INF/TE/IDP/R/10  
 
30 January 2023  
(23-0688) Page: 1/5 
  Original: English  
 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PLASTICS 
TRADE  
PLENARY MEETING HELD ON 7 DECEMBER 2022  
Informal Summary by the Coordinators1 
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1. The fourth and final 2022 plenary meeting of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and 
Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (Dialogue) was held on 7 December. The meeting was 
chaired by the Ambassador of Ecuador to the WTO H.E José Valencia. The agenda for the meeting 
was contained in the WTO document INF/TE/IDP/CN/10/Rev.1  circulated on 2 December 2022. All 
WTO Members were invited to atte nd the meeting.  
2. The meeting sought to take stock of advancements made by the Dialogue, including the 
progress of its technical work, illustrate the constructive engagement with other international efforts 
on the topic and indicate the future areas of focus  for work in 2023.  
1  INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY COORDINATORS  
3. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Valencia (Ecuador) provided a recap of different activities 
undertaken by the Dialogue throughout 2022, which included, inter alia , the adoption of the 
Ministerial Declaration and the special event held on the margins of the WTO 12th Ministerial 
Conference (MC12), the Dialogue's side events during the Aid for Trade Global Review and the WTO 
Trade and Environment week as well as the recently held workshop on environme ntally sustainable 
and effective substitutes and alternatives to plastics.  
4. Ambassador Li Chenggang (China) underscored the importance of discussing the feasibility 
and environmental impact of various substitutes and alternatives based on scientific lifecy cle analysis 
and suggested considering some specific products for further discussions, such as bamboo. The WTO 
could demonstrate its relevance to global issues, such as plastic pollution, by identifying challenges 
and opportunities, providing vital trade i nformation and data, proposing solutions from the trade 
perspective and promoting harmonization and coherence of trade measures.  
5. Ambassador Matthew Wilson (Barbados) highlighted in his remarks that to achieve results for 
MC13, it was important for the Dialogue to continue its cooperation with other international 
organizations and processes.  Individual conditions and capabilities of different Members, especially 
the needs of LDCs and SIDS, should be considered and ways to increase technical, financial, and 
capacity -building support for developing Members explored.  
 
1 This summary, prepared and circulated under the Coordinators responsibility, is being shared with a 
view to providing delegations with a record of the discussions and assisting them in reporting back to their 
capitals. It provides a non -exhaustive, illust rative review of the issues addressed by Members at the meeting. 
The voluntary Coordinators were Australia, Barbados, China, Ecuador, Fiji and Morocco . INF/TE/IDP/R/10  
 
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  2  BRIEFING ON THE DIALOGUE'S WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE 
SUBSTI TUTES 2 AND ALTERNATIVES FOR PLASTICS, ORGANIZED BY THE WTO IN 
COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 
(UNCTAD)  
6. The Philippines provided a short overview of the workshop on sustainable and effective 
substitutes and alternati ves to plastics, organized in collaboration with UNCTAD on December 6th, 
2022. The workshop had aimed to provide a strong basis for discussions in 2023 on how to promote 
trade in environmentally sustainable and effective substitutes and alternatives and co alesce around 
concrete outcomes at the latest by MC13, as called for in the Dialogue's MC12 Ministerial Statement. 
It was organized with opening and closing plenaries and two concomitant break -out working groups.  
The Philippines noted that o ne common threa d throughout the discussions was the need for 
increased collaboration among international organizations and the various processes.  
7. In the opening plenary of the workshop, participants had heard presentations on a factual 
summary  (INF/TE/IDP/RD/88 ) prepared by the WTO Secretariat o f technical discussions in the 
Dialogue on the issues raised by the workshop and the latest UNCTAD analysis on trends in plastic 
trade, which had grown 20% in a short time span to USD 1.2 trillion per year, as well as on the 
potential for a significant inc rease in trade in alternatives and substitutes, which had amounted to 
USD 335 billion in 2019.  
8. The workshop had covered four specific issues: (i) working definitions for terms relevant to 
trade in substitutes and alternatives; (ii) HS code identification exercise and trade -related measures 
enabling substitution of single -use plastic products (SUPP) and other "problematic" goods by 
sustainable materials; (iii) illustrative and extended list of material substitutes and material 
identification exercise; and ( iv) minimum criteria for lifecycle analysis and affordability, accessibility 
and availability. Discussions on these topics were divided into two break -out sessions facilitated by 
the United Kingdom -UNCTAD and the Philippines -WTO. The wealth of information generated by the 
break -out sessions was summarized in a revised version of the factual summary 
(INF/TE/IDP/RD/88/Rev.1 ). 
9. Next, the WTO Secretariat briefed participants about discussions under break -out session 1 
where several speakers from different stakeholders had spoken about the above -mentioned first two 
issues covered by the workshop, including the United Nations Environment Programm e (UNEP), the 
Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS), the International 
Organization for Standardization (ISO),  Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), the World Customs 
Organization (WCO), the WTO Secretariat, the International Bambo o and Rattan Organization 
(INBAR) and the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS) . On working definitions, 
discussions had highlighted that there were two types of definitions found in other international 
processes: those contained in legally bindi ng documents and those found in more soft documents 
such as draft guidelines. Some participants had raised additional terms and concepts for which 
common understandings in the Dialogue would be important, such as no harm, environmental 
penalties and pollut er-pays principle . At the same time, caution was called to ensure that concepts 
like biodegradability  sufficiently considered environmental, social and economic elements. On the 
HS code identification exercise, discussions had broadly recognized the existe nce of substitutes and 
alternatives for which trade already happened. The experience of the development of new HS code 
subdivisions for bamboo goods was highlighted as a positive example. On specific HS reforms, a few 
elements were raised such as the need for countries or trade institutions to come forward with 
proposals, the potential for technical support and the importance of commonly accepted definitions. 
Participants had noted that the Dialogue's survey on Trade -related Plastic Measures (TrPMs)3 
captu red a number of trade measures to promote substitutes and alternatives which mostly included 
regulatory measures. These results revealed a general intention of WTO Members to promote 
sustainable substitutes and alternatives, although more clarity was requi red on other types of trade 
policies used to promote substitutes and alternatives such as subsidies and other support measures.  
10. UNCTAD provided an overview of break -out session 2 where s peakers from the Latin American 
Integration Association (ALADI), Quak er United Nations Office (QUNO), and NotPla, an award -
winning UK -based biotech start -up, had all presented their experiences, latest studies, and examples 
of challenges and opportunities in the trade and use of natural materials and new delivery models 
 
2 The agenda of the workshop is contained in document: INF/TE/IDP/RD/87 . 
3 See INF/TE/IDP/W/7/Rev.1 . INF/TE/IDP/R/10  
 
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  (e.g., marine by -products, post -harvest agricultural waste, packageless retail, etc).  The second part 
of the break -out session had included speakers from UNEP Lifecycle Initiative, Pew Charitable Trusts 
(PEW), and the World Bank and had focused on experiences  and examples of key criteria to be 
included in the LCA of plastics, their alternatives and substitutes, as well as tools to allow 
comparisons and understanding of trade -offs that are faced during material substitution. Participants 
had noted that countrie s needed to pay attention to gender aspects related to material substitution, 
in particular concerning the demand for natural or mineral materials which could have social 
consequences through additional labor demand in different areas.  
a) Sustainable alterna tives and substitutes exhibition  
11. On the side -lines of the workshop, a small exhibition was held at the WTO, showcasing art, 
photos, and samples of plastic substitutes based on bamboo, cassava, birch, Kraft paper, seaweed, 
and bagasse. A "tasting experience " of edible water spheres was provided by NotPla, one of the 
private sector workshop participants, to showcase the potential for seaweed and plant -based 
substitutes to plastic packaging and coating. The company had been awarded the 2022 Earthshot 
Prize by Prince William (United Kingdom) to further develop and scale up their plastic substitute 
solutions.  
3  BRIEFING ON THE TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS HELD IN THE NOVEMBER PRE -PLENARY 
MEETING  
12. The WTO Secretariat briefed participants on the discussions held in the previ ous pre -plenary 
meeting which had taken place on the 17th of November. The meeting had been divided into three 
technical segments focusing on specific topics covered by discussions under each of the three 
workstreams. These topics were: (i) Single -Use Plas tics (SUP) and products; (ii) plastic packaging, 
in particular those associated with international trade; and (iii) plastic waste management and trade. 
Discussions had been facilitated with technical guiding questions shared in advance of the meeting. 
The full summary of the fourth for 2022 pre -plenary meeting is contained in INF/TE/IDP/R/9 . 
4  GENERAL OVERVIEW OF TECHNICAL WORK DEVELOPED IN 2022 UND ER THE THREE 
WORKSTREAMS4 
a) Crosscutting issues  
13. China recalled the Dialogue had launched the Aid for Trade Needs Assessment Survey5 to 
enhance transparency on the needs and programmes already in place to support developing 
Members and improve coherence and cooperation between different actors. As to cooperation and 
collaboration with other international organizations and processes, in  2022 the Dialogue had worked 
closely with over 40 stakeholders. China recalled the communication6 to the WCO issued in the first 
semester of 20222 and shared the three initial potential areas of work WTO and WCO had agreed 
to, namely: i) better identific ation of problematic plastics; ii) better identification of hidden flows of 
plastics embedded in goods or as packaging, and iii) better identification of preferable goods. The 
communication had also included a pledge by the Dialogue co -sponsors to actively  engage in support 
of efforts at the WCO to better identify plastics flows and the importance of contributing to the 
current HS reform process.  China noted that the Dialogue's Ministerial Statement 
(WT/MIN(21)/8/Rev.2 ) had been listed in the UNEP background document presented in support of 
the first meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC -1) titled "Existing information 
that mi ght assist policymakers"(UNEP/PP/INC.1/13).  Trade had been also highlighted in other INC 
documents which was a positive development highlighting the need for cooperation between the two 
processes. Finally,  China recalled that in the context of 2022WTO Trad e and Environment Week , 
Dialogue coordinators had organized a stocktaking event with high -level speakers from the WTO, 
UNEP, UNCTAD, WCO and the BRS Secretariats which had highlighted the need to further strengthen 
international trade cooperation in suppo rt of efforts to end plastic pollution.  
 
4 According to the Dialogue's P lan 2022 (INF/TE/IDP/W/5), work in 2022 was organized under three 
workstreams covering: Crosscutting issues (facilitated by Fiji, the UK and China); Circularity and Reduction to 
Tackle Plastic Pollution (facilitated by Ecuador and Colombia); and Promoting Trade to Tackle Plastic Pollution 
(facilitated by Australia and the Philippines).   
5 See INF/TE/IDP/W/8/Rev.1 . 
6 See INF/TE/IDP/W/6 . INF/TE/IDP/R/10  
 
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  i. Briefing by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) secretariat 
(UNEP), on the outcome of the first meeting of the INC (INC -1), held from 28 
November to 2 December 2022  
14. UNEP briefed participants on the outc omes of the first session of the INC to develop an 
international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine 
environment  which had taken place from 28 November to 2 December 2022 in Punta del Este, 
Uruguay and was chaired by Am bassador Gustavo Meza -Cuadra (Peru). The INC had agreed to two 
work streams: (i) substantive elements in particular: objectives, scope, core obligations, and control 
measures, and (ii) implementation elements in particular: means of implementation and fina ncing, 
institutional arrangements, assessment of the progress of implementation, and stakeholder 
engagement. The second session of INC (INC -2) was planned for the week of 22 May 2023, in Paris.  
ii. Briefing  on the WTO participation at INC -1 and trade -related discussions, including 
regarding the WTO Dialogue on Plastic Pollution  
15. The WTO Secretariat briefed participants on the WTO participation at INC -1 and trade -related 
discussions, including regarding the Dialogue. Several interventions during the meeting had made 
positive references to trade, in particular with regards to the po tential of trade measures to help 
compose the suite of available control measures to help address plastic pollution. The WTO in 
general, and the Dialogue specifically, were also mentioned during discussions concerning potential 
sources of information for t he INC negotiations and engagement with stakeholders.  
b) Circularity and reduction to tackle plastic pollution  
16. Colombia presented the activities under this workstream. Throughout the four pre -plenary 
meetings for 2022, the Dialogue had discussed national exp eriences and heard from experts and 
companies on topics, such as: t he role of trade policies in the transition to a circular economy for 
plastics; key trade policy challenges and opportunities relevant to the shift to a circular economy for 
plastics; and t rade support efforts to reduce unnecessary or harmful plastics and plastic products, 
including SUP and plastic packaging. The efforts under this workstream also included the survey on 
TrPMs to address plastics pollution, which had already compiled over 270  such measures and offered 
prospects to identify gaps and opportunities for enhanced cooperation.  
c) Promoting trade to tackle plastic pollution  
17. The Philippines highlighted that the factual summary circulated by the WTO Secretariat 
encapsulated many of the in terventions of this thematic area of work. The next steps included the 
revision of the factual summary taking into account the new ideas suggested at the workshop. On 
this basis, the efforts under this workstream would look at suggesting specific actions a nd 
deliverables for MC13.   
5  OPEN DISCUSSION ON THE NEXT STEPS TO ACHIEVE EFFECTIVE OUTCOMES BY MC13  
18. Ambassador Valencia (Ecuador) invited delegations to actively engage in discussions to help 
prepare and reflect on the next steps the Dialogue needed to pursue to implement its Ministerial 
Statement and to achieve concrete, pragmatic, and effective outcomes by MC13.  
19. Delegations welcomed and expressed their strong appreciation for the work done by the 
Dialogue throughout the year. Several delegations took t he floor and reflected on the next steps to 
achieve effective outcomes by MC13. One delegation suggested that Dialogue could work on an 
illustrative list of possible plastic substitutes and alternatives currently already being traded 
internationally. This illustrative list could be non -binding, non -exhaustive, and updated regularly. It 
would help come up with a set of working definitions of plastic substitutes and alternatives to assist 
efforts on HS code identification and amendments.  
20. Several delegations underscored the need to contribute to the work and maintain close 
cooperation with other international processes such as the INC process, the WCO, and the Basel 
Convention. One delegation noted that the Dialogue could explore voluntary principles related t o 
design and consider actions that would help consumers have more transparent information on 
labelling.  Another delegation encouraged work on identifying those plastics that could be most INF/TE/IDP/R/10  
 
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  harmful or damaging and measures that would help to reduce such plas tics. Others encouraged 
reducing trade barriers for waste management technologies, while some  underscored the need to 
consider development aspects, including Aid for Trade and the need for more investment in waste 
management and other relevant technologies  in LDCs and other developing countries.  
21. Delegations also welcomed the experience sharing on national policies and the work related 
to HS system reforms that could help better understand international trade flows of plastics.  
Delegations supported increase d transparency and cooperation on definitions for relevant terms such 
as SUP, plastics substitutes and plastics alternatives. Delegations also encouraged further work on 
lifecycle analysis, and labelling requirements to improve traceability and promote the  uptake of 
substitutes.  
22. Several stakeholders, including the International Institute for Sustainable Development 
(IISD), the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL),  PEW,  QUNO and  TESS also took the 
floor and shared their appreciation for the work  done by the group, including the openness and 
engagement with stakeholders, which could be used as example and replicated in other WTO 
processes . To foster collective action on plastics, TESS suggested that delegations could work 
towards a matrix of optio ns, best practices, or actions for each workstream to which WTO Members 
could make voluntary pledges and commitments individually or collaboratively as partners.  TESS 
also put forward the idea for the WTO and UNEP to co -host a workshop on the reduction and  
circularity issues related to plastics.  PEW suggested that Dialogue's 2023 discussions could continue 
to look at specific questions with an eye towards developing concrete policy actions such as voluntary 
pledges, commitments, or other trade policy actions. QUNO suggested that work in 2023 could  focus 
on the trade implications, challenges, and opportunities of moving to alternative systems, including 
reuse, refill, and package less. The IISD noted that understanding in a more granular way what had 
already been done and what could further be done a t WTO to complement the INC 's efforts could be 
an important objective for the initiative in 2023. CIEL urged Members to strengthen their efforts on 
the reduction workstream, to identify concrete outcomes to phase down the amount of plastics being 
produced.   
6  NEXT STEPS  
23. Ambassador Valencia (Ecuador) announced that 2023 meetings were tentatively scheduled 
for the following dates: 16 -17 February (pre -plenary); 13 March (plenary); 27 -28 April (pre -
plenary); 25 May (plenary); 21 -22 September (pre -plenary); 16 -17 November (pre -plenary); 11 
December (plenary).  
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