WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/176
30 April 1999
(99-1779)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Trade and Environment
Communication from Norway
The following communication, dated 29 April 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Norway.
_______________
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Following analytical work by the WTO and other international organizations, a common
understanding seems to emerge to the effect that in order to promote the objective of sustainabledevelopment, trade and environmental policies must be formulated so that they are mutually
supportive and legally consistent.  Our task is to translate this understanding into concrete action in
various fields covered by the WTO.
2. The immediate challenge is to specify how environmental concerns can be taken into account
in fields which will be subject to negotiation from the year 2000, such as agriculture and services,
bearing in mind that environmental policy per se  remains the responsibility of governments and
international environmental organizations.
II. HOW TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN ALL FIELDS
OF NEGOTIATIONS
3. Both positive and negative effects of liberalization should be identified with a view to
establishing whether, or to what degree, the removal of specific trade restrictions or distortions will
have net positive environmental effects.  In conjunction with liberalization, specific trade andenvironmental impacts in the various negotiating fiel ds should be reviewed;  this will help clarify
where trade liberalization leads to both economic and environmental gains and where such win-win
situations do not occur.  It should be noted that the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) has
carried out useful analyses in this context.
4. Environmental reviews of draft trade agreements/provisions should also be carried out in
conjunction with negotiations on rules and disciplines.  Economic and technical support should be
given to countries that have difficulty in carrying out such reviews at national level.
5. Environmental reviews should be conducted early in the negotiation process and/or near the
end of the process, when draft agreements are available.WT/GC/W/176
Page 2
6. It is recognized that national authorities are responsible for carrying out reviews.  However,
since there are capacity problems in many countries it would be helpful in negotiations on both
market access and rule-making if participants were encouraged to exchange views and experience
multilaterally on the basis of their reviews.  To ensure that horizontal issues are properly considered,
such as developing country concerns and aspects relating to Multilateral Environmental Agreements(MEAs), other international organizations such as UNEP, FAO and UNCTAD should be invited to
attend meetings of negotiating bodies and to provide contributions.
III. POSSIBLE SEPARATE SUBJECTS FOR NEGOTIATIONS AT THE TRADE AND
ENVIRONMENT INTERFACE
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
7. It is recognized that international cooperation, es pecially in the form of MEAs, is the best and
most effective means of solving global and transboundary environmental problems and therebyreducing the risk that countries will resort to unil ateral trade restrictions.  Moreover, the fact that
trade-related instruments in MEAs have been negotiated and agreed on multilaterally and most parties
to the MEAs are also Members of the WTO constitutes a substantial assurance against protectionism.
8. In certain cases, trade measures can play an effective role in promoting the objectives of an
MEA.  Trade measures are usually part of a broader package of policy measures, including financialand technological assistance.  We must ensure that the trading system provides the necessary
flexibility for policy markers in the environmental field and predictability for all actors concerning the
use of trade-related instruments in MEAs.
Voluntary eco-labelling programmes
9. It is essential that the trading system promotes incentives for the production and use of
environmentally-friendly services and products.  The use of eco-labelling programmes, based on a
life-cycle approach, is one way of influencing production and consumption patterns.  Such
programmes have proved to have considerable potential in spite of being of recent date.  With the
growing interest in environmentally-friendly behaviour among consumers, eco-labelling may also
create new business opportunities in both developed and developing countries.  Transparencyregarding ecological criteria that a product will have  to satisfy in order to be awarded a specific
eco-label and opportunities for interested parties to provide input in the development of such criteria
at an early stage, are important means in ensuring that eco-labelling is not used for protectionist
purposes.  It should be noted that most volunt ary eco-labelling programmes are based on a life-cycle
approach and that many of them do not have govern mental involvement.  Such factors would have to
be taken into account when exploring appropriate WTO approaches, including in a non legally-
binding form, for voluntary eco-labelling programmes.  International organizations, especially UNEPand ISO, should be invited to attend meetings of negotiating bodies and to provide contributions.
IV. ELEMENTS RELATING TO TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT PROPOSED FOR
INCLUSION IN THE SEATTLE MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
Objectives/general principles governing all fields of negotiations:
- The responsiveness of the WTO system should be increased through integration of
environmental concerns and by fostering cooperative action between WTO and other
international organizations with a view to promoting sustainable development.
- The effects on sustainability of further liberalization/draft agreements should be
considered and/or reviewed.WT/GC/W/176
Page 3
- International organizations such as UNEP, FAO, UNCTAD a nd ISO should, where
relevant, be invited to attend meetings of negotiating bodies and to provide
contributions.
Possible separate subjects for negotiations:
Specific accommodation of trade-related instruments pursuant to Multilateral Environmental
Agreements (MEAs) and voluntary eco-labelling in the WTO system
- The aim of negotiations for these two subjects should be to clarify existing WTO
provisions and elaborate new disciplines.
10. Furthermore, the Ministerial Declaration should contain a reference to the objective of
sustainable development, including environmental an d developmental principles as reflected in the
Rio Declaration, in particular the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle and the right to
development.
11. The concerns of developing countries must be taken into account in the field of trade and
environment as well.  Norway foresees that the principle of differential and more favourable treatmentof developing countries will be addressed separately in the Ministerial Declaration.
__________