From a trade perspective, a no deal Brexit is bad news for the chemicals industry. The UK would fall under the WTO most favored nation tariffs, or the Chemical Tariff Harmonisation Agreement (CTHA), which the UK could join after leaving the EU. The CTHA would allow the UK to benefit from a 6.5% or 5.5% rate for most traded chemical products. But even this cannot match the EU’s lower or even zero tariffs negotiated with third countries (such as with Canada, Korea, Mexico etc.). New similar EU deals could be ratified by the UK, but this would take years. Meanwhile, increased tariffs on chemicals would significantly raise the prices of intermediate and finished goods, costs which according to EU chemical association CEFIC would be most likely borne by industry (estimated to amount almost 40 billion euros annually). This could significantly hit UK industry, with the chemicals sector the third biggest industry in the country.
Stefan Scheuer