Is paraquat allowed as a pesticide in Brazil, the EU, the UK and the US? Give the current status, the decision behind it and the date in each market, with citations.

Paraquat is allowed as a pesticide only in the US, where it remains registered under a 2021 interim decision with ongoing registration review. It is not approved in the EU or Great Britain (both since the July 2007 court annulment) and has been banned in Brazil since 22 September 2020.

Approach: I searched the EU Pesticides Database, the HSE GB Approvals Register (current and withdrawn sheets) and GB product register, ANVISA's monographs and re-evaluation register, EPA's chemical register and 40 CFR 180. For the court judgment, the UK position and EPA's latest actions I used official EUR-Lex, UK Parliament, ANVISA and EPA web pages, partly from search snippets.

EU

• The EU Pesticides Database lists paraquat (CAS 4685-14-7, herbicide) as "Not approved" under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Its remark says the inclusion Directive 2003/112/EC was "annulled by Judgement of the Court of First Instance 11/07/2007" ^[1].
• The case was T-229/04, Sweden v Commission. The Court upheld complaints about operator exposure above the AOEL and how the Commission handled neurotoxicity and the possible link to Parkinson's disease (EUR-Lex, from a search snippet).

Great Britain

• Paraquat is in neither the current nor the withdrawn sheet of the HSE GB Approvals Register, and no authorised GB product contains it.
• A UK Parliament written answer says it has been illegal to sell or use paraquat in the UK since 2007 (search snippet). I found no GB-specific decision after Brexit.

Brazil

• ANVISA's excluded monograph P01 says paraquat was banned on 22 September 2020 after ANVISA's re-evaluation, under RDC 177 of 21 September 2017 (published in the official gazette, the DOU, on 22 September 2017) ^[2].

• RDC 177/2017 and RDC 190/2017 also imposed restrictions for the phase-out period. These included:

  • bans on backpack, manual, aerial and open-cab tractor application;
  • a ban on packs under 5 L;
  • crop exclusions;
  • a mandatory signed risk statement with each agronomic prescription.

  ^[3][4]

• ANVISA's re-evaluation register records the review as finished: it opened under RDC 10/2008, the outcome is "Proibido" (prohibited), and the closing acts are RDC 177/2017, RDC 190/2017 and RDC 436/2020 ^[5].

• The sources disagree on the 2020 act number. ANVISA's official pages instead cite RDC 428/2020 (published in the DOU on 8 October 2020; search snippet). That act extended use of remaining stock by region and crop, from 28 February 2021 for cotton up to 31 July 2021 for coffee and other crops. Import, production, distribution and sale stayed banned.

United States

• EPA's chemical register lists paraquat dichloride (PC code 061601) as first registered on 29 January 1990, with registration review (case #0262) as its latest process ^[6].
• Food tolerances under 40 CFR 180.205 are still in force, for example wheat grain at 1.1 ppm ^[7].
• 2021 interim decision (released 2 August 2021, per EPA): all products are Restricted Use, limited to certified applicators. It also:
  • limits aerial application and requires residential buffers;
  • bans pressurised handgun and backpack application;
  • requires enclosed cabs or respirators for groundboom application;
  • lengthens restricted-entry intervals.
• Litigation: farmworker groups challenged the decision in the Ninth Circuit in September 2021. EPA published a reconsideration document on Parkinson's disease, drift and benefits on 30 January 2024 (Federal Register, 1 February 2024).
• November 2025: EPA found greater uncertainty about paraquat volatilising than it had assumed, and said it will issue a Data Call-In to manufacturers. Endangered species and endocrine assessments come before any final decision. I found no official source showing a cancellation.

Sources:

• EUR-Lex, Case T-229/04
• UK Parliament written question
• ANVISA: Paraquate, regras para uso do estoque remanescente
• EPA: Finalizes New, Stronger Safety Measures for Paraquat
• Federal Register, 1 Feb 2024
• EPA: Updates Review on Paraquat Volatilization