Title: Trade , Environment and Development
1 Trade , Environment and Development
Environmental requirements and market access
Module 3
2 Background
- Environmental and health-related requirements are
becoming more frequent and/or more stringent in
certain (but not all) sectors of export interest
to Viet Nam - Non compliance may result in trade losses
- Viet Nam needs to strengthen its abilities to
respond to such requirements - Viet Nam also needs to reflect its objectives and
concerns in international debates
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development, Slide 2
3 Objectives of this module
- To assist the Government of Viet Nam, VIETRADE
and others in enhancing understanding of
environment-and health-related requirements in
export markets - To assist Viet Nam in identifying policies aimed
at strengthening capacities to respond to such
requirements - To examine relevant WTO rules, in particular the
SPS and TBT Agreements - To identify possible follow-up under CBTF
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 3
4 Structure of this presentation
- Environment-and health-related requirements in
international markets - Factors determining potential impacts on trade
- Case study fishery products
- WTO provisions
- Possible policy responses
- Issues for discussion
-
http//www.vietrade.gov.vn/english/activities/inde
x.shtml
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 4
5- Environment- and health-related requirements
TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 5
6Environmental requirements and market access
- Stringent environment- and health related
requirements - Demand for Environmentally preferable products
(e.g. organic food)
- Potential trade barriers for developing
countries? - Potential trading opportunities for developing
countries? - (Module 4)
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 6
7Environment- and health related requirements
that may have impacts on exports from Viet Nam
- Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures
- Products standards
- Labels
- Packaging requirements
- informal (buyer) requirements imposed by
companies/importers, including on process and
production methods
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 7
8SPS measures
- Governments use a variety of measures to ensure
that food products are protected from
contaminants, toxins, and other organisms, which
may be responsible for diseases - Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are
also taken to protect human health from pests and
other diseases, which may be transmitted by
plants or animals - These measures are covered by the SPS Agreement
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 8
9Technical regulations 1
- Product standards and regulations (which are
legally binding) can relate to the composition of
products (e.g. heavy metals content), quality or
performance (e.g. energy consumption, emissions)
- Bans on environmental grounds are becoming
increasingly frequent due to the widespread
public concern over hazardous substances and
because it may sometimes be easier to legislate
bans than technical regulations involving complex
risk assessment
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 9
10Technical regulations 2
- Bans on substances that are hazardous to the
environment or public health may affect trade in
products containing such substances - Such bans are emerging in sectors of export
interest to developing countries, such as
textiles, leather and footwear - For example, imports of products containing
pentachlorophenol (PCP) and formaldehyde have
been restricted in many countries, affecting
leather exports from countries. Textiles
containing azo dyes have also been prohibited.
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 10
11Product standards and regulations 3
- Technical regulations and bans of products
containing hazardous substances are aimed at
protecting the domestic environment and public
health in the importing country against the
harmful effects of the consumption or disposal of
domestically manufactured and imported products - WTO rules allow countries to impose bans as long
as such bans apply equally to domestic products
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 11
12Packaging requirements
- Packaging regulations may ban certain materials
or encourage materials that are
recyclable/disposable - Take-back obligations make producer/importer
responsible for recycling/disposal of used
packaging material. In practice, the importer
rather than the foreign producer is held
responsible, and service companies can be used - Exporters should be aware of the type of
packaging materials that will be acceptable to
importers/consumers
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 12
13Labelling 1
- Labels provide information related to inter alia
health and environmental ingredients, use, and/or
disposal of products - Labels may contain warnings or indicate positive
environmental characteristics (e.g.
biodegradable) - Labelling may be compulsory or voluntary
- In certain cases, labels may provide an
alternative to trade bans (dolphin-free)
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 13
14Labelling 2
- A key issue is the possible use of labels
(mandatory or voluntary) in the case of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - (see module 5, Biosafety Protocol)
- Exporters fear that labels may contain GMO may
have negative affects on consumption - Use of labels may also imply a need to segregate
GMO and non-GMO commodities, which is very costly
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 14
15Eco-labelling 1
- ISO distinguishes three types of eco-labels
- Type I are multi-issue labels that give
environment-related information on the overall
environmental quality or characteristics of a
product, based on third- party certification. - Type II self-declaration environmental claims
made by manufacturers, importers, distributors or
retailers - Type III labels provide information on a product
in the form of a bar graph of various indices,
without any judgement about their relative
importance
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 15
16Eco-labelling 2
- The trade and environment debate on eco-labels
has focussed on type I eco-labels - Criteria take into account the processes and
production methods (PPMs) of a product - WTO rules, however, are based on the concept of
like product - So far, the effects of type I environmental
labels on the market place and on international
trade have been limited, including for imports
from developing countries
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 16
17 Global Ecolabelling Network
- Non-profit organization
- Collection and dissemination of information on
ecolabelling programs through Internet - Position papers and analyses on issues such as
ecolabelling and trade, harmonization, etc. - Exploring mutual recognition among programs
- Technical assistance to developing programs
- Information exchange among members with regard to
setting criteria, marketing, etc. - Publishing of newsletter providing up-to-date
information - http//www.gen.gr.jp/whats.html - top
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 17
18 Global Ecolabelling Network
http//www.gen.gr.jp/members.html
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 18
19Fiscal instruments
- Product taxes and charges can be based on some
characteristics of the product (e.g. on the
sulphur content in mineral oil) or on the product
itself (e.g. mineral oil). - Product charges may be imposed with two aims
- to raise revenues
- to discourage the production and consumption of
products on which the tax is levied - Deposit refund schemes these provide an
incentive for consumers to return used products
to retailers
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 19
20Public procurement
- Public procurement practices could have effects
on producers from developing countries if
products of significant export interest to them
were to be affected - For example, boycotts on tropical timber could
lead to trade displacements and may require
expensive counter campaigns - Developing country producers and Governments
might have difficulties in obtaining timely
information from sub-national entities in order
to take advantage of trading opportunities or to
present arguments against boycotts
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 20
21Informal requirements
- Due to increased consumer demand for
environmentally preferable products importers may
impose certain environmental requirements upon
their suppliers in developing countries
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 21
22- Case study
- fishery products
TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 22
23Fishery products multiple requirements
concerning
- Health conditions for the production and placing
on the market of fishery products - Restrictions on veterinary medicines
- Pesticide residues (maximum pesticide residue
levels, MRLs), heavy metals, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), food additives, radiological
contamination of foods, irradiation of food - Packaging
- The obligation to introduce a system based on the
principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control
Point (HACCP) in fish processing companies
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 23
24HACCP 1
- The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
(HACCP) system aims to ensure the safety and
suitability of food for consumption - The HACCP system sets out principles and key
hygiene controls at each stage of the food chain,
from primary production to final consumption - It enables the user to assess hazards and
establish control systems that focus on
prevention rather than relying on testing of the
end-product
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 24
25HACCP 2
- HACCP is specifically designed for the food and
food-related industry and focuses on hygiene - It is a systematic approach of preventing and
reducing risks. - The HACCP system adopted as one of the
international standards of the Codex Alimentarius
has now been implemented in the national
legislation of a number of countries - Will increasingly become a market requirement
imposed upon developing exporters by their buyers
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 25
26US regulations for fishery products
- The regulations for the Safe and Sanitary
Processing and Importing of Fish and Fishery
Products (21 CFR part 123) require that all
seafood products have been processed in
accordance with both the HACCP principles and the
State sanitary requirements - Importers have a responsibility under those
regulations to verify that the fish and fish
products they are importing meet those
requirements
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 26
27US - Options for importers 1
- To show compliance, importers may
- Import from a country with equivalence or
compliance agreement with FDA covering fish and
fishery products (The government of the foreign
country is operating a regulatory system for
seafood safety that ensures that the products
being exported.satisfy U.S.safety concerns) - If no such agreement exists, importers must take
their own "affirmative steps" to verify that the
products have been processed in accordance with
FDA regulations."
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 27
28US - Options for importers 2
- In considering whether to accept imports of
products from processors on foreign
government-supplied lists as satisfying the
affirmative step obligation, FDA may consider
such factors as - the length of time since the foreign government
inspection authority has updated its list - the compliance history of the country and the
individual foreign processor - what is known generally about the regulatory
structure of the foreign country
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 28
29 EU regulations
- Directive 91/493/EEC health conditions for the
production and placing on the market of fishery
products in general - Directive 91/492/EEC stringent conditions for
live bivalve molluscs - All fishery products (whether fresh, chilled,
frozen, canned, salted, smoked or dried) imported
from third countries into the EU must come from a
preparation, processing, packaging or storage
facility that is approved by the competent body
in the country concerned
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 29
30 Characteristics and implications
- The Directives are based on the HACCP quality
assurance approach - Its main purpose is to avoid systematic
detention, heavy sampling and laboratory checks
at the point of entry in the EU - Instead, actual control will take place in the
third country. Implications for developing
countries - Regulations need to be updated
- Inspection services need to be organized
- Handling and processing probably need to be
improved
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 30
31 Implementation of these two Directives
- Companies must allow certain investigations and
must record the data for a supervisory authority - Exporting country has to submit complete
legislation and other documentation to the
European Commission (EC) - EC delegation will visit the country
- Depending on findings, EC may issue either a
permanent approval, or a provisional one for a
limited time
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 31
32 Experience of Viet Nam
- EC mission to Viet Nam (5 to 15 October 1998)
- Legislation in Viet Nam found equivalent to EU
- Decision 1999/813/EC of 16 November 1999 Viet
Nam added to Group I (OJ L 315 of 9 December
1999) - Amended by Decision 2000/331/EC of 25 April 2000
(OJ L 114 of 13 May 2000) - NAFIQACEN (National Fisheries Inspection and
Quality Assurance Center) of the Ministry of
Fisheries is the competent authority in Viet Nam - Around 20 authorized establishments in Viet Nam
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 32
33 Chloramphenicol detected in shrimps
- Decision 2001/699/EC of 19 September 2001
- Presence of chloramphenicol has been detected in
shrimps imported from Viet Nam (and China) - Member States shall, using appropriate sampling
plans and detection methods, subject each
consignment of shrimps from Vietnam (and China)
to a chemical test. - Member States shall inform the Commission of the
test results, using the Rapid Alert System for
Food - Official Journal L 251 of 20 September 2001
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 33
34 Preliminary conclusions
- Viet Nam has been able to develop legislation and
infrastructure to export fishery products and
live bivalve molluscs - Chloramphenicol case shows need for continued
control to avoid cost increases and uncertainty
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 34
35- Concerns of
- developing countries
TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 35
36 Concerns and constraints..
- With regard to standard-setting and
implementation in major markets - Transparency
- Administrative delays
- Complexity of standards
- Threshold limits
- Constraints at the national level
- Concerns with international standard-setting and
trade rules
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 36
37 Transparency
- Lack of transparency may create significant
problems for exporters - Some emerging environmental policy instruments do
not have provisions regarding notification and
established mechanisms allowing foreign producers
to comment - The strong reliance on voluntary measures may
raise questions as to accountability in the
context of international trade rules
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 37
38 Becoming an approved exporter can take a lot of
time
- In several sectors (e.g. fishery products or
honey), imports are allowed only from countries
that are on a list of approved countries, - Exporting country needs time for legislation and
other steps - Importing country needs time to arrange for
inspection mission and consider its findings - In several sectors (e.g. poultry), countries have
to be declared free of certain diseases - It took Costa Rica five years to be declared free
of Newcaste disease for exports to the US
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 38
39 Stringency of standards
- Aflatoxin
- Stringent limit values for aflatoxin levels for
groundnut imported into EU (more stringent than
Codex Alimentarius) - Maximum Residue Levels (MRL)
- Threshold for MRLs can be very low and difficult
to comply with - Cuba claims that MRL levels for honey prescribed
by the EU are so low that it is impossible for
Cuban laboratories to check them. Honey has to be
checked in Germany
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 39
40 Capacities in developing countries
- Standard setters and standard takers
- Relevance of standards for domestic conditions
- Domestic regulatory problems
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Other capacity problems
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 40
41 SMEs may face particular problems
- Lack of information, technology and capital
- Difficulty to achieve economies of scale to make
the environmental investment profitable - Lack of infrastructure and limited physical space
available for environmental equipment - Difficulty to acquire inputs at competitive
prices - Difficulty to ensure that raw materials are
produced in accordance with environmental
criteria - Costs of testing, inspection, and verification
may be very high
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 41
42 Factors influencing impacts on trade and
competitiveness
- Destination of exports Greater trade effects for
exports to countries imposing stringent
environmental regulations - Basis for export competitiveness Export
competitiveness based on low prices may be more
affected by the need to comply with environmental
requirements - Firm size SMEs may find it particularly
difficult to comply with environmental
requirements
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 42
43 Factors influencing impacts on trade and
competitiveness
- Availability of raw materials specialized
inputs, technology and information play a key
role - Corporate structure Companies which are
vertically integrated can exercise some control
over their suppliers - Relationship with foreign firms Strong links
with foreign firms can facilitate compliance by,
for instance, increasing access to and transfer
of environmentally sound technologies
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 43
44 International standard-setting
- Negotiations on international standards and
guidelines are normally open to all interested
countries, but effective participation requires
detailed preparation at the national level - The participation of developing countries in
international standard-setting is, in general,
weak. Standard-setting processes may be
time-consuming and expensive - Improving effective participation of developing
countries is a key implementation issue
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 44
45- WTO provisions
- http//www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/envir_
e.htm
TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 45
46 General principles 1
- Most Favoured Nation principle
- there should be no discrimination between like
products of different Member countries. Thus,
the same regulations should apply to all
countries - The national Treatment principle
- Imported products must be accorded a treatment no
less favourable than like domestic products
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 46
47 General principles 2
- Like products
- WTO rules have generally been interpreted as not
allowing to differentiate products based on their
processes or production methods (PPMs), unless
the PPM has an impact on the final
characteristics of a product - Therefore, it is generally considered that WTO
rules do not permit WTO Members to impose
restrictions on imports of a product purely on
the basis of how the product is produced
(non-incorporated PPMs)
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 47
48 Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
- The Agreement addresses the variety of measures
used by governments to ensure that human and
animal food is safe from contaminants, toxins,
disease-causing organisms and additives, and
measures to protect human health from pests or
diseases carried by plants and animals - http//www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/sps_e.ht
m
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 48
49 SPS Agreement 1
- SPS measures may only be applied to the extent
that they are necessary to the protection of life
of humans and animals or for the protection of
plant life - They should not create arbitrary or unjustified
discrimination between Member Countries where
identical or similar conditions exist - Member Countries are encouraged to establish
their measures on the basis of standards,
directives and international recommendations, in
order to internationally harmonise sanitary and
phytosanitary measures
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 49
50 SPS Agreement 2
- International standard-setting bodies mentioned
in the SPS Agreement - Codex Alimentarius
- the International Office of Epizootics
- the International Plant Protection Convention
- WTO Members may introduce or maintain stricter
measures if these are based on a scientific
justification or if they are the consequence of
coherent decisions based on an appropriate
evaluation of risks
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 50
51 SPS Agreement 3
- Equivalence
- Article 4 of the SPS Agreement, which stipulates
that measures, which are demonstrably equivalent,
should be acceptable to the importing country - Some members of the WTO have interpreted
equivalence to mean sameness to achieve the
required level of SPS protection - Regional standards
- Allow countries to export from certain regions
that are free from diseases
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 51
52 Special and differential treatment 1
- Article 10 of the SPS Agreement provides scope
for the phased introduction of new SPS measures
and longer periods for compliance for products of
export interest to developing countries - The SPS Committee may also grant developing
countries and LDCs exceptions from the
obligations under the agreement based on their
financial, trade and development needs - Active participation of developing country
Members in international organisations should be
encouraged
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 52
53 Special and differential treatment 2
- Article 9 provides for technical assistance that
may be awarded for technical expertise, training
and equipment to adjust and comply with
appropriate SPS measures - Important The above are best endeavour and not
mandatory provisions
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 53
54 Enquiry points
- Each WTO Member country must establish one
enquiry point to respond to questions from other
Member countries and provide documentation on
sanitary and phytosanitary regulations adopted or
proposed, control and inspection procedures,
production and quarantine treatment, pesticide
tolerance, risk assessment procedures, etc. - Same requirement exists under the TBT Agreement
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 54
55 Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
- Aims to ensure that technical regulations,
standards and conformity assessment procedures do
not create unnecessary obstacles to trade - Recognizes the right of WTO Members to protect
human, animal and plant life or health or the
environment and to set the level of protection as
it deems appropriate - Encourages countries to use international
standards where these are available - http//www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.ht
m
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 55
56 Conformity assessment procedures
- These include, for example control, testing,
verification and certification - The TBT Agreement calls upon WTO Members to
ensure, whenever possible, that results of
conformity assessment procedures in other Members
are accepted, even when those procedures differ
from their own, provided they are satisfied that
those procedures offer an assurance of conformity
with applicable technical regulations or
standards equivalent to their own procedures.
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 56
57TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 57
58 At the national level
- Awareness raising
- Implementation of national enquiry points
- Training
- National and regional standard setting
- Technology, innovation and enterprise development
- Support for small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs) - Institutional changes
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 58
59 Awareness raising
- Campaigns to create awareness on food safety
- Awareness of commercial and environmental
benefits of environmental quality
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 59
60 National standard setting
- Formulation of comprehensive policies on food
safety and quality - Development of national standards compatible with
both standards in international markets and
domestic conditions - Policy dialogues to develop standards and
regulations that can be effectively enforced - Strengthening domestic infrastructure, e.g. in
the areas of training, testing and certification
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 60
61 Technology, innovation and enterprise development
- New processes for processing and packaging with
greater emphasis on environment-friendly inputs - Promotion of clean technologies (UNEP/UNIDO
Centres for Clean Technology) - Enterprise development to strengthen
environmental quality of products and production
processes and gain international competitiveness - Business partnerships
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 61
62 Support for SMEs
- Facilitate the registration of SMEs
- Improve the provision of timely and accurate
information to SMEs - Improve the availability of environment-friendly
input materials for SMEs - Promote partnerships
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 62
63 Institutional measures
- Policy dialogues and co-ordination, involving the
private sector - Sharing of information
- National and regional networks of laboratories
- Regional testing and certification bodies
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 63
64 At the multilateral level
- Transparent and participatory preparation of
standards - International standard setting processes
- Technical assistance
- Multilateral aid agencies
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 64
65 In the area of trade rules
- Technical assistance under trade rules
- Mutual recognition of conformity assessment and
certification procedures - Equivalence
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 65
66- UNCTAD/CBTF contribution and possible follow up
TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 66
67 Ongoing UNCTAD initiatives
- Project Standards and Trade
- Funded by International Development Research
Centre (IDRC), Canada - Regional scoping studies
- Africa
- Central America
- South Asia
- Overall scoping paper
- Workshop (2002)
- UNCTAD/UNDP Project on Trade and
- Environment Policy implications for Viet Nam
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
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68TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
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69 Experiences of Viet Nam?
- Has Viet Nam faced significant health and/or
environmental requirements in overseas markets? - How has Viet Nam responded to such requirements?
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 69
70 What should be priorities for Viet Nam?
- Creating awareness of health and environmental
requirements in international markets among
government ministries, producers and others? - Improving information flows?
- Improving institutional capacity to develop
and/or strengthen domestic standards and
infrastructure? - Exploring regional cooperation?
- Enhancing understanding of WTO rules, in
particular the SPS and TBT Agreement? - Participating effectively in international
standard-setting and other international debates?
- Others?
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
Development Slide 70
71 Possible follow up under CBTF?
- What issues should be further elaborated in
future training activities? - How could CBTF assist Viet Nam
- Sector-specific studies?
- Training?
- Policy dialogues?
- Regional initiatives?
- Support to Vietnams effective participation in
international standard-setting?
TrainforTrade Trade, Environment and
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72TrainforTrade 2000 Trade, Environment and
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