The Rotterdam Convention | Umweltbundesamt

The Rotterdam Convention is called in full the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. It is an international treaty on chemical safety in international trade of hazardous chemicals. The Convention was adopted in September 1998 and came into effect on 24 February 2004. Germany ratified the Convention in 2001.

According to the Rotterdam Convention, exporting countries must inform importing countries if they want to import hazardous chemicals there. The recipient country must give its consent to the import. The chemicals concerned, including many pesticides, are listed in the convention's annexes. This procedure is called "Prior Informed Consent." For this reason, the Rotterdam Convention is often referred to as the PIC Convention. If a country does not give an import consent, it also prohibits the domestic production of the chemical for domestic use as well as the import from any other source (e.g., non-Parties).

Regulation (EU) No. 649/2012 ("PIC Regulation") implements the Rotterdam Convention in the European Union, i.e., the PIC Regulation regulates the import and export of hazardous chemicals to and from the EU. The Federal Office for Chemicals (BfC) of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) is the authority responsible for implementing the regulation in Germany, the so-called Designated National Authority (DNA). On the other hand, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) acts as the common authority of the European Union vis-à-vis third countries and maintains a database of notifications and consents granted.

In the process of adding new chemicals to the annexes of the Convention, the Federal Environment Agency assists other authorities, in particular with its expertise on the classification of environmentally hazardous properties of substances.

The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions are multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) that share the common goal of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. To improve cooperation and coordination between these three conventions, a synergy process was initiated. It aims to strengthen the implementation of the three conventions at the national, regional, and global levels (e.g., by reducing administrative burdens and effectively using resources at all levels) while preserving the legal autonomy of these three environmental conventions.

A listing of chemicals subject to the PIC process, the current status of ratification, and other up-to-date information are available on the BRS Joint Secretariat website.