Trade in Domestically Prohibited Goods

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) provides a comprehensive overview of 21 international agreements and instruments governing the trade of domestically prohibited goods (DPGs). It categorizes these goods into chemicals, pharmaceutical products, consumer products, and hazardous wastes, analyzing the legal and voluntary frameworks designed to protect importing countries—particularly developing nations—from risks to human, animal, plant health, and the environment.

• Domestically prohibited goods (DPGs) are products banned or severely restricted in an exporting country due to risks to human, animal, or plant life, health, or the environment, yet they may still be exported. These are categorized into four groups: chemicals (including pesticides and fertilisers), pharmaceutical products, consumer products, and hazardous wastes.
• Developing countries often lack the technical knowledge and developed import control procedures necessary to manage DPGs. This is exemplified by pesticide exports from the U.S., where 9.5 million kilos of domestically forbidden pesticides were exported in 1995 and 1996, mostly to the developing world.
• The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, adopted in September 1998, makes the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure legally binding for 22 pesticides and 5 industrial chemicals.
• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer controls 95 chemicals. It mandates the phase-out of substances like CFCs and halons, with different deadlines for developed and developing countries, and generally bans exports of controlled substances to non-Parties.
• Pharmaceutical DPGs are frequently exported to developing countries with inadequate research information or misleading labeling. A study of the German pharmaceutical industry in 1991-92 found that 53% of pharmaceutical formulations exported to 26 developing countries were prohibited for domestic use in Germany.
• The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal regulates hazardous waste movements and allows Parties to ban imports. A controversial decision (III/1) banned hazardous waste exports for final disposal and recycling from OECD, European Community, and Liechtenstein countries to non-Annex VII countries.
• The Codex Alimentarius provides voluntary food standards for 156 member countries, covering 237 commodity food standards. While voluntary, the WTO SPS Agreement requires any country imposing higher standards to provide "scientific justification."
• GATT/WTO mechanisms for DPGs are largely ineffective. A notification system existed from 1983 to 1990 but is no longer functional. Current WTO agreements, such as the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), identify import restrictions but do not provide information on domestic production or exports of DPGs.

APA

Winqvist, T. (1999). Trade in Domestically Prohibited Goods. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/viet_dpg.pdf

Chicago

Winqvist, Tina. Trade in Domestically Prohibited Goods. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1999. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/viet_dpg.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Winqvist |first1=Tina |title=Trade in Domestically Prohibited Goods |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1999 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/viet_dpg.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{winqvist1999trade, author = {Winqvist, Tina}, title = {{Trade in Domestically Prohibited Goods}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {1999}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/viet_dpg.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }