G/TBT/GEN/313  
 
9 April 2021  
(21-2987) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
OBSERVER UPDATE TO THE WTO TBT COMMITTEE  – FEBRUARY 2021  
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE ORGANISATION  FOR  
ECONOMIC CO -OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)  
This document contains information provided by the OECD  at the TBT Committee meeting of  
24-26 February 2021 under Agenda Item 6 (Updat e by Observers ). 
 
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1.  This year1, governments, intergovernmental organisations, workers organisations, civil society 
and the private sector are hoping to finalise  a new international framework for the sound 
management of chemicals and waste2. A key component of this will most likely be a reaffirmation of 
the importance of the Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals 
(the GHS)3.  
2.  The GHS includes the following elements:  
a. harmonized criteria for classifying substances and mixtures according to their health, 
environmental and physical hazards; and  
b. harmonized hazard communication elements, including requirements for labelling and 
safety data sheets.  
3.  The GHS can facilitate international trade in chemicals whose hazards have been properly 
assessed and identified. Those exporting chemicals are supported in acting responsibly, because 
they benefit from a system which is a ccepted, known and understood; and those who then use 
chemicals can take the proper steps to protect themselves and the environment. Furthermore, it can 
help to avoid or reduce chronic ill -health and occupational and environmental diseases related to 
expos ure and pollution, which can reduce health and welfare costs, benefitting economies and public 
finances.  
4.  The OECD, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Institute for 
Training and Research (UNITAR) are the co -leads of the Globa l Partnership to Implement the GHS.  
5.  With a group of committed stakeholders, including representatives from the Governments of 
Colombia, Germany, Peru, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as the European Union, UNDP, UNECE, 
private sector partners through the  International Council of Chemicals Associations and CropLife 
International, the International Trade Union Confederation, IndustriALL, the University of Cape Town 
and HealthCare Without Harm, this partnership is seeking to dedicate itself to scaling up 
implementation.  
 
1 The Fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management was scheduled for 
July 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, this has been delayed until further notice.  
2 http://www.saicm.org/Beyond2020/IntersessionalProcess/tabid/5500/language/en -US/Default.aspx   
3 https://unece.org/about -ghs  G/TBT/GEN/313  
 
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  6.  With approximately 70 countries around the world implementing the GHS 4, the majority have 
not yet done so. In reference to gaps in chemicals and waste management systems, the Global 
Chemicals Outlook 2 (UNEP, 2019) states that "business as u sual is not an option" and that urgent 
and ambitious action is essential by all stakeholders. Implementation of the GHS in all countries 
would be a key element 5 of the sound management of chemicals worldwide. Likewise, correct 
classification and labelling , the provision of hazard and safety information to downstream users, as 
well as comprehensive worker training, can help improve occupational safety and health (OSH) as 
well as workplace safety systems. Appropriate production, handling, use and storage of hazardous 
substances can in turn contribute to preventing major industrial accidents, such as the Beirut 
explosion (4 August 2020). Through awareness of hazardous properties, users will be motivated to 
avoid and substitute hazardous chemicals in their prod ucts and there will be a greater understanding 
of waste products containing chemicals and the needs for safe integration into a circular economy 
or disposal.  
7.  Under the auspices of the Global Partnership, we are seeking to promote enhanced 
implementation, renewing efforts from 2021 and onwards. A key part of this has been to review past 
endeavours, and how they can shape support for implementation in the future. Across the various 
partners, we have assessed key elements of an implementation roadmap, establi shed an inventory 
of support activities and agencies from around the world, and initiated an analysis of lessons -learned 
and a guidance for developing legislation. Case studies and a synthesis of cost -benefit analysis 
reports have been undertaken by the In ternational Council of Chemical Associations. (see the 
dedicated webpage for updates: https://unitar.org/global -partnership -implement -ghs). In addition, 
the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI)  has funded a study (undertaken by scientists at the University 
of Gothenburg, School of Economics) entitled: "Have international trade agreements supported 
implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, 
GHS? ". The small number of identified references to GHS underlines the need for the renewed effort 
intended by the Global Partnership for the Implementation of the GHS. Given its explicit link to the 
work of the WTO, it has been summarised further at the end o f this update.  
8.  The Partnership hopes to work in the first part of 2021 on developing a strategic plan to engage 
with donors and launch a programme for implementation during 2021. The Partnership has identified 
engagement with international organizations s upporting international trade, and further 
strengthening coordination among international bodies among the opportunities for future work. As 
such, we are thankful for the opportunity to update the WTO on our work and hope to update the 
Committee further in  the future and to report any successes in increasing GHS implementation 
around the globe. We see engagement with trade -focused stakeholders as a key opportunity in our 
efforts to scale up our work, raising awareness of the system in facilitating internati onal trade, 
promoting it within new areas of  work, and would welcome any further discussions with partners.  
HAVE INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS SUPPORTED IMPLEMENTATION OF 
THE GLOBALLY HARMONIZED SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION AND LABELLING 
OF CHEMICALS,  GHS? - SUMMARY  
9.  Many governments are increasingly recognizing the need to ensure that trade agreements reflect 
environmental concerns to help achieve overarching environmental goals and to increase their public 
acceptability. Environmental provisions in regional t rade agreements are increasing in terms of their 
number and variety. These provisions are becoming far -reaching, covering issues as diverse as the 
regulation of hazardous waste, worker health and safety, deforestation and the protection of fish 
stocks.  
10.  The purpose of this report was to investigate whether environmental provisions in regional trade 
agreements have been used to promote the implementation of the GHS. The researchers collected 
330 free trade agreements signed by about 190 countries from January  2002 to July 2020. By means 
of computational linguistics, they investigated whether GHS has been mentioned in international 
trade agreements to date. Moreover, interviews with experts and review of the existing literature 
and data on the status of GHS imp lementation was used in order to determine if regional cooperation 
has supported GHS implementation.  
 
4 https://unece.org/transport/documents/2021/01/ghs -implementation -implementation -country   
5 http://saicm.org/Implementation/Towards2020/tabid/5499/language/en -US/Default.aspx   G/TBT/GEN/313  
 
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  11.  The analysis indicates that GHS has been often referred to in the notifications to technical 
barriers to trade – in conformity with the WTO Technical Barr iers to Trade (TBT) agreement. 
Moreover, the use of the word "Chemical" is quite common in international agreements. Such a word 
appears often in the context of chemicals used in agriculture, concerning the elimination of custom 
duties, tariff schedules an d product specifications. In contrast, to  date, GHS has only been mentioned 
in four rather recent international agreements. This reflects the fact that GHS implementation is 
rather recent even in countries deemed as leaders in the development of environmen tal regulations.  
12.  The study is to be published by the Swedish Chemicals Agency in the early months of 2021.  
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