OVERVIEW

The United States is one of 175 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons (CW). The CWC does not prohibit production, processing, consumption, or trade of related chemicals for peaceful purposes, but it does establish a verification regime to ensure such activities are consistent with the object and purpose of the treaty.

BACKGROUND

The CWC is the first multilateral arms control and nonproliferation treaty to widely affect the private sector. Although the United States does not manufacture CW and is in the process of destroying its stockpile, it does produce, process, consume, export and import a number of dual-use toxic chemicals and precursors that can be used to produce chemical weapons. US companies engaged in activities involving these chemicals may be required to submit declarations and/or reports to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and may be subject to inspection by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which administers the CWC. In addition, trade in certain chemicals with States not Party to the CWC may be prohibited or subject to an export license and or end-use certificate.

The purpose of this site is to inform U.S. industry of its rights and obligations under BIS's CWC regulations. BIS's objectives in implementing the Convention are to demonstrate industry compliance while maximizing the protection of confidential business information and minimizing the burdens and costs to U.S. companies.