EU Commission Puts PIC Regulation to the Test

The EU Commission is considering a ban on the manufacture and export of hazardous chemicals that are already prohibited in the EU. It opened a consultation and requested comments by July 31 from those affected by the PIC Regulation.

The EU took this step after countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific branded the PIC Regulation as unfair to third-world nations and demanded that the EU forbid the export of such chemicals.

In 2020 alone, some 667,000 tons of chemicals that the PIC Regulation prohibits or strictly limits in the European Union were exported.

The EU wants to publish a report on the results of the consultation this summer and to present a draft by the end of the year.

The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation covers the import and export of certain hazardous chemicals. These chemicals must undergo a notification process, and the destination country must expressly give consent before the export.

In Germany, the Federal Chemicals Agency (Bundesstelle für Chemikalien: BfC) of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin: BAuA) is responsible for adherence to the Regulation.

For more information and links related to the PIC Regulation, see our blog archive under the search term PIC Regulation. Please contact us at sales@kft.de if you have any questions.