WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/W/239 
12 October 2004 
 
 (04-4265) 
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:   English 
  
 
  
ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ON THE EFFECTS  
OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES ON MARKET ACCESS  
 
Submission by the European Communities under Paragraph 32(i)
 
   The following submission, dated 8 October 2004, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the European Communities. 
 
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 1. Ministers in Doha instructed the Committee on Trade and Environment to give particular 
attention to “the effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to 
developing countries, in particular the least-developed among them”. 
2. This is a key issue to ensure the mutu al supportiveness of trade, environment and 
development.  The protection of the environment is a common necessity and a common responsibility, 
shared by all our countries.  Environmental meas ures are necessary to assume this responsibility.  And 
especially when environmental measures are not based  on an international consensus, it is in our 
common interest to preserve confidence and c ooperation despite possible different views on 
environmental issues.  
3. In particular, the EC are convinced that, in or der to stir us into action, the objective of 
Sustainable Development must reconcile environmen t and development.  So me developing countries 
are concerned that environmental requirements in  developed countries may reduce market access for 
their companies.  We believe that “the answer to concerns about reduced market access is not to 
weaken such standards but rather to  enable exporters to meet them”.
1  In this regard, the EC 
understand DCs concerns and are ready to work and discuss on the basis that environmental 
requirements should be developed and applied in such a manner so as to minimize possible adverse 
effects on market access for developing coun tries, while still achieving the objectives of 
environmental policies, as suggested by India in its 2002 submission.2 
                                                      
1 CTE Report to the Fifth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun - WT/CTE/8 - 
11 July 2003 
2 WT/CTE/W/207 dated  21 May 2002, paragraph 16 WT/CTE/W/239 
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 4. Work recently carried out in various internationa l fora has contributed to clarifying this issue.
3  
The discussions which took place in the CTE before Cancún at India’s request were very useful, as 
was the recent work carried out by UNCTAD.4  Equally important is the work carried out by UNEP 
and in particular the series of workshops on Trad e and Environment Technical Assistance/Capacity 
Building.5 
5. We do not intend to address in this submission the substance of environmental requirements.  
It is a much more controversial debate, which would put the cart befo re the horse.  The EC consider 
that issues linked to the process of developing an d implementing environmental requirements are very 
promising for useful and concrete work in the C TE, aiming at improving the mutual supportiveness of 
trade, environment and development and at increasing confidence and cooperation among us.  
6. In more concrete and operati onal terms, we are convinced that efforts should focus on 
experience sharing on ways to further improve th e dialogue and information mechanisms with DCs 
when developing and implementing new environmental requirements with a view to:  (i) identifying 
as early as possible potential market access implications ,  (ii) identifying potential “bridges” between 
our respective legislation, and (iii) considering t echnical assistance needs and other means necessary 
to help affected countries and exporters comply with new requirements while developing their own, 
where appropriate.  
7. The present submission aims at: 
− presenting reforms carried out in the EC policy making process that contribute to address in 
the development and implementation stages of le gislation the concerns highlighted by DCs, 
and 
− making proposals for further cooperation. 
 
 
I. EC ACTIONS TO FURTHER IMPROVE ITS PRACTICE WHEN DEVELOPING 
NEW ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS: UP-STREAM TRANSPARENCY AND CONSULTATION MECHANISMS 
8. There is a long tradition of transparency and consultation when deve loping environmental 
draft proposals in the EC but it has recently been complemented and systematised through the “Better 
Regulation Package” essentially aimed at improving regulations through bette r knowledge about their 
impacts and systematic consultations of all stakeholders, including DCs. 
                                                     
 
3 For instance the OECD "case studies" contained in the publication "The Development Dimension of 
Trade and Environment:  Case Studies on Environmental Requirements and Market Access", 19 November 2002, COM/ENV/TD(2002)86/FINAL (available on the OECD website)  
 
4 UNCTAD work on th e effects of environmental measures on market access, financed by the UK 
development agency DFID, consists of case studies on six Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) focusing on three sectors –leather and footwear, horticultural products, 
electronics- and three clusters of issues – information gathering and dissemination on environmental 
requirements, current adjustment measures at national level to new environmental requirements on key export markets, improved participation in pre-standard setting consultations in export markets. These studies are 
discussed at regional workshops, in which the EC took part, then in comprehensive national dialogues involving 
government, business, NGOs, academics etc  
5 On 27/28 March 2004, UNEP – in co-operation with the Korean government – organised in Jeju 
Island a workshop on T&E CB for SD. The EC participated in the meeting together with many other national 
governments and IOs. A Chairman Summary was adopted at the end of the workshop stressing that TA/CB efforts should include activities aiming at facilitating co mpliance by exporter from DCs with environmental 
requirements in exporting markets.  WT/CTE/W/239 
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 9. The comprehensive framework for “better lawmaking”6 (transparency & consultation, 
simplification and impact assessment), adopted in 2002, allows for a significant step forward in 
improving, simplifying and making more transparent the regulatory environment through impact assessments of regulatory initiatives and wi der consultations of stakeholders. 
 
A. C
OMPREHENSIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCE DURE OF ALL DRAFT LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS  
10. This element consists of two main steps: a Prel iminary Impact Assessment and, for a selected 
number of significant proposals, a more in-depth  analysis called Extended Impact Assessment for 
proposals that could have substantial economic, e nvironmental or social impact.  This later 
Assessment aims at carrying out a more in-depth  analysis, consulting with interested parties 
(cf minimum standards of consultation below) and identifying the main policy options and alternative 
instruments available to achieve the objective.  This impact assessment also scrutinizes potential 
impacts on development outside the EU. 
B. MINIMUM STANDARDS OF CONSULTATION  
11. The consultation stage that precedes the legisla tive proposal to be adopted by the Commission 
has been further improved in order to make it more transparent and systematic.  As a first step, the 
Commission focuses on applying these minimum standards to those initiatives that will be subject to 
an extended impact assessment. 
12. Consultation processes are open to all individuals and private or public organisations, 
including governments, in non EU countries, an d specifically in DCs. Without excluding other 
communication tools,  a  “single access point” ex ists on the web for open public consultations  
(lasting in general eight weeks) at the following address: 
http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm . Results of previous consultations are 
displayed at this single access point.  
 
Consultation of stakeholders: the example of REACH 
In the case of the internet consultation for REAC H, 6400 contributions and a number of specific 
questions were received; all comments were an alysed by the Commission, which resulted in 
significant amendments to the proposed legislati on. Among the contributors, we find several non-EU 
stakeholders (including from Argentina, Australia, Br azil, Canada, China, Chile, Israel, Japan, Korea, 
Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and the US).  Moreover, this 
internet consultation was preceded by an “early notice” under Article 2.9.1 of the TBT Agreement to 
inform Members of upcoming internet consultation so as to invite them to take part in it. 
 
13. Given the different levels of action, it is im portant to note that EC Member States also 
contribute to simplifying and improving the European  regulatory environment, in particular in the 
fields of impact assessments and consultations.  Several Member States have now introduced and 
implemented horizontal policies on better regulatio n, for instance on impact assessment.  As for 
public consultations, MSs are generally introducin g more systematic procedures and the use of 
internet consultations is expanding.  
                                                      
6 Also known as “Better Regulation Package”. Th is package includes a general Communication on 
“Better Lawmaking” (COM(2002)275 dated 5.06.2002), an Action Plan for “Simplifying and improving the 
regulatory environment” (COM(2002)278 dated 5.06.2002) and 3 specific Communications on “Impact 
Assessment” (COM(2002)276 dated 5.06.2002), “Updating and Simplifying the Community Acquis” (COM(2003)71 dated 11.02.2003) and “General Principles and minimum standards for consultation of 
interested third parties by the Commission” (COM(2002)704 dated 11.12.2002). WT/CTE/W/239 
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 14. Moreover, apart from the Better Regulation Packag e, it is important to keep in mind that, 
while EC procedures and division of responsibiliti es between the EU level and Member States may 
appear complicated, they concur to replacing 25 dist inct national markets by a unified EU market of 
450 million consumers.  It is the most extensive pr ocess of harmonisation of standards in the world. 
 
II. EFFORTS BY THE EC TO FURTHER IMPROVE ITS PRACTICE WHEN 
IMPLEMENTING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS: DOWN-STREAM INFORMATION MECHANISMS AND SUPPORTIVE/ACCOMPANYING MEASURES 
15. Here again the EC’s willingness to help expor ters from third countries, and especially from 
developing countries, improve their compliance with EU environmental requirements has materialized 
in several initiatives. 
A. I
NFORMATION TOOLS  
16. Beyond TBT and SPS enquiry points that provi de information on EU laws and regulations 
and their implementation, the EC and their MSs s upport a lot of initiatives for better information of 
developing countries.  These initiatives often go beyond mere information, and actively assist 
developing countries in identifying pro ducts and developing export markets.  
17. For instance, the European Commission provides the Expanding Exports Helpdesk7, an online 
resource to facilitate access for DCs to markets within the EU.  The database currently provides 
information on tariffs, customs documents and rule s of origin but will be expanded to non-tariff 
information in the future. Sweden decided in Ap ril 2004 to establish a contact point for exporters, 
named Open Trade Gate Sweden8, located at the National Board of Trade.  The purpose of the Open 
Trade Gate Sweden is to help exporters from de veloping countries solve administrative problems 
when exporting and provide them with information re garding trade rules and regulations and in this 
context also environmental trade aspects.  Several other examples exist as the European 
Commission’s initiative Euro Info Centres.  Two of  the best known initiatives are the Centre for the 
Promotion of Imports from developing countri es and the Danish Import Promotion Office for 
Products from Developing Countries (DIPO). 
                                                      
 7 http://export-he lp.cec.eu.int/  
8 www.opentradegate.se    WT/CTE/W/239 
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The Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI)9 was established in 
1971 and is an Agency of the Ministry of Foreign A ffairs of the Netherlands.  The CBI's mission is to 
contribute to the economic developm ent of developing countries by strengthening the competitiveness 
of companies from those countries on the EU market.  
CBI offers the following programmes: 
• Market information: a variety of tools to keep e xporters in developing countries in step with the 
very latest developments on the EU market.  
• Company matching: the company matching programme  links well-versed supp liers in developing 
countries to reliable importing companies in the EU and vice versa.  
• Export Development Programmes are designed to assi st entrepreneurs in developing countries in 
entering and succeeding on the EU market and/or  consolidating or expanding their existing 
market share. Programmes are flexible and are tailored to the specific needs of the sector and 
individual exporter. Each programme may combin e different elements: technical assistance on 
implementing regulations and standards, marke ting, organisation of production and operational 
management, training in export marketing a nd management and market entry assistance. 
• Training programmes for exporters and business supp ort organisations on, among others, general 
export marketing and management; trade promotio n; management of international trade fair 
participations and devel oping client-oriented market information systems.  
• Institutional support for capacity building for selected business support organisations. 
 
 
The Danish  Import Promotion Office for Products  from Developing Countries (DIPO)10 is 
established to assist exporters from developing coun tries in their endeavours to enter the Danish 
market. The services are free of charge. Th e office works with two lines of assistance: 
• Market information: DIPO provides market information to exporters, Export Promotion 
Organisations in developing countries and the commercial staff at the embassies accredited to 
Denmark. The office issues a number of market su rveys of the most relevant sectors of the Danish 
market and the export guide “Exporting to Denmar k”. DIPO organises trade seminars for trade 
attachés and other commercial staff at the embassies.  
• Contact mediation: DIPO advertises business offe rs from exporters in developing countries and 
distributes offers directly to a large number of  Danish importers. DIPO supplies exporters with 
contact data to relevant importers. 
 
18. Outside initiatives have also benefited from the s upport of the EC. This is in particular the 
case of the STIC. 
The Sustainable Trade and Innovation Centre (STIC )11 was launched in September 2002 at the 
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, STIC’s mission is to “to assist 
developing country exporters to r espond, anticipate and ultimately shape the environmental and social 
dimensions of international trade, thereby captu ring a greater share of the value-added”. This 
programme development has been sponsored by th e European Commission, the Dutch Ministry for 
the Environment, European Partners for the E nvironment (EPE) and the Royal Tropical Institute 
(KIT). 
The Foundation objective is to give developing c ountry exporters a voice in the development of 
sustainable trade by: 
                                                      
 9 www.cbi.nl/  
 10 www.dipo.dk  
 11 www.sticonline.org/  WT/CTE/W/239 
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 • The exchange of information between developing country producers and the buyers in developed 
countries; STIC will undertake market-based research and disseminate information on 
implications of specific regulations for produ cers in developing countries. One example is 
TEXBASE, a new CD Rom containing comprehens ive information on environmental and social 
standards, codes, and case studies of cleaner produc tion for exporters in the textile and clothing 
sector. The STIC website is intended to be a me chanism for information dissemination and will 
act as an ‘early warning’ system for developing country producers; 
• The promotion of innovation in order to achieve sustainable patterns of production and trade, for 
example, by training producers on new tools and techniques and by developing services to enable 
companies to meet sustainability requirements;  
• The creation of genuine partnerships in order to  produce codes of conduct that are fair, feasible 
and lasting.  
 
 B. T
IME FRAMES  
19. EC practice very often goes well beyond WTO requi rements.  For instance, in the case of the 
WEEE and RoHS directives, 30 and 41 months were  allowed between the publication and the entry 
into force of the directives, whereas the TBT Committee has recommended only 60 days. 
C. TRADE -RELATED ASSISTANCE IN THE FIELD OF TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT  
20. The September 2003 EC submission of more than  250 programmes demonstrates that the EC 
are the main providers of  Technical Assistance and Capacity Building  in the field of Trade and 
Environment.12  The EC are showing that they are committe d to reinforcing in a very concrete manner 
the mutual supportiveness between trade, environment and development. 
21. Nevertheless, despite the importance of the EC’s efforts, we are aware that further 
improvements are needed. In particular, and as noted by several WTO Members during our pre-
Cancún discussions13, there is a need to better focus TRA in terventions in the field of trade and 
environment on compliance with environmental requirements. 
22. Examples already exist. At the end of 2003 the Commission financed under one of its 
programmes, the Asia Pro Eco Programme, a pr oject aiming at informing Asian electronic 
manufacturers (particularly SMEs) about new EU sta ndards which are likely to come into force in 
2005:  WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipments), RoHs (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances, EuP (Eco-design of  Energy-using Products) and IPP (Integrated 
Pollution Prevention).  The German Technical As sistance is providing advice to North African 
countries in adapting to EU and international e nvironmental product standards and quality norms, 
with partners ranging from ministries to companies and centres for technology transfer.
14  The French 
Agency for Development and the French Economic and Trade Department also carry out a specific 
programme to finance technical cooperation and tr aining projects in Asia and Africa over the 2003-
2005 period.15 
                                                      
12 Cf the EC submission WT/CTE/W/231 dated 5 September 2003 
13§51, CTE Report to the Fifth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun - WT/CTE/8 - 
11 July 2003 
14 See for instance www.gtz-tunisie-mne.org  and www.citet.nat.tn  where the German Technical 
Assistance is cooperating with a Tuni sian body in assisting the private sector in complying with ISO 14000 
series and product norms relevant to exports to market in the EU. 
15 For instance, a project in Cambodi a provides technical assistance to improve the quality of rubber, to 
set and implement a certification process and to improve the marketing of rubber.   WT/CTE/W/239 
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 23. Technical assistance can be further improved through: 
− Better co-ordination between policy sectors.16  Within the EC, coordination mechanisms have 
been set up between trade and development e xperts of the Commission and Member States; 
within the Commission itself, several coordinati on tools exist, gathering trade, environment 
and development experts. 
− Better coordination by donors and relevant inte rnational organisations.  The EC September 
2003 submission on TRA describing all our existing programmes is part of this effort.  EC 
participation in the work of several inte rnational organisations like UNEP and UNCTAD 
(notably through the recently created Consulta tive Task Force on environmental requirements 
and market access) also contributes to joint efforts. 
− Focussed action by beneficiary countries.  TRA must be demand-driven.  Donors need clear 
projects preferably with detailed assessments of needs (in terms of staff, training, equipment, laboratories). Consistency is also important: when addressing development assistance queries, 
DCs must not forget to factor the trade and environment aspects. 
 
III. PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER COOPERATION 
24. Individual efforts by those developing ne w environmental requirements are critical.  
However, these efforts should be usefully compleme nted by further work at the multilateral level. 
Ongoing initiatives such as work of the UNEP/ UNCTAD Capacity-building task force on trade, 
environment and development or, more recently, the UNCTAD so-called consultative task force on 
environmental requirements and market access are extremely valuable and should be encouraged as they provide information and dialogue mechanisms whereby the concerns and needs of DCs in terms 
of market access impacts and development of adequate legislation are being addressed.  
25. In light of these considerations, we believe th at the CTE has the opportunity to play an 
important role as a forum in which individual ex periences can be exchanged.  Indeed, experience 
sharing is critical if we want to make progress.  Moreover, lessons from experience-sharing in the CTE could benefit other WTO Committees also deali ng with non-trade concerns.  For instance, SPS 
health-related measures, which constitute the bul k of SPS measures, often raise market access 
concerns in DCs. 
26. Thus, we strongly encourage other WTO members to examine their own legislation and 
policies and to present to the CTE their own practices in terms of impact assessment/transparency/stakeholder consultation, t echnical assistance, and concrete improvement 
proposals. Members are also invited to share th eir domestic experiences and approaches to increase 
inter-agency co-operation between the Trade, Environment and Development departments. 
27. But we should not limit ourselves to individual efforts: broader cooperation is absolutely 
necessary, at the bilateral and multilateral levels. 
A. B
ILATERAL DIALOGUES  
28. In recent years, the EC have been developing  environmental policy dialogues with several 
WTO members, including China, India and Korea. 
29. For instance, with China, this platform ha s been effectively used to discuss common 
approaches to environmental concerns and market access issues linked to the implementation of the 
                                                      
16 This conclusion was also part of the CTE Report to the Fifth Session of the WTO Ministerial 
Conference in Cancun WT/CTE/W/239 
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 WEEE and RoHS Directives in the EU as similar developments in China.  Discussion has taken place 
between regulators and trade officials on both sides. 
30. Such bilateral dialogues allow a practical ex change of experience between regulators and 
contribute to confidence building between trade depart ments as they see that regulators must meet the 
same challenges and look for the least trade restrict ive solutions.  They also provide opportunities to 
know more about respective problem s and constraints, including th e development of appropriate 
legislation to tackle and address emerging or similar environmenta l issues.  In addition, they 
contribute to assuring all WTO members that possible tr ade concerns will be scrutinized and that least 
trade restrictive measures will be sought when addressing environmental challenges. 
31. The EC are increasingly developing this kind of dialogues at an early stage of the 
development of our environmental legislations. 
B. M
ULTILATERAL COOPERATION  
32. We encourage donors to make available overv iews of their TRA efforts and all WTO 
Members to present TRA programmes that have proved to be particularly efficient in the field of 
compliance with environmental requirements.  Indeed, the EC see an obvious link between 
paragraph 32(i) of the mandate and paragraph 33 which recognizes “the importance of technical 
assistance and capacity building in the field of trad e and environment to deve loping countries, in 
particular the least-developed among them”.  The importance of Trade and Environment TA/CB should be reaffirmed in the Committee on Trade and Development and be adequately reflected in the 
Doha Work programme on technical assistance.  But, in order to address T&E TA/CB in a more holistic and coherent way as well as make the best  use of existing human and financial resources, 
efforts should also be considered through increase d international cooperati on between all relevant 
organisations (UNEP, UNCTAD, WTO, World Bank etc).  
33. The EC is also open to other ideas like the propo sal made by China at the last CTE regular 
session to study the positive impacts that tec hnology transfer can have on market access. 
34. Lastly, we would like to stress the need for enha nced synergies with the private sector.  This 
is key for two main reasons: first of all, and as recently recognised on the occasion of the workshop 
organised by UNCTAD in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on environmental requirements and market access, the private sector increasingly becomes a standard  setter itself and voluntary environmental standards 
developed by private companies tend to become  de facto mandatory (supply chain management, 
corporate social responsibility initiatives etc).  Second ly, it is also important to note that helping DCs 
comply with new environmental requirements cannot  be achieved only through traditional technical 
assistance and capacity-building but also requires th e involvement and contribution of the private 
sector, notably in the case of technology needs.  Pu blic/private partnerships , stakeholder networks, 
corporate social responsibility initiatives or more s ectoral initiatives are therefore strongly encouraged 
to allow for the emergence of new co-operative avenues among all stakeholders, from the North and 
South. 
 
 
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