On this day in ...... 1998, in the Netherlands, diplomats adopted the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. This multilateral treaty (Secretariat logo at left) aims to improve health and the environment by encouraging interstate cooperation regarding trade in specified hazardous chemicals. Modes of cooperation may include information sharing and implementation of state-level processes for import and export of such chemicals. The Rotterdam Convention entered into force on February 2004, and now has 134 states parties. The United States signed the day after adoption; in the ensuing dozen years, however, it has not ratified the treaty.
