THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

1
THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE MULTILATERAL
NEGOTIATIONS

• National Workshop on Trade And Environment
• January 2002
• Carlos Murillo, Director CINPE/UNA

2

• I. Why is this subject important?
• II. What is the nature of the problem?
• III. The WTO agenda on trade and environment.

3
I. Why is this subject important?

• Our countries depend on natural resources.
• It offers development opportunities.

4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
It offers opportunities

• The development of new comparative advantages.
• New market niches.
• Technological innovation.
• New products and services.

8
II. How to understand the problemAre trade and
environment incompatible with each other?

• The effects composition, scale technological.
• The 3 dimensions of the economic problem.

9
Effects Composition, Scale and Technological

• Composition effect
• Changes in the sectorial productive structure

10
Effects Composition, Scale and Technological
11
Effects Composition, Scale and Technological

• Scale effect
• Economic activity increase.
• Technological effect
• Technology led productive change.

12
The 3 Dimensions of the Economic Problem

• Resource allocation (efficiency)
• Distribution (justice)
• Optimum scale (sustainability)

13
III. The trade subject

• World trade facts.
• WTO principles and rules.
• The organization (GATT/WTO).
• The WTO challenges.
• Uruguay Round (GoodsServices- Agriculture and
  others).
• The Trade and Environment Committee.

14
World Trade Facts
15
WTO Principles

• Trade without discrimination.
• Market access
• Loyal competition.
• Economical reform and development promotion.

16
GATT The most important 4 rules

• 1.Protection of the national production branches
  only by custom tariffs.
• 2.Reduction and consolidation of the custom
  tariffs.
• 3.Most favored nation principle.
• 4.National treatment.

17
Actually there is about 200 multilateral
agreements, 20 with trade dispositions
18
5 of the most important Multilateral
Environmental Agreements (MEAs)

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered
  Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (1973).
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
  Ozone Layer (1987).
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
  Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
  (1989).
• Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and
  Kyoto Protocol (1997)
• Convention on Biological Biodiversity (1992) and
  the Cartagena Protocol on Biosecurity (2000).

19

• We strongly reaffirm our commitment to the
  objective of sustainable development, as stated
  in the preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement. We
  are convinced that the aims of upholding and
  safeguarding and open and non-discriminatory
  multilateral trading system, and acting for the
  protection of the environment and the promotion
  of sustainable development can and must be
  mutually supportive.

20
WTO Environmental Agenda

• Chapter XX issues (b) and (g) from GATT
• The 10 mandates.

21
GATT Article XX, issues (b), (g)

• Subject to the requirement that such measures
  are not applied in a manner which would
  constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable
  discrimination between countries where the same
  conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on
  international trade nothing in this Agreement
  shall be construed to prevent the adoption or
  enforcement by any contracting party of measures

22
GATT Article XX states

• Issue (b) necessary to protect human, animal or
  plant life or health
• Issue (g) relating to the conservation of
  exhaustible natural resources if such measures
  are made effective in conjunction with
  restrictions on domestic production or
  consumption.

23
1. Multilateral Agreements Coexistence

• There has been no trade dispute based on
  Multilateral Environmental Agreementas (MEA).

24
With a view to enhancing the mutual
supportiveness on trade and environment, we agree
to negotiations, without prejudging their
outcome, oni) The relationship between
existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations
set out in Multilateral Environmental Agreements
(MEA).
Qatar 31
25

• -The negotiation should be limited in scope to
  the applicability of such existing WTO rules
  among parties to the MEA in question.
• -The negotiations shall not prejudice the WTO
  rights of any member that is not a party to the
  MEA in question.

26

• ii)Procedures for regular information exchange
  between the Secretariats and relevant WTO
  Committees and the criteria for granting of
  observer status
• iii)The reduction or, as appropriate, elimination
  of tariff and non tariff barriers to
  environmental goods and services.

27
2. Policies coexistence

• Some environmental policies are
• Fiscal instruments.
• Emission taxes.
• Financial subsidies and soft loans.
• -Subsidies.
• -Environmental impact assestment of FTAS.
• -Technical assistence for developing countries.

28
3. Green taxes, environmental standards for
friendly products

• Green taxes
• Ecolabeling
• Certification Life cicle analysis, PPM

29
We instruct the Committee on Trade and
Environment, in pursuing work on all items on its
agenda within its current terms of reference, to
give particular attention toiii) labeling
requirement for environmental purposes.
Qatar 32
30
4. Transparency principle

• Are the environmental national and international
  standars published?
• Environmental data bases to all WTO members.

31
5. How and where to solve the conflicts

• Which is the most competent forum to solve the
  conflicts between WTO members related with trade
  regulations applied by MEAs?
• How to increase institutional cooperation
  (environmental experts in the WTO panels)
• It is possible to make WTO Dispute Settlement
  Mecanism public? As it happens in the MEAs.

32
6. Market access

• The environmnetal regulations are different in
  each country.
• Non trade tariff obstacles.
• Different timing for the aplication of
  environmental regulations.
• Common-but-diffeenteated responsabilities.
• Technical assistence for technology tranference.

33
We instruct the Committee on Trade and
Environment, in pursuing work on all items on its
agenda within its current terms of reference, to
give particular attention toi) the effect of
environmental measures on market access,
especially in relation to developing countries,
in particular the least- developed,-and those
situations in which the elimination or reduction
of trade restrictions and distortions will
benefit trade, the environment and development.
Qatar 32
34
7. Prohibited products trade

• Domestic prohibited products
• Technical assistence

35
8.Relationship between environmental regulations
in other agreements of the Uruguay Round
(Intellectual Property)

• Autonomous and traditional knowledge
• Tecnological Transference
• Biological diversity agreement.
• Qatar 32. We instruct the Committee on Trade and
  Environment, in pursuing work on all items on its
  agenda within its current terms of reference, to
  give particular attention to
• the relevant provisions of the Agreement on
  Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
  Rights

36
Qatar 19

• We instruct the Council for TRIPS, in pursuing
  its work program including under the review of
  article 27.3 (b),
• to examine, inter alia, the relationship
  between the TRIPS agreement and convention on
  biological diversity, the protection of
  traditional knowledge and folklore and other
  relevant new developments raised by Members,

37
9. Relation between environmental regulations in
other agreements of the Uruguay Round (Services)

• 10. Relation with other institutions and
  organizations.
• Civil society participatión

38
Qatar 32

• Work on these issues should include the
  identification on any need to clarify the
  relevant WTO rules.
• The Committee shall report to the Fifth Session
  of the Ministerial Conference and make
  recommendations, where appropriate, with respect
  to future action.

39
Qatar 33

• We recognize the importance of technical
  assistance and capacity building in the field of
  trade and environment to developing countries and
  in particular to the least-developed among them.
• We also encourage the expertise and experience be
  shared with members wishing to perform
  environmental reviews at national level.
• A report shall be prepared on these activities
  for the fifth session.

40
FINAL QUESTIONS

• What is our country education in these type of
  negotiatons?
• What is the National Agenda about this?
• Which are our weakness and strengthens?
• How to promote the participation?
• How to generate national capabilities to increase
  our competitiveness?
• Would be more favorable to have a regional
  position?

41
Thank You!!
Rebeca Marín Coordinator Trade and
Environment SE-CCAD Tel [phone] Fax (503)
289-6127 E-mail rmarin_at_sgsica.org
Carlos Murillo Director CINPE UNA de Costa
Rica Tel [phone]Fax  (506)
261-8733E-mail hcorrale_at_una.ac.cr