INF/TE/IDP/R/8  
 
  
30 November 2022 
(22-8921) Page: 1/6 
 Original: English  
 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTIC S POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PLASTIC S 
TRADE  
PLENARY MEETING HELD ON 11 OCTOBER  2022 
Informal Summary  by the Coordinators1 
 
 
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1. The third plenary meeting of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally 
Sustainable Plastics Trade ( DDP) planned for 2022 was held on 11 October  2022. The meeting was 
co-chaired by Australia  and Ecuador  and the agenda for the meeting was contained in the WTO 
document INF/TE/IDP/CN/8/Rev.1 , first circulated on 7 October . All WTO Members were invited to 
attend the meeting. The meeting covered discussions on each of  the Dialogue's workstreams through 
experiences and perspectives shared by delegations.  
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY COORDINATORS  
2. The meeting was opened by H.E José Valencia (Amb . Ecuador), Ms. Yihong Li (DPR China) and 
M. Ahmed Soliman  (DPR Morocco) who welcomed the participants as well as the three new 
co-sponsors  of the Dialogue: Mauritius, Samoa and Mexico . They also welcomed Ecuador's 
Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ecuador Mr Luis Vayas Valdivieso who participated in person.  
3. Ambassador Valencia's remarks highlighted the progress made by the Dialogue post the  
12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC 12) especially in terms of the two ongoing surveys, cooperation 
with the World Customs Organization (WCO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and 
Development (UNCTAD) as well as with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 
secretariat for the upcoming Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meeting  taking plac e 
at the end  November in Uruguay . He underscored the importa nce of the Dialogue's contribution to 
synchronised multilateral work to address plastic pollution from a trade perspective .  
4. Ms. Li recalled the priorities of the Dialogue as per the Ministerial S tatement (WT/MIN(22)/12), 
the importance of cooperation among different international processes and noted that Members 
needed to work together with concerted efforts to achieve concrete outcomes before MC 13. She 
highlighted three key elements for the init iative's next steps: delineate the outcomes for MC  13; 
cooperate with other international processes; and encourage the participation of an increasing 
number of Members. She expressed her appreciation for the update  made  in the last pre -plenary 
meeting  by Ms. Jyoti Mathur Filip, Executive Secretary of INC, UNEP secretariat , on the negotiating 
process . Ms Li noted that the Dialogue  and its Ministerial Statement are listed in the UNEP negotiation 
document named "Existing information that might assist policymak ers" (UNEP/PP/INC.1/13). She 
also highlighted the ongoing  close cooperation between WCO and WTO a nd the preparation  of a 
 
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/8  
 
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  workshop on plastic alternatives and substitutes by the WTO in cooperation with UNCTAD . Finally, 
Ms Li welcomed Members to join  the initiative .  
5. Mr. Soliman  recalled that at the pre -plenary meeting in September, the  importance and the 
urgency of coordinated action on environmentally sustainable plastics trade was clearly highlighted 
by several speakers representing intergovernment al and international organizations, as well as the 
private sector.  The pre -plenary meeting had enhanced the understanding of the added value that 
the WTO could bring to national and international efforts to combat plastics pollution . Mr. Soliman 
shared les sons learned by Morocco in implementing measures to combat plastic pollution and noted 
that this was a global issue , and the Dialogue could play an active role in sharing best practices and 
encouraging solidarity.  
6. The Dialogue also heard from Mr. Luis Vay as Valdivieso , Ecuador's Vice-Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, who underscored the  importance of the INC process and the negotiations of a legally binding 
plastics treaty. He noted that Ecuador was part of the Bureau of the INC and highlighted Ecuador's 
commit ment both at the national and international level s. Mr Valdivieso  underscored that it was 
important for the negotiations to  cover the entire lifecycle of plastics and to involve  various  
stakeholders with relevant expertise. Mexico took the floor to express its delight to have joined the 
Dialogue . Mexico  noted that its co-sponsorship of the Dialogue aimed to complement efforts that 
were already conducted in other international forums.  
REDUCTION TO TACKLE PLASTIC POLLUTION AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR PLASTICS2 
7. Colombia (facilitator of the workstream) recalled discussions on the work undertaken by 
stakeholders under  the workstream as presented in the September pre -plenary meeting.3 In 
partic ular, Colombia briefed participants about the presentation made by the Secretariat on the 
ongoing survey on Trade -related Plastic Measures (TrPMs) and the first sample analyses of measures 
related  to "single -use plastic bags". Colombia also recalled five t echnical presentations4 made by 
international organizations and civil society  on their latest activities in reducing plastic pollution.  
8. The Secretariat provided an update5 on the ongoing survey on TrPMs since the pre -plenary  in 
September . The Secretaria t recalled  that the survey aimed to map policies, identify gaps and 
potential opportunities and improve collective knowledge. So far, the survey had received a few 
direct responses however, at the request of the Coordinators, the Secretariat had compiled a list of 
TrPMs that could already be found in the WTO Environmental Database and built survey answers for 
Members. Based on this exercise, the Secretariat had already identified 2 44 TrPMs and presented to 
the group a first sample analysis on meas ures related to "single -use plastic bags". According to the 
analysis, 60 TrPMs targeted "single -use plastic", 39 of which specifically applied to "single -use plastic 
bags". Such measures used one or more of four criteria to identify single -use plastic bags : i) 
thickness of material (e.g. < 50 microns); ii) usage (e.g. purpose or capacity); iii) Polymer input 
(e.g. bio or polymer based); iv) end of life properties (e.g. degradability). The Secretariat further 
noted there were important variations in each cri terium used. For instance, TrPMs that relied on the 
"thickness" criteria varied from as low as 15 microns to as much as 100 microns to differentiate 
"single -use plastic bags". The Secretariat hoped this sample analysis could illustrate the potential 
value of the transparency information generated by the survey once completed.  Delegations were 
invited to fill in the survey via email or on Formstack before  the new deadline of November  18. 
2.1  Interventions by delegations and stakeholders  
9. Several delegations took the floor under this workstream. Overall  delegations welcomed  the 
sample analysis on measures related to "single -use plastic bags" conducted by the Secretariat. One 
delegation  suggested that it could be useful to focus on eco -labelling and eco -design and t hat the 
 
2 According to the Dialogue's Plan 2022 ( INF/TE/IDP/W/5 ), topics include how trade -related cooperation 
could help to support efforts to reduce unnecessary or harmful plastics and plastic products, including single -use 
plastics and plastic packaging asso ciated with international trade; and sharing experiences of effective 
approaches to move towards more circular resource efficient and environmentally sustainable plastics trade.  
3 An aide-memoire  of technical discussions at the pre -plenary meetings can be found here: 
https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/INF/TEIDP/R7.pdf&Open=True   
4 Presentations were made by Organi zation for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD), the 
Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention (BRS), the Pew Charitable Trusts , the Consumer 
Goods Forum (CGF)  and the MarViva Foundation.  
5 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/64* . INF/TE/IDP/R/8  
 
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  WTO Environmental Database complemented by questionnaires completed by Members could serve 
as a basis.  
10. On the two guiding questions6 shared with participants, one delegation noted that international 
trade flows are central to the production, consu mption and disposal of plastic products  but some 
challenges had to be addressed. It added that challenges that hinder ed the management of plastic 
waste require d coordinated multilateral responses . These challenges included, inter alia , addressing 
the needs to build an integrated waste management infrastructure linked to recycling ; driving 
technology growth, advanced recycling and materials recovery methods ; driving  standardization 
around materials feedstock requirements/quality ; and e ffective planning and investment in the 
supply chain to cope with the changes and modifications needed to realize circular approaches.  
11. Several  delegations shared their domestic measures including the ones submitted in response 
to the TrPM survey. One delegation highlighted that the scale of the problem largely depend ed on 
the efficiency of the waste management systems and recycling  and that the circular economy was 
not about excluding the use and trade of polymers , but rather  about creating an effective waste 
management syst em. It encouraged efforts to reduce plastic pollution through the improvement of 
effective waste management systems, and recycling and to emphasi ze on stimulating measures, 
rather than bans and restrictions.  Another delegation supported a full lifecycle ap proach and 
promoted a sustainable circular economy for plastics. It shared priority areas  related to its domestic 
waste management framework , which included avoidance of the production of plastic waste through 
informed and responsible consumption and longe r use of product s; reduction of plastic waste 
through  reuse, joint use and repair of products ; and recovery of plastic wast e through the promotion 
of (primary) material and (secondary) thermal recovery of products .  
12. One delegation noted that it was dealing domestically with  several structural challenges that 
caused a market failure for plastics recycling such as a lack of Extended Producer Responsibility 
(EPR) for industries that produce and import plastic packaging and limited local demand for recyc led 
plastics, despite voluntary brand commitments.  It expressed its wish to learn how to  utilize 
international instruments and guidelines such as the OECD's EPR and the plastic credit system . 
Another  delegation underscored that the Dialogue's Members shoul d work together a t WCO and 
relevant for ums to identify the trade requirements and implications that hinder the transition to a 
circular plastic economy and seek ways to strengthen harmonization and relevant policy approaches. 
It support ed the proposal to m ap circular trade policy, particularly with regard to chemicals and 
additives in produc ts, residuals, and scraps . 
PROMOTING TRADE TO TACKLE PLASTIC POLLUTION7 
13. The Philippines (facilitator of the workstream) briefly summarized discussions on technical 
presentations by industry experts on sustainable and effective alternatives and substitutes to plastics 
and plastic packaging in the September pre -plenary and on the preparations for the exploratory 
workshop in cooperation with UNCTAD on the same topic in Dece mber. It shared the common 
themes that emerged during previous discussions such as the need to ensure a comprehensive 
approach to sustainable packaging ; and trade-offs between plastics and alternatives and substitutes 
such as costs, functionality and lifecycle analysis . 
14. The Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) made a presentation on their work on 
supporting intraregional trade in plastic substitutes . ALADI said that it was  working on a matrix of 
trade in substitute products in the region, which would hopefully be presented in December  2022. 
It informed that their analysis include d inter alia validation of exchange flows through sectoral 
identification of global data on trade in plastic substitutes (exports and imports) ; conditions of access 
 
6 The guiding questions were: 1. What are the key trade policy challenges and opportunities relevant to 
the shift to a circular economy for plastics that reduces plastic pollution across the life cycle and serves  
sustainable development goals? 2. How can trade -related cooperation help support effort to reduce unnecessary 
or harmful plastics and plastic products, including single -use plastics and plastic packaging?  
7 According to the Dialogue's Plan 2022 ( INF/TE/IDP/W/5 ), topics include environmentally sustainable 
waste management technologies; environmentally sustainable and effective substitutes and alternati ves; reused 
and recycled plastics, including by incentivizing increased reuse and recycling of plastics (considering evidence 
of their long -term impacts); and technologies for environmentally sustainable and effective substitutes and 
alternatives of intere st to developing Members and least developed Members including SIDS which are especially 
vulnerable to marine litter and plastic pollution, and opportunities for their MSMEs.  
 INF/TE/IDP/R/8  
 
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  regarding the non -tariff measures applied by the countries of the region ; and differences in Tariff 
Preference Agreements  in relation to preferences applied to products.  ALADI underscored  that to 
improve  the collection of data on trade flow s and supply chains of substitute and alternative products 
to plastics, it would be useful to have a greater specification of the tariff codes associated with them 
in the Harmonized System (HS) of  WCO. It noted that w hile some countries in the region have made 
national openings at the seventh - and eighth -digit level of the nomenclature, creating openings at 
the HS 6 -digit level would allow for more efficient analysis and better comparability of data.  
3.1  Interventions by d elegations and stakeholders  
15. There were many suggestions provided by delegations while elaborating their views on 
potential plastic alternatives and substitutes. On the two guiding questions8 shared with participants, 
one delegation suggested a few best practices that could address trade policy issues in waste and 
non-waste products. These included lowering  import tariffs on recycled products vs original 
manufactured; export and import of goods mistakenly  identified as used goods or waste ; and 
incentives for recycling facilities and businesses that use  recycled materials . Another delegation 
suggested that the focus should be put on stimulating measures, rather than bans and restrictions  
and as an example shared that this could include environmental label ling systems and economic 
incentives for the transition from refractory plastics to more environmentally friendly ones.  
Discussions also noted the importance of  access to technologies, including in recycling . Several  
delegations also suggested conducting a lifecycle analysis of plastic substitutes and alternatives as 
well as recycling processes such as chemical recycling to understand their environmental impact.  
16. One stak eholde r, the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) , noted that regarding 
the forthcoming workshop on plastic substitutes to be held on 6th December, it would be useful to 
have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of Members on plastic substitutes and 
alternativ es. TESS highlighted that Members might  have different substitutes and alternatives that 
are appropriate for them and that their environmental sustainability across the life cycle would  
depend on local production and disposability options. It  noted that  it would be useful to learn more 
about the kinds of challenges Members are facing in the scale -up of manufacturing and exports of 
environmentally sound substitutes and alternatives.  Ecuador took the floor and note d that the 
workshop would touch upon t hese and other issues  and would also explore, for  instance, natural 
fibers, which were used as an alternative to single -use plastic s in many developing countries.  
CROSS -CUTTING  ISSUES9 
17. The Secretariat provided a briefing on discussions regarding the work undertaken by other 
international organizations on cross -cutting issues as presented in the September pre -plenary 
meeting .10The Secretariat recalled that Ms Jyoti Mathur -Filipp, Executiv e Secretary of the INC 
Secretariat at UNEP, had provided an update on the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) 
negotiation process  and the outcome  of the first meeting of the Open -Ended Working Group (OEWG)  
which had been held from 29 May to 1 June 2022, to prepare for the work of the INC . During its 
presenta tion, she had  suggested that UNEP together with WTO Secretariat could try to identify  
stakeholders  that could participate in  the multi -stockholder dialogue that would  take place under the 
INC process.  This was followed by a briefing from the WTO Secretariat on its participation at the 
OEWG and contribution to UNEA discussions. The WTO also had  informed that its participation had 
been well received and there was genuine interest by the delegates and stak eholders in the plastic 
discussions at the WTO.  
18. The Secretariat further recalled from the briefing by  the Ambassador of Portugal on the plastic -
related outcomes of the Oceans Conference  which had been held in Lisbon, Portugal from 27 June 
to 1 July 2022. The conference received submissions of over 700 voluntary commitments towards 
 
8 The guiding questions were: 1. What are priorities, best practices and national/regional actions that can 
be pursued for promoting and facilitating trade in goods and services to tackle plastic pollution, including 
standards, labelling, as well as access to and use of technologies su ch as waste management and effective 
substitutes and alternatives? 2. Where would international cooperation support the effectiveness of these  
actions?  
9 According to the Dialogue Plan 2022 ( INF/TE/Dialogue/W/5 ), topics include capacity building and 
technical assistance; fostering international cooperation on transparency and data; cooperation and collaboration 
with other international organizations an d processes, and collective approaches.  
10 An aide -memoire of technical discussions at the pre -plenary meetings can be found here: 
https://docs.wto.or g/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/INF/TEIDP/R7.pdf&Open=True   INF/TE/IDP/R/8  
 
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  the implementation of SDG14 and had action -oriented, science -based political declaration which was 
adopted by consensu s by the Members. Next,  the Secretariat noted that  the World Bank Group had 
made a presentation on trade -related aspects of their programs to address plastic pollution, in 
particular in the Asia -Pacific region. The presentation focussed on the regional action plan program 
of the World Bank in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.  
19. Lastly, the Secretariat recalled that t he WCO had presented the main takeaways from the 
first WCO Global Green Customs Conference  held on 27 -28 June 2022 and HS re form and other 
efforts to better identify material flows of plastic through trade and value chains.  In conti nuation of 
this discussion, the WTO Secretariat had provided an update on WCO -WTO cooperation as requested 
by the Dialogue communication adopt ed on 8 June 2022  and shared the three initial potential areas 
of work the two organizations had agreed to namely: i) better identification of probl ematic plastics; 
ii) better identification of hidden flows of plastics embedded in goods or as packaging and  iii) better 
identification/differentiation of preferable goods . 
20. The Secretariat also made a presentation on the ongoing Aid for Trade (AfT) Survey .11 The 
presentation noted that the survey sought to enhance transparency on the needs and the 
programmes already in place to support developing countries and improve coherence and 
cooperation between different actors. The survey was still open and delegation s and stakeholders 
were invited to share their responses  by the new deadline for submissions of November  18. Finally , 
the Secretariat noted that both the World Bank  and the Global Environmental Facility ( GEF) had 
expressed  their interest to the Secretariat  for continued engagement  to understand what  
programmes they c ould provide to support trade in combating plastic pollution . 
4.1  Interventions by delegations and stakeholders  
21. Delegations shared their views under this agenda item and on the guiding questions.12 Several  
delegations emphasized that the Dialogue should complement the work of the INC . They encouraged 
participants to make use of the documents which would be produced during the process while at the 
same time providing inputs on trade -related matters that were not covered by the INC. One 
delegation welcomed the proposal to create a list of best practices in respect of policies aimed at the 
reduction of plastic pollution . Another delegation urged Members to focus on policies and technical 
assistance tha t support developing countries and least developed countries ( LDCs) in building proper 
infrastructure for plastic waste management (collection, sorting recycling) facilities . One dele gation 
underscored that c hanging the way plastics are designed, produced,  and used could  greatly 
contribute to reducing plastic pollution and marine litter, by preventing waste or turning used plastics 
into secondary resources.  
22. Lastly, TESS recalled the next WCO meeting for the ongoing 2027 cycle of the H S review 
process would  take place in early November followed by a final one early in 2023 . These two 
meetings represent ed the final opportunities for Members to put forward proposals for discussion for 
amendments in the ongoing  HS review cycle. TESS encourage d Members to submit proposals or 
requests for specific work on this topic to the WCO Secretariat to kick -start some explicit discussion 
on possible amendments related to trade across the life cycle of plastics.  
NEXT STEPS  
23. Australia recalled the commitments made under the Ministerial Statement and encouraged all 
delegations to consider the best ways to progress towards the 13th Ministerial Conference. In terms 
of next steps, Australia informed that the WTO workshop in cooper ation with UNCTAD on 
environmentally sustainable and effective alternatives and substitutes was scheduled for 6 December 
2020, while the fourth and final plenary for 2022 would take place on 7 December 2022. The 
workshop was one of the key next steps in th e process, which should help delegations start building 
 
11 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/60 *. 
12 The guiding questions were: How can the Dialogu e encourage enhanced transparency regarding trade 
policies relevant to reducing plastic pollution and environmentally sustainable plastics trade? For example, would 
a taxonomy of types of trade policies or recommendations for providing information on trade  policies be helpful? 
2. Which international processes and efforts can the Dialogue most effectively engage with and support in the 
next 6 months, including facilitating interaction between trade and environment officials? How?  INF/TE/IDP/R/8  
 
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  a list of criteria, common definitions and potential targeted goods in which trade could be facilitated 
to support addressing plastic pollution.  
 
 
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