WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/CTE/W/161
2 October 2000
(00-4000)
Committee on Trade and Environment
DOMESTICALLY PROHIBITED GOODS
Item 7
Note by the Secretariat
I. INTRODUCTION
1. At the last meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), Members requested
the Secretariat to update document WT/CTE/W/73 on The Product Coverage of Different
International Instruments Dealing with Trade in Domestically Prohibited Goods (DPGs) and Other
Hazardous Substances .  In its update, the Secretariat was specifically asked to address the
United Nations Consolidated List of Products Whose Consumption and/or Sale have been Banned,
Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or Not Approved by Governments (hereby referred to as the
Consolidated List).1  
2. Document WT/CTE/W/73 identified a number of  different international instruments relevant
to the export of DPGs.  With respect to the mu ltilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) included
among them, the Secretariat has informed (and continues to inform) the CTE on a regular basis of
trade-related developments in them.  In addition, at the various MEA Information Sessions organized
by the CTE, the Secretariats of those MEAs have themselves submitted papers to explain and update
Members on their agreements.2  Since the preparation of WT/CTE/W/73, another MEA has come into
existence that could be relevant to the export of DPGs – namely, the Biosafety Protocol.  The text of
the Protocol was circulated to Members.3  Since they were last reported on, none of the remaining
international instruments presented in WT/CTE/W/73 have undergone significant change.
3. Whereas the Consolidated List was among the international instruments addressed in
WT/CTE/W/73, additional information has been received in its regard from the United Nations (UN)
Secretariat which could be useful to Members.  The Consolidated List deserves particular attention by
the CTE, since it was prepared in response to many of the same concerns voiced in the GATT /WTOon DPGs.
                                                     
1 See document WT/CTE/M/24.
2 The recent trade-related developments in the C onvention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure
(PIC) for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and in the draft International
Legally Binding Instrument on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) were presented in documentWT/CTE/W/128;  and developments in the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances and theBasel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal indocument WT/CTE/W/130.  In addition, in the context of the MEA Information Sessions in the CTE, theSecretariats of these MEAs have submitted the fo llowing papers on their agreements: WT/CTE/W/55,
WT/CTE/W/91 and WT/CTE/W/115.
3 See document WT/CTE/W/136.WT/CTE/W/161
Page 2
II. WHAT IS THE CONSOLIDATED LIST?
4. The Consolidated List is a list of products that have been deemed to be harmful to human
health or the environment, and which have been banned, severely restricted, or not approved by
governments.  It is an attempt by the UN Secretaria t to ensure that all countries have information on
these products so they may take appropriate regulatory action in light of domestic circumstances, and
of their own assessments of the costs and benefits of control.  The List is compiled by the
UN Secretariat, in cooperation with a number of other international organizations, on the basis of
information provided by governments.
5. While the List does not capture all of the regulatory actions taken by governments to protect
themselves against harmful products (since it is dependent on what governments themselves report), it
is a far-reaching instrument in terms of its coverage.  The List does not provide information onwhether or not the products it contains are being exported despite domestic restrictions.  However, it
is designed to be as user-friendly as possible (i ncluding not only product names, but data on trade
names and manufacturers), permitting governments to match listed products with imports.
6. The idea of preparing the Consolidated List ar ose in the early 1980s following discussions in
the General Assembly's Economic and Social Council (similar to those held in the GATT/WTO) onthe damage to health and the environment from the continued production and export of products
banned or severely restricted in exporting countries.  General Assembly Resolution 37/137 of 1982
(Annex I) called upon the Secretary-General "to prepare and regularly update a consolidated list of
products whose consumption and/or sale have been banned, withdrawn, severely restricted or, in the
case of pharmaceuticals, not approved by Governments, and to make this available as early aspossible."
7. In 1984, Resolution 39/229 was adopted, in which  the Assembly decided that an updated list
should be issued annually, and that the data should be made available to governments and other users
in such a form as to permit direct computer access.  In 1985, the UN  Secretariat, in cooperation with
the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP)
International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, carried out the first review of the List.  They
addressed the criteria to be used in deciding the inclusion of products and the treatment of the legal
and public health contexts of regulatory actions and of commercial information.
8. As a result of the review, a memorandum of collaboration that outlined the division of
responsibilities between the UN Secretariat, the WHO and UNEP was agreed upon and is still in
effect.  The WHO collects, screens and processes information relating to regulatory measures taken
by governments on pharmaceuticals, and on the health-related and environmental reasons for thosemeasures.  UNEP performs a similar function with regard to chemical products.  The UN Secretariat
coordinates these contributions, ensures that relevant information available in other organizations is
utilized for the purposes of the List, and collects and reviews commercial data.  It also edits, translates
and publishes the List.
9. Recently it has been agreed that the List be divided into two parts, published in alternate
years, on chemicals and pharmaceuticals.  Six issues of the Consolidated List have been published to
date.  Whereas the fifth issue (published in 1994) covers both chemicals and pharmaceuticals, the
sixth issue (published in 1997), is devoted to pharmaceuticals.  A seventh issue on chemicals is
forthcoming.WT/CTE/W/161
Page 3
III. COVERAGE AND SCOPE
10. According to the UN Secretariat, there has been an increase in the number of products listed
and the number of governments reporting with each new edition of the Consolidated List.  While the
first issue covered less than 500 products regulated by 60 governments, the fifth issue covered 700products regulated by 94 governments.  The sixth issue, which was the first issue to be devoted to
pharmaceuticals alone, covered 366 products regulated by 77 governments.
11. Whereas the 1989 GATT Working Group on the Export of Domestically Prohibited Goods
and Other Hazardous Substances had struggled with various definitions relating to DPGs (such as the
term "severely restricted"),  these have been defined in the Consolidated List and serve as the criteria
for the inclusion of products (Annex II).
12. The Consolidated List covers pharmaceuticals, and agricultural, industrial and consumer
products regulated on account of their chemical composition.  The UN Secretariat attempts to ensure
that the List does not duplicate work conducted in other fora, but complements it.  It states that:
The List does not include many widely used industrial chemicals to
which occupational exposure limits have been assigned by national
authorities, and on which information is available in ILO andUNEP/IRPTC publications.  Food additives are also outside the
scope of the list, since the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius deals with
them.  Consumer products are only included when they are hazardous
because of their chemical composition.  Psychotropic and narcotic
substances scheduled under one of the international conventions areincluded only where a Government is controlling a substance more
rigorously than required under the relevant international convention.
13. The Consolidated List is generally divided into two parts.  Part One, which is jointly prepared
by the UN, WHO and UNEP, presents in a unified manner information on the restrictive regulatory
decisions taken by governments that meet Annex II  criteria (with respect to the product categories
mentioned in paragraph 12).  Part Two, compiled by the UN Secretariat on its own, presents
commercial information, including data on trade names and manufacturers, relating to some of the
products covered in Part One.  It allows for the cross referencing of commercial names with
recognized scientific names, under which the regulatory data are presented.  Trade name data is also
provided to the extent possible. Due to limited resources, manufacturer data is only provided with
respect to agricultural and industrial chemicals.
14. The UN Secretariat cautions that "With the respect to the contents of the List, it should be
noted that decisions taken by a limited number of Governments on a specific product may not be
representative of the policy position of other Governments, particularly in view of different risk-
benefit considerations.  It is also important to realize that all pharmaceutical and chemical products
are potentially harmful if not correctly used.  In addition, the fact that a given product is not listed as
regulated by a country does not necessarily mean that its use is permitted in that country.  Rather, itmay mean that the relevant regulatory decision to prohibit its use has not yet been communicated to
the United Nations, WHO or UNEP."
4
                                                     
4 General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, Report of the Secretary-General on Products
Harmful to Health and the Environment , June 1998 (A/53/156-E/1998/78).WT/CTE/W/161
Page 4
IV. EXAMPLE OF COSMETICS CONTAINING MERCURY
15. On 7 September 1999, the WHO sent the WTO Director-General a letter informing him that
soaps and cosmetics containing mercury are being manufactured in European countries and marketed
in the developing world.  The letter, which was circulated to Members of the CTE5, stated that
"Marketing in developing countries is particularly problematic, since people to whom the products are
sold do not have access to information and are unaware of the hazards involved."  The Secretariat
would like to use the example of mercury-containing cosmetics, since it was recently brought to the
CTE, to illustrate how the Consolidated List may be used.
16. In using the fifth issue of the Consolidated List, the restrictive action that governments have
taken with respect to mercury-containing cosmetics can be found.  If either cosmetics (a chemical–
containing product) or mercury (a chemical), are the object of a search, they are to be looked for in thetables of contents.  The List contains two such tables, one for a "Listing of Products by Product
Name" (i.e. the name of the chemical or pharmaceutical in question), and another for a "Classified
Listing of Products" (i.e. agricultural chemical , industrial chemical or consumer product).
6  Mercury
and mercury compounds can be found under the first table of contents and the regulatory action taken
in their regard discussed in pages 291, 397, 470 and 656 of the List. Cosmetics can be found in thesecond table of contents, under the heading of "Consumer Products/Personal Products/Cosmetics and
Quasi-Pharmaceuticals", and the regulatory action taken in their regard discussed on many different
pages (with pages 466-7 containing legislation on the ingredients - including mercury - in cosmetics).
V. DISSEMINATION AND UTILIZATION
17. According to the UN Secretariat, the Consolidated List has been a valuable source of
information for governments in considering regu latory action, as well as for non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), academic institutions and the media.  It states that "The List has been
instrumental in helping national authorities to di sseminate information about products on the List and
take actions ranging from the review of licensing provisions, laws and regulations to the enforcement
of new laws and regulations."
7
18. Consumer groups also use the List to urge governments and manufacturers to remove
hazardous products from the marketplace. The International Organization of Consumer Unions and
Greenpeace, for instance, have employed it in monitoring the use of hazardous products and
distributing information to policy makers, the media and consumers. In this connection,
General Assembly Resolution 44/226 of 1989 has called on the Secretary-General to promote a more
effective involvement of NGOs in disseminating the List.
19. The Consolidated List is not available on the Internet, but the possibility of making it
accessible electronically is being considered.  According to the UN Secretariat, the periodicity and
availability of the List in different languages is being examined.
                                                     
5 Fax from Ambassador István Major, former Chairman of the CTE, to Members of the CTE,
dated 16 September 1999.
6 The main headings under the "Classified Listing of Products" of the fifth issue are included in
Annex III of this Note to provide Members with an in dication of the categories of products covered by the
Consolidated List.
7 General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, Report of the Secretary-General on Products
Harmful to Health and the Environment , June 1998 (A/53/156-E/1998/78).WT/CTE/W/161
Page 5
VI. CONCLUSION
20. DPGs and severely restricted products are covered by a variety of different international
instruments.  The Consolidated List attempts to fill in gaps under other instruments (that cover goods
that are hazardous to health or the environment on account of their chemical composition), so that the
information available to governments can be as comprehensive as possible.
21. The wealth of information which already exists on DPGs was reflected in General Assembly
Resolution 39/229 of 1984, which was adopted to decide various matters pertaining to the
Consolidated List.  It "Urges importing countries,  bearing in mind the extensive legal, public health
and safety information already provided to the United Nations Center on Transnational Corporations,
the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organization, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nati ons, the World Health Organization and the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, to avail themselves of the information provision facilities ofthose organizations, which include, in some cases, direct computer access."
22. With respect to consumer goods, while the List only covers those that are regulated on
account of their chemical composition, chemical composition is usually the subject of greatest
concern with respect to DPGs.  In that sense, the List can play an important role in providing
information on those goods.  Consumer goods regulated on account of other safety features (such asrestrictions on the use of cars that are not equipped with airbags) are not covered by the List.
Periodicity of the Consolidated List
23. Whereas General Assembly Resolution 39/229 of 1984 called for the publication of the
Consolidated List on an annual basis, the seventh is sue of the List has not yet appeared.  According to
the UN Secretariat, its preparation is under way.  Given the importance of the Consolidated List inproviding information on DPGs, it is important that it continue to be produced in a timely fashion.  In
addition, it is important for the various issues of the List to be posted on the Internet for easier access
by regulatory bodies.
National Standards and Technical Assistance
24. As had been previously recommended by the Secretariat in document WT/CTE/W/43,
entitled A Review of the Information Available in the WTO on the Export of Domestically Prohibited
Goods , "the development of domestic health and environmental standards by importing WTO
Members is essential to addressing the problem of the export of DPGs.  The existence of national
standards and their effective enforcement is the most important form of protection for developing
countries against imports of undesirable products.  Capacity building and technical assistance are
necessary in this context."
25. Capacity building and technical assistance should be directed at enhancing the ability of
developing and least-developed countries to make use of the wealth of existing information on DPGs
and other severely restricted goods, including the Consolidated List.
The WTO Library
26. The Secretariat will ensure that copies of all six issues of the Consolidated List are acquired
by the WTO library for easy reference by Members.
8  For further information on the
Consolidated List, Members are advised to contact the Division for Sustainable Development at the
United Nations Department of Economic  and Social Affairs in New York.
                                                     
8 Currently, only the fifth and sixth issues are available at the WTO Secretariat for Members to consult.WT/CTE/W/161
Page 6
ANNEX I
GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 37/137
Protection against products harmful to health and the environment
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
AWARE of the damage to health and the envir onment that the continued production and export
of products that have been banned and/or permanently withdrawn on grounds of human health and
safety from domestic markets is causing in the importing countries,
AWARE that some products, although they present a certain usefulness in specific cases and/or under
certain conditions, have been severely restricted in  their consumption and/or sale owing to their toxic
effects on health and the environment,
AWARE of the harm to health being caused in importing countries by the export of pharmaceutical
products ultimately intended also for consumption and/or sale in the home market of the exporting
country, but which have not yet been approved there,
CONSIDERING that many developing countries lack the necessary information and expertise to keep
up with developments in this field,
CONSIDERING the need for countries that have been exporting the above-mentioned products to
make available the necessary information and assistance to enable the importing countries to protect
themselves adequately,
COGNIZANT of the fact that almost all of these products are at present manufactured and exported
from a limited number of countries,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the primary responsib ility for consumer protection rests with each
State,
RECALLING its resolution 36/166 of 16 December 1981 and the report on transnational corporations
in the pharmaceutical industry of developing countries, (1) and acting in pursuance of Economic and
Social Council resolution 1981/62 of 23 July 1981,
BEARING IN MIND in this context the work of  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the
United Nations Environment Programme, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the
United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations and other relevant intergovernmental
organizations,
1. AGREES that products that have been ba nned from domestic consumption and/or sale
because they have been judged to endanger heal th and the environment should be sold abroad by
companies, corporations or individuals only when a request for such products is received from an
importing country or when the consumption of such products is officially permitted in the importing
country;
2. AGREES that all countries that have severely restricted or have not approved the domestic
consumption and/or sale of specific products, in particular pharmaceuticals and pesticides, should
make available full information on these products with a view to safeguarding the health andWT/CTE/W/161
Page 7
environment of the importing country, including clear labelling in a language acceptable to the
importing country;
3. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to continue to ensure the provision of the necessary
information and assistance by the United Nations system in order to strengthen the national capacitiesof developing countries to protect themselves from the consumption and/or sale of banned,
withdrawn, severely restricted or, in the case of pharmaceuticals, non-approved products;
4. REQUESTS the Secretary-General, based upon the work already being done within the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the
International Labour Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporationsand other relevant intergovernmental organizations,  to the maximum extent possible within existing
resources, to prepare and regularly update a consolidated list of products whose consumption and/or
sale have been banned, withdrawn, severely restricted or, in the case of pharmaceuticals, not approved
by Governments, and to make this list available as early as possible and, in any case, not later than
December 1983;
5. AGREES that the consolidated list referred to in paragraph 4 above should be easy to read
and understand and should contain both generic/chemical and brand names in alphabetical order, as
well as the names of all manufacturers and a short reference to the grounds and decisions taken by
Governments that have led to the banning, wit hdrawal or severe restriction of such products;
6. DECIDES , on the basis of the above-agreed criteria, to keep under review the format of the
consolidated list with a view to its possible improvements;
7. REQUESTS Governments and the relevant or gans, organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system to provide all the information and assistance necessary for the prompt and
effective fulfilment of the task entrusted to the Secretary-General.
109
th plenary meeting
17th December 1982WT/CTE/W/161
Page 8
ANNEX II
CRITERIA FOR THE INCLUSION OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND
CHEMICALPRODUCTS IN THE CONSOLIDATED LIST
A. Pharmaceutical products 9
(a) "Banned product"
A product that has been withdrawn from use and/or sale  nationally in one or more countries by
order of the competent  national  authority, having regard to its safety  in relation to its  intended
use.
(b) "Voluntary product"
A product that has been withdrawn from use and/or sale nationally in one or more countries by
voluntary action of the manufacturer, having regard to its safety in relation to its intended use.
(c) "Severely restricted"
A product containing:
(a) A substance that is controlled more rigorously than is provided for under the 1961
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic
Substances or that is subjected to  analogous control at the national level  before it has
been considered for international scheduling,
(b) A substance that may be incorporated in pharmaceutical dosage forms  only within the
specific limits determined by statute;
(c) A substance that is approved by a  competent national authority and is subsequently
subjected to restrictions that exclude its use in a substantial proportion of the potential
target population of patients having regard to its safety.  A  substance which from the
outset has been severely restricted in its indications having regard to the known
balance of safety  and efficacy is excluded.
(d) "Non-approved"
A product that has been formally submitted for registration by a manufacturer to a national
competent authority and which has been rejected on grounds of safety.
B. Chemical products
(a) "Banned"
A product that has been prohibited for all uses nationally in one or more countries by final
government regulatory action because of health or environmental reasons.
                                                     
9 Products which are in illicit trade only would not be considered .WT/CTE/W/161
Page 9
(b) "Withdrawn"
A product formerly in commerce that has been withdrawn for all uses nationally in one or more
countries by final voluntary action of the manufacturer because of health or environmental
reasons.
(c) "Severely restricted"
A product for which virtually all uses have been prohibited nationally in one or more countries
by final government regulatory action because of health or environmental reasons, but for which
certain specific uses remain authorized.WT/CTE/W/161
Page 10
ANNEX III
MAIN HEADINGS UNDER "CLASSIFIED LISTING OF PRODUCTS"
FIFTH ISSUE OF THE CONSOLIDATED LIST
I. Pharmaceuticals (Monocomponent Products)
1. Analgesics, antipyretics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
2. Antiallergics
3. Anticoagulants
4. Anti-infective drugs
5. Antineoplastic and immunosuppressive drugs
6. Cardiovascular drugs
7. Dermatological drugs
8. Diuretics
9. Drugs acting on the endocrine system
10. Gastrointestinal drugs
11. Immunologicals
12. Drugs acting on the liver
13. Medical devices
14.  Drugs acting on the nervous system
15. Opthalmological preparations
16. Other pharmaceutical products
17. Pharmaceutic acids
18.  Radiocontrast media
19. Drugs acting on the respiratory tract
20.  Vitamins, minerals, enzymes
II. Pharmaceuticals (Combination Products)III. Agricultural Chemicals
1. Acaricides
2. Bactericides
3. Fungicides
4. Herbicides
5. Insecticides
6. Miscellaneous other substances
7. Multiple-use pesticides (more than two uses)
8. Nematicides
9. Pesticides for use on livestock
10.  Plant growth regulators
11.  Rodenticides
12.
  Substances for ingestion by livestock and poultry
IV. Industrial ChemicalsWT/CTE/W/161
Page 11
V. Consumer Products
1. Automotive
2. Children's articles
3. Ingredients in consumer products
4. Ingredients in household products
5. Ingredients in miscellaneous other products
6. Personal products
7. Textiles/clothing
__________