to the ECHA, if a representative is not appointed, EU-based importers of U.K. products will have to submit their own registrations, which may dissuade them from sourcing products from the U.K. and look to manufacturers inside the EU zone.

By the end of April, U.K. chemicals companies had initiated the transfer of more than 5,200 chemical registrations to entities in the remaining 27 member states, according to figures released by the ECHA. This was from about 12,000 registrations in total. What will happen to the remaining 6,800 is uncertain. With the window potentially open for another six months, it is likely that thousands more will be transferred.

What is more certain is that after Brexit, the U.K. will become a third-party country not able to freely trade its chemical products in the EU or European Economic Area and companies based in the U.K. will find that their registrations will be void unless transferred.

REACH, or the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, requires thousands of companies throughout the EU to register their trade and imported chemical raw materials and mixtures. Cleaning products, paints, dyes and, of course, base oils and finished lubes, as well as parts of toys and clothing may need to be registered.

The process of registration is complex and expensive, involving consortia of companies that pool resources and shoulder the costs of testing, risk assessment and compliance of their substances. REACH places the burden on companies to identify and manage risks linked to the substances they manufacture and market in the EU [and] to demonstrate to ECHA how the substance can be safely used, and they must communicate the risk management measures to the users, according to ECHA literature.

Because lubricants and greases contain chemicals, they are also effected by the detachment of the U.K. from the EUs trade and regulatory treaties.

We estimate that there are around 250 companies involved in the U.K.s lubricants market, from component suppliers to blenders, marketers and support services, David Wright, the director general of the U.K. Lubricants Association, told LubesnGreases via email. Many of these companies export to the continent and many are affected by REACH.