INF/TE/IDP/RD/124 * 
 
31 March  2023 
(23-2268) Page: 1/3 
 Original: English/anglais/inglés  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND  ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE FORUM ON TRADE, ENVIRONMENT & THE SDGS (TESS)  
Plenary Meeting – 13 March  2023 
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE FORUM ON TRADE, ENVIRONMENT & THE SDGS (TESS)  
Plenary Meeting – 13 March 2023  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND  ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE FORUM ON TRADE, ENVIRONMENT & THE SDGS (TESS)  
Plenary Meeting – 13 March 2023  
_______________  
  
 
* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.  
1 Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their 
language of submission and will not be translated systematically into the working languages of the WTO. They 
are intended for use in WTO meeting rooms and are a ttributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.  
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l 'OMC. Ils ne paraissent 
généralement que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas systématiquemen t 
traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non 
officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archivage.  
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se d istribuyen en 
el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traduce n sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la 
Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no 
oficial a efectos de archivo ún icamente.  INF/TE/IDP/RD/124  
 
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STATEMENT  BY THE FORUM ON TRADE, ENVIRONMENT & THE SDGS (TESS)  
WTO DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION  
 
Plenary  meeting  
 
13 March 2023  
 
c. Open discussion on the following guiding questions preceded by a presentation by the 
coordinators on their vision for a possible pathway to MC13  
 
1. Thank you for the opportunity to be he re today. It is excellent news to hear that the United 
States has joined the WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution. Having the United States as a 
cosponsor of this initiative is a positive development; the initiative which will now have the three 
largest econ omies in the world on board, which are also among the world`s largest traders and 
producers of plastic. The United States has also been a supporter of international cooperation to 
reduce plastic pollution in a range of different inter -governmental processe s and we look forward 
to their engagement in the work of the Dialogue as well.  
2. It has been great to hear positive feedback from Members this morning on the vision the DPP 
Coordinators have put forward and support in the room for concrete, pragmatic and eff ective 
outcomes at MC13. TESS would like to thank the delegation of Japan for mentioning the 
presentation we made at the end of the pre -plenary on 16th February in which we shared ideas 
on possible ways forward and potential outcomes at MC13. That presentation is available on the 
DPP website.  
3. Our vision for MC13 is, firstly, that it would be helpful to have a statement from all members of 
the DPP that un derlines the broad commitments and priorities for cooperation and action. It will 
be important that your statement reflects and reaffirms the spirt and balance in the MC12 
statement including within and across the three workstreams. As our colleague from W WF 
mentioned this morning, a key message that could be conveyed by the DPP is the importance 
of common global rules and standards to underpin cooperation, which in turn can also support 
the INC process for a new global plastics treaty.  
4. Secondly, the statem ent can be accompanied by Annexes; there have been many constructive 
suggestions and recommendations made today on different possible Annexes and options of 
concrete policy actions that WTO Members could pursue. There will be considerable work ahead 
to pul l together content for the Annexes and options, including voluntary pledges. As with many 
of the stakeholders present here, we look forward to supporting you in that effort and to offering 
specific suggestions of what the Annexes, concrete policy actions a nd voluntary pledges could 
look like. It is great that the Secretariat will be maintaining a compilation of the suggestions that 
will be made.  
5. It is also very important that the statement reflects the interests of the range of WTO Members. 
Here, one crossc utting issue that TESS would like to underline as vital is the importance of 
addressing the concerns of least -developed countries (LDCs) and small -island developing states 
(SIDS). There is specific mention in the Ministerial Statement of the importance of responding 
to their concerns and priorities.  
6. In the months before the next plenary, TESS will be sharing a study that looks in detail at trade 
flows across the life cycle of plastics, including on some of the single -use plastics that have been 
raised as i mportant in the Dialogue. We are also working on a study that maps the various 
standards relevant to plastics pollution and where international cooperation is needed, which we 
hope will be useful for both the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and the INC proce ss. We are also 
looking at specific trade policy options that could be considered in relation to single use plastics 
INF/TE/IDP/RD/124  
 
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  and packaging. We hope that this can help inform the compilation of the Annexes and voluntary 
pledges, such as in relation to work in this Dialogue on reducing unnecessary or harmful plastics 
and plastic products.  
7. We would like to remind all participants that HS amendments at the WCO to improve 
transparency of trade flows across the life cycle of plastics is an urgent matter. Now is really th e 
time to request the support of the WCO Secretariat if you wish to submit recommendations; 
already the timing is very tight for any amendment submissions for the 2027 HS amendment 
cycle, and the next major opportunity will be for the 2032 amendment cycle.  We hope that 
delegations here actively and rapidly encourage their colleagues responsible for the WCO to 
express their interest in exploration of possible HS amendments and put forward concrete 
submissions in this respect.  
8. Finally, at TESS we are working  with our colleagues from UNEP to organize an informal one -day 
deep dive discussion focusing on reduce elements to address plastic pollution. The deep dive will 
bring together a small group of environmental delegates focused on the global plastics treaty 
with trade delegates involved in the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution to share ideas on trade -related 
policy options and research needs. It will also provide a way to connect environment and trade 
officials, an opportunity to learn from work underway in each p rocess, and to promote 
complementarity.  
9. Thank you again Ambassador for the opportunity to intervene.  
 
 
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