WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/ATG/1 
19 August 2005 
 (05-3694) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:        
2. Agency responsible:  Pesticide Control Board  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Pesticides and toxic chemicals  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected , to the extent relevant or practicable:  
Antigua and Barbuda a nd its trading partners  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Draft Antigua and 
Barbuda Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Act, 2004 (English, 47 pages); 
Draft Antigua and Barbuda Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control  (Regulation, Licensing 
and Permit) Regulations (English, 37 pages).  
6. Description of content:  This proposed Act is expected to replace current legislation the 
Pesticides Act of 1973 , that does not deal with full impl ementation of activities required for 
the effective management of pesticides. Also th ere is no enabling legislation to deal with 
other toxic chemicals, including toxic chemi cals such as industrial chemicals, paints, 
chemical precursors of drugs of abuse and chemicals associated with chemical weapons.  
Areas requiring urgent attention and which have  been addressed in the Draft Act include:  
 
1. The registration of pesticides  
2. The importation of pesticides  
3. The sale of pesticides 
4. The advertisement of pesticides a nd products containing pesticides 
5. The storage of pesticides  
6. The disposal of pesticides/pesticides containers  
7. The transportation of pesticides  
8. The occupational safety considerations for persons handling or exposed to 
pesticides 
9. The licensing of pest control operators 
10. The registration of importers of pesticides and pesticides themselves 
11. The registration of the premises where pesticides are sold, manufactured and/or 
stored 
12. The labelling of pesticides 
13. The powers and duties of analysts, inspectors and medical examiners 
  G/SPS/N/ATG/1 
Page 2  
 
  
The Draft Act addresses in detail the registrati on of pesticides and the appointment of a 
Registrar of Pesticides. This is viewed as vitally essential to prevent the importation and 
licensing of pesticides that are deleterious to human health and the environment.  It also 
allows for the increase in the number of Bo ard members from the present five (5) to a 
maximum of nine (9).  This will allow for th e broadening of the technical expertise to the 
Board to more efficiently and effectively deal  with the emerging challenges. It also speaks 
to the licensing of pest control operators wh ich was not specifically dealt with in the 
existing legislation. The rising number of Pest Control Operators and the absence of adequate training make it necessary to have provision in the Law to deal with them. The 
regulatory sections include:  
1. Registrar of Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals 
2. Licence to Exterminate 
3. Analysts, Inspectors, Medical Examiners and Others 
4. Controlled Product 
5. Offences in regard to Pr ohibited Substance or Product 
6. Regulation of Prohibited Substance or Product 
7. Powers of Inspectors 
8. Analysis 
9. Medical Examiners 
10. Detention and Forfeiture of Articles seized 
11. Regulations 
12. Offences 
13. Penalties 
14. Offences by Corporations 
15. Evidence and Sufficiency of Proof 
16. Record Keeping  
7. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [  X ] animal health,  [  X ] plant protection, 
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [    ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests        
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [ X ] None If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:        
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Draft Antigua and 
Barbuda Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Cont rol Act, 2004; Draft Antigua and Barbuda 
Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Regulations (English).  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  Not known  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  Not known  
12. Final date for comments:  11 November 2005  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [  X ] National notification 
authority, [    ] National enquiry point, or add ress, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:  :  diragrab@yahoo.com ; or  malv@lycos.com .  G/SPS/N/ATG/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  
13. Texts available from:  [  X  ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   
 diragrab@yahoo.com ; or, malv@lycos.com  
sps.enquiries@antigua.gov.ag