INF/TE/IDP/RD/123 * 
 
31 March  2023 
(23-2267) Page: 1/3 
 Original: English/anglais/inglés  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND  ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD)  
Plenary Meeting – 13 March  2023 
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD)  
Plenary Meeting – 13 March 2023  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND  ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD)  
Plenary Meeting – 13 March 2023  
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* 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 distribuyen 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 d e archivo únicamente.  INF/TE/IDP/RD/123  
 
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INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD)  
 
Intervention at the DPP meeting of 13 March 2023  
 
1. We’ve benefited from observing the DPP grow from an idea into a forum of very substantive 
exchanges about the role of trade in the fight against plastic pollution. Hearing today a shift of 
gear to more action -oriented phase in the lead up to MC13.  
2. IISD is  committed to support WTO members in their efforts to define what meaningful 
deliverables could be achievable by MC13.  
3. We agree with sense we get of the room that a useful approach would be to focus on areas 
where concrete, pragmatic, effective outcomes t owards collective action can be achieved, even 
if such outcomes address only a part of the problem.  
4. DPP already provided as a forum of discussions about Members’ policies. understanding each 
others efforts is essential not only to ensure better harmonizati on of global plastic policies but 
also to assist societies and business to adjust and change behaviours in time. We hope to see 
the continuation of such discussions before and after MC13.  
5. We hope that better understanding of such actions can help Members l earn from each others’ 
experience and think of the next steps that would make sense for their economies. A recent TBT 
Committee’s technical session has allowed us to learn a lot about how Members perceive the 
problem of plastic pollution and what tools the y’ve chosen to use to address it.  
6. Through our own work, we also hope to help Members look into the trade -related tools available 
to tackle plastic pollution and design the approaches that make the most sense in the domestic 
circumstances. We expect to soo n publish a policy brief reviewing measures already taken by 
the Members that could be useful for the DPP discussions.  
7. Policy brief will help us to see WHICH plastics your governments consider “most harmful” or 
“unnecessary”. This will already provide us w ith some very useful information – and, hopefully, 
inspiration for those looking to take an extra step. We hop this provide Members with a good 
amount of food for thought as they are considering deliverables for MC12, whether as 
contribution to lists, or d escriptions, or voluntary pledges for action. It could probably also 
provide some useful factual information for their environmental colleagues involved in the INC 
negotiations.  
8. The policy brief will also illustrate HOW members are tackling plastics – what policy tools they 
are using, for what kinds of plastic. The instruments involved can range from an outright 
prohibition or restriction to licensing or labelling requirements, criteria for government 
procurement or even the use of subsidies. The “How” ques tion is particularly important for any 
trade policy discussion and the answer might vary depending on the specific circumstances that 
economy is in, in particular for developing countries.  
9. We are discussing those policies here at the WTO because we know w hat impact they might 
have on international trade and international relations if basic WTO principles are not respected. 
At the same time, we also understand quite well that an environmental requirement can easily 
become a protectionist measure if local pr oducers or consumers are left off the hook.  
10. We live in a world where market quickly fills any empty space and there’s a good need to discuss 
about the ways and situations where we actually need to replace the most harmful types of 
plastics with alternative s or substitutes – and what type of alternatives or substitutes would 
actually make most sense in each situation. We are very much looking forward to more 
discussions about this, as well as more explorations about alternative delivery models or 
increased c ircularity and the role international trade can play there.  
INF/TE/IDP/RD/123  
 
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  11. The time might be running short to fully explore the whole range of instruments available, and 
every aspect of the plastic pollution problem. By MC13, however, we think that it would be 
important for ministers to make sure that a further work programme allows their delegates to 
dig deeper into that.                    
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