Current Asbestos Bans

Algeria	Denmark	Ireland	Monaco	Slovenia
Argentina	Djibouti	Israel	Mozambique	South Africa
Australia	Egypt	Italy	Netherlands	Spain
Austria	Estonia	Ivory Coast	New Caledonia	Sweden
Bahrain	Finland	Japan	New Zealand⁴	Switzerland
Belgium	France	Jordan²	Norway	Taiwan⁵
Brazil	Gabon	Korea (South)	Oman	Turkey
Brunei	Germany	Kuwait	Poland	United Kingdom
Bulgaria	Gibraltar	Latvia	Portugal*	United States
Canada	Greece*	Liechtenstein	Qatar	Uruguay
Chile	Honduras	Lithuania*	Romania	Ukraine
Colombia	Hungary*	Luxembourg	Saudi Arabia
Croatia	Iceland	Macedonia	Serbia
Cyprus*	Iran	Malta*	Seychelles³
Czech Republic*	Iraq	Mauritius	Slovakia*

Notes.
Singapore was removed from the ban list (Oct 2010) as a result of information received.

Mongolia was removed from the ban list (August 2012) as a result of information received detailing the cancellation on June 8, 2011 of the Mongolian Government's Resolution No. 192 banning asbestos which was issued on July 14, 2010.

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¹ Exemptions for minor uses are permitted in some countries listed; however, all countries listed must have banned the use of all types of asbestos. Additionally, we seek to ensure that all general use of asbestos, i.e. in construction, insulation, textiles, etc., has been expressly prohibited. The exemptions usually encountered are for specialist seals and gaskets; in a few countries there is an interim period where asbestos brake pads are permitted.

² An immediate ban on amosite and crocidolite was imposed on August 16, 2005; a grace period of one year was allowed for the phasing out of the use of tremolite, chrysotile, anthophyllite and actinolite in friction products, brake linings and clutch pads. After August 16, 2006, all forms of asbestos were to be banned for all uses.

³ In 2012 it was reported that due to lack of enforcement, asbestos-containing products were still being imported and used in the Seychelles.

⁴ New Zealand's 2016 ban prohibited the import of asbestos-containing goods unless a permit was obtained from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Imports containing asbestos are permitted under EPA license if:
- there is no other asbestos-free product available;
- the cost of using an asbestos-free product would be significantly higher;
- the product is to be used for research and development or training.

We are attempting (as of October 23, 2017) to ascertain how many permits have been issued.

⁵ After phased prohibitions on asbestos use in Taiwan over several years, and in light of the Environmental Protection Agency’s deadline of July 1, 2018 to ban asbestos totally, and since there have been no permits issued for the manufacture of asbestos products since January 1, 2018, Taiwan is being added to the list of countries with national bans.

* January 1, 2005 was the deadline for prohibiting the new use of chrysotile, other forms of asbestos having been banned previously, in all 25 Member States of the European Union; compliance with this directive has not been verified in countries with an asterisk (*). As of January 31, 2020, there are 27 Member States.

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