(World Trade Interactive)
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to revise its
regulations on the labeling of pesticides and devices intended for export in
order to increase their understandability and ease of use. Comments on this
proposed rule are due no later than June 6.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act requires that
unregistered pesticides and devices intended for export be subject to several
provisions that include labeling, production reports, inspection of
establishments, and reporting and recordkeeping. FIFRA further requires that
exporters obtain a purchaser acknowledgement statement before exporting an
unregistered pesticide (but not a device).
Regulations interpreting these requirements were published in 1993 and
have not been amended since. EPA states that a recent internal review
determined that these regulations are not as clear as intended and that the
resulting ambiguity might have led to uncertainty in compliance. EPA is
therefore proposing to add a more specific labeling requirement to clarify that
these requirements pertain to unregistered export pesticide products and
devices not only once they are exported from the U.S. but also as they move
between registered establishments operated by the same producer in the U.S. EPA
anticipates that this requirement would take effect one year after a final rule
is published in the Federal Register.
