The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure is the operational mechanism of the Rotterdam Convention. It is the workflow by which an importing country’s decision to accept or refuse a listed hazardous chemical is collected, published, communicated to exporters, and enforced at customs. The procedure is administered jointly by the UNEP and FAO secretariat in Geneva and Rome and uses a published register called the PIC Circular to convey decisions every six months. Without PIC, the Rotterdam Convention has no operational effect; the Annex III list would be a list of chemicals with no enforcement.
The four steps of the PIC procedure
| Step | Action | Responsible party |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adoption of the chemical to Annex III at a Conference of Parties (COP) | COP, every 2 years |
| 2 | Publication of the Decision Guidance Document (DGD) | Convention secretariat |
| 3 | National decisions communicated to the secretariat by each party | Importing party DNA |
| 4 | Decisions published in the biannual PIC Circular and enforced at customs | Secretariat publishes; importing customs enforces |
The procedure is straightforward in concept but slow in calendar terms. From COP listing to widespread national-decision publication can take 2-4 years. Some smaller parties have not published national decisions for chemicals listed at the most recent COPs, leaving an “interim” status that is treated as no-consent by default at most customs authorities.
The PIC Circular
The PIC Circular is the secretariat’s biannual publication (typically June and December) that lists every Annex III chemical and every party’s most recent national decision. The Circular is the authoritative source for exporters, importers, and customs authorities.
Each Circular entry shows:
- The chemical name (and CAS number where relevant)
- The Annex III category (pesticide, severely hazardous pesticide, industrial)
- The importing party
- The national decision (consent, refusal, conditional consent, or “interim response not yet provided”)
- Date of the most recent decision
- Any conditions attached
For an exporter, the operational practice is to check the most recent Circular within 30 days of any planned shipment of a PIC chemical. Because the Circular is the authoritative source, a 6-month-old check is too old.
The Designated National Authority chain
Each party to the convention designates one or more Designated National Authorities (DNAs). The DNA is the official contact point for the convention. Two distinct DNAs are typically appointed: one for pesticides (often the agriculture ministry) and one for industrial chemicals (often the environment ministry).
For a Chinese exporter shipping a PIC chemical:
- The Chinese DNA for industrial chemicals is the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) acting through the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center
- The Chinese DNA for pesticides is the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA)
- The relevant DNA issues the export licence and communicates the importing country’s decision
For a US importer receiving a PIC chemical:
- The US DNA is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
- The EPA enforces the US national decisions communicated through the convention
- The CBP at the border enforces the customs requirement
The exporter and the importer should each know their respective DNAs. The DNA contact list is maintained by the secretariat and published online.
When the importing country changes its decision
National decisions can change between PIC Circulars. Most changes publish in the next Circular with a 6-to-12 month effective-date runway, with cargo already in transit honoured under the prior consent. Some changes are effective immediately at the next Circular publication date with no grace period; cargo in transit can be held at customs. Conditions can also be added without removing consent (labelling requirements, end-use restrictions, specific packaging). The mitigation is to confirm the current PIC Circular within 30 days of every shipment and reflect any conditions on the bill of lading, commercial invoice, and SDS.
Scope and limits
The PIC procedure applies only to Annex III chemicals shipped between parties to the convention. Most chemical trade falls outside Annex III and is unaffected. Trade between non-parties is governed by domestic law of the importing country rather than by PIC. Trade between a party and a non-party requires the party-side exporter to follow PIC procedural standards even when the counterparty is not bound. Domestic trade within a country is outside the convention entirely.
A separate notification procedure applies to chemicals not on Annex III but domestically banned or severely restricted in the exporting country. The exporter must notify the importing country before the first export. The procedure does not require importing-country consent, only notification.
How PIC interacts with domestic regulation
The PIC procedure is layered on top of national regulation, not a replacement for it. A shipment must satisfy all of:
- The exporting country’s export licence and notification requirements
- The PIC consent decision of the importing country (for Annex III chemicals)
- The importing country’s domestic chemical regulation (REACH, TSCA, AICIS, K-REACH, India’s BIS regime, etc.)
- The transport regulations (IMDG, ADR, IATA, US 49 CFR, China GB)
- Customs documentation and duty assessment
A chemical can have valid PIC consent and still be rejected at the importing customs because of REACH non-registration, missing TSCA Section 5 PMN, or any number of domestic compliance gaps. PIC is necessary but not sufficient.
Related terms
Rotterdam Convention is the parent treaty that the procedure operates under. Stockholm Convention is the parallel treaty for Persistent Organic Pollutants, which uses a different (phase-out) mechanism rather than PIC. MEE China is the Chinese DNA for industrial chemicals. REACH, TSCA, and SVHC are the parallel domestic chemical regimes that operate alongside PIC.