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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 4 / Thursday, January 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations DATES:

This rule is effective January 7,
2021.
For questions on the CWCR requirements for Schedule 1 chemicals, contact Erica Sunyog, Treaty Compliance Division, Office of Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Phone: 202 4826237.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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Background The Chemical Weapons Convention hereinafter, CWC or Convention, which entered into force on April 29, 1997, is an international arms control treaty whose object and purpose is to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. The CWC States Parties have agreed to destroy any stockpiles of chemical weapons they may hold and any facilities that produced them, as well as any chemical weapons they have abandoned on the territory of other States Parties. The CWC States Parties also have agreed to implement a comprehensive data declaration, notification, and inspection regime for those toxic chemicals and their precursors listed in Schedule 1, 2 or 3
in the CWC Annex on Chemicals to provide transparency and to verify that their public and private sectors are not engaged in activities prohibited under the CWC.
In addition, each State Party has agreed to adopt domestic legislation to implement its obligations under the Convention and to designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national focal point for effective liaison with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons OPCW and other States Parties. The designated U.S. National Authority is the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, U.S. Department of State. The OPCW was established by the States Parties to achieve the object and purpose of the Convention, to ensure the implementation of its provisions including those pertaining to international verification of compliance, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among the States Parties. All CWC States Parties are members of the OPCW, which includes the Conference of the States Parties, the Executive Council, and the Technical Secretariat.
The provisions of the CWC that affect commercial activities involving scheduled chemicals including
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Schedule 1 chemicals are implemented, pursuant to the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998 CWCIA 22 U.S.C. 6701 et seq. and Executive Order 13128 64 FR
34703, June 28, 1999, by the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations CWCR see 15 CFR parts 710722 and the Export Administration Regulations EAR see 15 CFR 742.18 and 15 CFR
part 745, both of which are administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security BIS. Specifically, BIS
maintains the list of Schedule 1
chemicals identified in the CWC Annex on Chemicals in Supplement No. 1 to part 712 of the CWCR and as part of Supplement No. 1 to part 745 of the EAR. BIS also administers the CWC
Schedule 1 chemical declaration, reporting, notification, and verification requirements that are described in part 712 of the CWCR. In addition, 745.1 of the EAR describes the advance notification and annual report requirements that apply to exports of Schedule 1 chemicals.
The CWC identifies the toxic chemicals and immediate precursors listed under Schedule 1 in the CWC
Annex on Chemicals as posing a high risk to the object and purpose of the Convention. Consistent with Part VI of the CWC Verification Annex, the CWCR
restrict commercial production of Schedule 1 chemicals to research, medical, or pharmaceutical purposes only. See 15 CFR 710.1, at definition of Purposes not prohibited by the CWC, and 15 CFR 710.2b, Activities subject to the CWCR. The CWCR prohibit commercial production of Schedule 1
chemicals for protective purposes see 15 CFR 712.2a consistent with Presidential Decision Directive PDD 70
December 17, 1999, which effectively limits production for such purposes to facilities operated by the Department of Defense. These CWCR restrictions and prohibitions apply to all persons and facilities located in the United States, except certain U.S. Government facilitiessee 15 CFR 710.2a. In addition to these general requirements and prohibitions pertaining to Schedule 1 chemicals, the CWCR:
1 Prohibit the import of Schedule 1 chemicals from States not Party to the CWC 15 CFR 712.2b;
2 Require annual declarations by facilities engaged in the production of Schedule 1 chemicals in excess of 100
grams aggregate per calendar year i.e., declared Schedule 1 facilities for purposes not prohibited by the CWC 15
CFR 712.5a1 and a2;
3 Provide for government approval of declared Schedule 1 facilities 15
CFR 712.5f;

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4 Provide that declared Schedule 1 facilities are subject to initial and routine inspection by the OPCW 15
CFR 712.5e and 716.1b1;
5 Require 200 days advance notification of establishment of new Schedule 1 production facilities producing greater than 100 grams aggregate of Schedule 1 chemicals per calendar year 15 CFR 712.4;
6 Require advance notification and annual reporting to the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW of all imports and exports of Schedule 1 chemicals to, or from, other States Parties to the CWC 15 CFR 712.6, 742.18a1 and 745.1; and 7 Prohibit the export of Schedule 1 chemicals to States not Party to the CWC 15 CFR 742.18a1 and b1ii.
This final rule amends part 712 of the CWCR and part 745 of the EAR to reflect recent additions to Schedule 1A of the CWC Annex on Chemicals, as described below. In addition, this rule amends the definition of production in part 710 of the CWCR to clarify the scope of this term as it applies to declarations regarding the production of Schedule 1, Schedule 2, or Schedule 3
chemicals.
This rule amends part 712 of the CWCR and part 745 of the EAR to add three Schedule 1 chemical families and one individual Schedule 1
chemical to both sets of regulations, consistent with two decisions adopted by the States Parties to the CWC during the OPCWs 24th Conference of the States Parties, held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from November 2529, 2019. Based on two separate proposals submitted to the Director-General of the OPCW, one by the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, and the other by the Russian Federation, these decisions added three chemical families and one individual chemical to Schedule 1 in the CWC Annex on Chemicals. The OPCW agreements are documented in OPCW Decisions C24/
DEC.4 and C24/DEC.5 and may be obtained from the OPCW website http www.opcw.org. On December 10, 2019, the Director-General notified all States Parties and the Depositary of the CWC i.e., the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the adoption of these decisions by the Conference of the States Parties. Pursuant to subparagraph 5g of Article XV of the CWC, these changes to the Annex on Chemicals entered into force for all States Parties 180 days after the date of this notification, that is, on June 7, 2020.
The additions to Schedule 1 of the CWC Annex on Chemicals are as follows:

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