Spine
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force April 29, 1997 and has 193 States Parties. Implementation in the United States is split across:
1. Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act (CWCIA) — establishes declaration and inspection obligations for US chemical facilities. 2. Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR, 15 CFR Part 710) — BIS regulations operationalising CWCIA; covers facility declarations, export/import reporting, and on-site inspection procedures.
The CWC schedules chemicals in three tiers (Schedule 1 = highest risk/most restricted; Schedule 2 = significant precursor risk; Schedule 3 = lower risk but commercially produced). Schedule 2 is subdivided into 2A (highest within tier) and 2B. The OPCW Conference of States Parties periodically adjusts thresholds and adds chemicals; national authorities must then update their implementing regulations.
This theme captures actions that amend or enforce CWC-derived controls — distinct from broader export-control regimes (EAR, ITAR) even when the same chemicals appear in both.
Member actions
- 2023-07-03 US BIS CWCR Schedule 2A Concentration Threshold — lowered the
declaration threshold for mixtures containing Amiton, PFIB, or BZ from 30% to 10%, implementing OPCW C-14/DEC.4 (2009).