APPENDIX B – Categorical Prohibitions

1. Conversion or degradation of Critical Forest Areas 1 or forest-related Critical Natural Habitats.

0
2
1

2. Leasing or financing of logging equipment, unless an environmental and social impact assessment
indicates that; (i) all timber harvesting operations involved will be conducted in an
environmentally sound manner which minimizes forest destruction; and (ii) the timber harvesting
operations will produce positive economic benefits and sustainable forest management systems.

3. Construction of dams that significantly and irreversibly: (a) disrupt natural ecosystems upstream or
downstream of the dam; or (b) alter natural hydrology; or (c) inundate large land areas; or (d) impact
biodiversity; or (e) displace large numbers of inhabitants (5,000 persons or more); or(f)
impact local inhabitants’ ability to earn a livelihood.

4. Production or trade in any product or activity deemed illegal under host country laws or
regulations or international conventions and agreements or subject to international phase- outs
or bans such as pharmaceuticals,4 pesticides/herbicides,5 ozone depleting substances,6
polychlorinated biphenyls7 and other hazardous substances,8 wildlife or wildlife products
regulated under the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora,9 and trans-boundary trade in waste or wasteproducts.10

5. Resettlement of 5,000 or morepersons.

6. Any impact on natural World Heritage Sites https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ unless it can be

demonstrated through an environmental assessment that the project (i) will not result in the
degradation of the protected area and (ii) will produce positive environmental and social
benefits.

7. Any impact on areas on the United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas
https://www.protectedplanet.net/unless it can be demonstrated through an environmental
assessment that the project (i) will not result in the degradation of the protected area and (ii) will
produce positive environmental and social benefits.

8. Extraction or infrastructure in or impacting protected area Categories I, II, III, and IV (Strict
Nature Reserve/Wilderness Areas and National Parks, Natural Monuments and Habitat/ Species
Management Areas), as defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN). Projects in IUCN Categories V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) and VI (Managed
Resource Protected Area) must be consistent

1A type of natural forest that qualifies as Critical Natural Habitat. Critical Forest Areas include primary Forests and old growth Forests that
may serve as critical carbon sinks.
2 1) Existing internationally recognized protected areas, areas initially recognized as protected by traditional local communities (e.g., sacred

groves), and sites that maintain conditions vital to the viability of protected areas (as determined by the environmental assessment
procedure); and (2) Sites identified on supplementary lists by authoritative sources identified by OPIC. Such sites may include areas
recognized by traditional local communities (e.g., sacred groves), areas with known high suitability for biodiversity conservation and sites that
are critical for vulnerable, migratory or endangered species. Listings are based on systematic evaluations of such factors as species richness,
the degree of endemism, rarity, and vulnerability of component species, representativeness and the integrity of ecosystem processes.

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 with IUCN management objectives https://www.protectedplanet.net/ unless it can be
demonstrated through an environmental assessment (i) there is no degradation of the protected
area and (ii) there are positive environmental and social benefits.

4 A list of pharmac eu tical products subject to phase-outs or bans is available at https://www.who.int/medicines/publications/restrictions/en/

5 A list of pesticides and herbicides subject to phase-outs or bans is available at http://www.pic.int
6A listofthechemicalcompoun dsthatreactwith anddepletestratosph eric ozonetogether withtargetreduction andphase-out dates
is availableat https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/ozone-depleting-substances
7 Polychlorinated biphenyls are likely to be found in oil-filled electrical transformers, capacitors, and switchgear dating from 1950 to 1985.
8A list of hazardous chemicals is available at http://www.pic.int 9 A list is of CITES species is available at http://www.cites.org 10
As defined by the Basel Convention; see http://www.basel.int

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 9. Production of, trade in or use of un-bonded asbestos fibers.12

10. Marine and coastal fishing practices, such as large-scale pelagic drift net fishing and fine mesh net
fishing, harmful to vulnerable and protected species in large numbers and damaging to biodiversity
and habitats.

11. Use of forced labor13 or child labor.14

12. Projects or companies known to be in violation of local applicable law related to environment,
health, safety, labor, and public disclosure.

13. Projects or companies where the primary business activities are in the following prohibited
sectors: gambling; media communications of an adult or political nature; military production or
sales; alcoholic beverages (if contrary to local religious or cultural norms); or tobacco and related
products.

14. Projects or companies that replace U.S. production or are likely to cause a significant reduction in
the number of employees in the U.S. including “runaway plants” and outsourcing the provision of
goods and services (e.g., Business Process Outsourcing) from the U.S.

15. Projects or companies subject to performance requirements that are likely to reduce substantially
the positive trade benefits to the U.S.

16. Projects or companies in which host country governments have majority ownership or effective
management control (except for investments in privatizing companies made in accordance with the
Finance Agreement).

17. Companies found by a court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction engaging in

unlawful monopolistic practices.

18. Projects or companies that provide significant, direct support to a government that engages in a
consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized Human Rights, as determined
by the U.S. Department of State.

19. Projects or companies that perform abortions as a method of family planning; motivate or coerce
any person to practice abortions; perform involuntary sterilizations as a method of family
planning; coerce or provide any financial incentive to any person to undergo sterilizations; or
perform any biomedical research which relates in whole or in part, to methods of, or in the
performance of, abortions or involuntary sterilization as a means of family planning.

20. Companies which are treated as inverted corporations under 6 U.S.C. 395(b).

12 Th is does not apply to the purchase an d use of bonded asbestos cement sheeting where the asbestos content is less than 20%.
13 Forced labor means all work or service, not voluntarily performed, that is exacted from an individual under threat of force or
penalty, such as indentured labor, bonded labor, or similar labor-contracting arrangements.
14Child labor means the employment of children (persons below theageof18) that is economically exploitative, or is likely
to be hazardous to or interfere with the child’s education, or be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual,
moral, or social development.

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