Rotterdam Convention Export Controls

The Rotterdam Convention doesn't ban exports. It controls them in two ways. First, a Party exporting a chemical that it has banned or severely restricted at home must notify the importing Party beforehand. Second, for chemicals listed in Annex III, the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure applies: each importing Party records a decision on future imports, and exporting Parties must make sure their exporters follow it ^[1][2]. Labelling, safety data sheet and customs-code rules apply alongside both ^[3].

Approach: I read the Convention text (the Secretariat's 2011 edition, published by Belgium's PIC authority) and checked how the EU, GB and India apply it through the ECHA PIC register, HSE's GB PIC list and India's Annex III import responses. I took the current Annex III count from the Convention's official site (pic.int).

1. Scope

• What it covers (Article 3): banned or severely restricted chemicals, and severely hazardous pesticide formulations ^[4].

• What it excludes: narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, radioactive materials, wastes, chemical weapons, pharmaceuticals, food additives and food. Also excluded are small quantities imported for research or analysis, or by an individual for personal use ^[4].

• Key definitions (Article 2):

  • "Banned" means all uses within one or more categories (pesticide, industrial) are prohibited by final regulatory action to protect health or the environment.
  • "Severely restricted" means virtually all such uses are prohibited, but certain specific uses remain allowed.
  • "Export" excludes mere transit operations.

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• Who administers it (Article 4): each Party designates one or more national authorities (DNAs) to carry out the procedures ^[4].

2. Export notification (Article 12)

This applies to chemicals the exporting Party has banned or severely restricted itself.

• When it is required: the exporting Party "shall provide an export notification" to the importing Party, containing the Annex V information. It is due before the first export after the final regulatory action, then before the first export in each calendar year. The importing Party's DNA may waive it ^[1].
• Content (Annex V): DNA details for both Parties, expected export date, the chemical and a summary of its hazards, the foreseen use, precautionary measures, the concentration in mixtures, and the importer's name and address ^[6].
• Acknowledgement: the importing Party acknowledges the first notification. If no acknowledgement arrives within 30 days, the exporting Party must send a second notification ^[1].
• When the duty ends: all three conditions must be met: the chemical is listed in Annex III, the importing Party has sent its import response, and the Secretariat has distributed that response ^[1].

3. How a chemical gets into Annex III (Articles 5 to 7)

1. A Party that takes final regulatory action notifies the Secretariat within 90 days ^[7].
2. Once the Secretariat holds verified notifications from at least two PIC regions, it sends them to the Chemical Review Committee ^[7].
3. The Committee applies the Annex II criteria. These include whether the action followed a risk evaluation, whether it reduced use or risk, and whether the chemical is still traded internationally. Intentional misuse alone is not a reason to list a chemical ^[8].
4. There is a separate route for pesticide formulations (Article 6). A developing country or an economy in transition that has problems with a severely hazardous pesticide formulation under local conditions of use may propose it for listing ^[9].
5. The Conference of the Parties decides on listing and approves a decision guidance document ^[10]. It takes Annex III amendments by consensus ^[11].

Current list: the Convention's site says Annex III holds 57 chemicals: 38 pesticides (including 4 severely hazardous pesticide formulations), 18 industrial chemicals, and 1 chemical in both categories. The latest additions, carbosulfan and ultra-low-volume fenthion formulations (at or above 640 g active ingredient/L), entered into force on 22 October 2025 (pic.int Annex III).

4. The PIC procedure for Annex III chemicals

Importing Party (Article 10):

• It must send a response within nine months of the decision guidance document being dispatched.
• The response is either a final decision (consent, no consent, or consent subject to specified conditions) or an interim response ^[12][13].
• If it refuses imports or attaches conditions, it must apply the same ban or conditions to imports from any source and to domestic production for domestic use. This is a non-discrimination requirement.
• Every six months, the Secretariat circulates the responses it has received ^[13].

India's recorded responses show both outcomes:

• Hexachlorobenzene: "No consent to import", final decision ^[14]
• Endosulfan: no consent, interim decision ^[15]
• Dieldrin: "Consent to import", final decision ^[16]

Exporting Party (Article 11):

• It must pass these responses on to those concerned in its jurisdiction.

• It must ensure its exporters comply with each response no later than six months after the Secretariat first circulates it.

• If an importing Party has given no response, or an interim response with no interim decision, the exporting Party must not let the chemical be exported there unless one of these applies:

  • the chemical is registered in the importing Party;
  • there is evidence it was previously used or imported there and no ban has followed; or
  • the exporter has sought and received explicit consent through the importing Party's DNA, which must reply within 60 days.

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5. Information that must travel with exports (Article 13)

• Customs code: where the World Customs Organization has assigned a Harmonized System code to an Annex III chemical, Parties must require it on the shipping document.
• Labelling: Parties must require that Annex III chemicals, and chemicals banned or severely restricted at home, are labelled with adequate hazard information when exported.
• Safety data sheet: for chemicals used at work, Parties must require that a safety data sheet in an internationally recognised format is sent to each importer.
• Language: labels and safety data sheets should, as far as practicable, be in the importing Party's language.

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Under Article 14, hazard and safety data, the expiry date and summary test results are not treated as confidential ^[17].

6. How it works in practice: EU, Belgium and GB

EU (PIC Regulation 649/2012): the EU applies the Convention and goes further, according to Belgium's PIC authority:

• The rules cover exports to all countries, not only Parties to the Convention.
• Exporters must notify ECHA through ePIC at least 35 days before the first export each year, and quote the reference number (RIN) on the customs declaration.
• Exports of POPs and of metallic mercury and certain mercury compounds are banned.

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The ECHA PIC register shows the different layers. For example, DDT sits in Annex I Part 3 (the PIC procedure) and in Annex V Part 1 (export banned) ^[19].

Belgium: since 28 May 2025, a Royal Decree has banned Belgian exports outside the EU of substances in its Annex I. Substances in its Annex II are approved only if the intended use is also permitted in the EU ^[18].

GB: HSE's GB PIC list applies Annex I of the retained ("assimilated") version of Regulation 649/2012. Part 1 lists the chemicals that need an export notification ^[20].

A limit on the treaty text: the Convention edition in the datasets is from 2011. Its Article 17 only directs the Conference of the Parties to develop non-compliance procedures ^[21]. It does not show any compliance mechanism adopted after 2011.