G/TBT/W/785  
 
7 February 2024  
(24-1008) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON REUSABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS  
TENTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW  
Proposal from the United States  
The following submiss ion, dated 7 February  2024, is being circulated at the request of the  delegation 
of the United States . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  Since 1995, more than 1,900 TBT notifications have included a reference to "plastics ." The 
scope of these measures spans  the plastic life cycle and includes  a wide array of policy tools. In 
recent years, many countries  have im plemented  a variety of measures, including to  restrict single 
use plastic products, reduce plastic packaging, promote reuse, and encourage the use of recycled 
content for plastic packaging and plastic products .  
1.2.  Plastic -related measures have become a topic of interest in other areas of the WTO including 
under the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE). In November 2020, a  group of WTO 
members launched the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade 
(DPP)1 to explore  how the WTO could contribute to efforts to reduce plastics pollution and promote 
more environmentally sustainable trade in plastics.  As of April 2023, 76 Members are participating 
in the DPP.  
1.3.  On 2 March 2022, 174 countries endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly 
(UNEA) to  "End Plastic Pollution " and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024.2 The 
UN resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its design, production, and disposal.  As 
Members seek to negotiate and implement an instrument to address plastic pollution, WTO Members 
will need to  continue to  rely on the fundamental principl es of the TBT Agreement to support both  
more sustainable  global trade and more effective and properly calibrated regulation s.  
1.4.  Reuse requirements are emerging as a means to increase environmental sustainability and 
reduce plastic waste. To achieve these ob jectives, the reuse of food contact items will need to ensure 
food quality and food safety while being practical for producers and consumers. Reusable products 
may include different materials, such as glass, aluminum, or plastic, among others. As such, it will 
be important for WTO Members to consider the economic, environmental, public health, and practical 
costs and benefits associated with reusable material, as well as outcome -based approaches that 
take into account impacts to trade, environmental sustain ability, environmental justice, and food 
quality and food safety when considering reuse requirements.  
1.5.  Given the growing interest in combating plastic pollution through the use of reusable products, 
and recognizing the important trade dimension of this challenge , it will be important to support  
 
1 WT/CTE/W/250/Rev.1 . 
2 UN/EA.5/Res.14 . G/TBT/W/785  
 
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  increased sharing of information and best practices in crafting trade -related policy and regulatory 
measures to effectively support reuse systems.  
2  PROPOSAL  
2.1.  The United States proposes to hold a thematic session that would explore the current landscape 
of Member and stakeholder views and actions with regard to standards and regulations related to 
reusable beverage containers with a view to 1) discuss core TBT principles to reduce plastic waste, 
while encouraging tra de and innovation; 2) share information and best practices in the development 
of standards and technical regulations for reuse; and 3) promote coordination across relevant 
Committees, including with the CTE, as well as other relevant efforts at the UN Envi ronment 
Program , Codex Alimentarius,  and other international settings , as appropriate .  
2.2.  Topics and areas of focus could include:  
a. A short stocktaking presentation of the legal and technological developments related to 
reusable beverage containers and exist ing reuse systems for beverage containers;  
b. Presentations by interested stakeholders, including WTO Members, industry, international 
organizations, and non -government organizations, regarding the challenges, 
opportunities, limitations, effectiveness, and po tential food safety implications of existing 
measures to promote reusable beverage containers, as well as ensuring the establishment 
and maintenance of well -established collection systems to ensure successful 
implementation of a suite of policies that prom ote circularity;  
c. Presentations by WTO Members that are currently developing standards and regulations 
to promote reusable beverage containers  (including those that may involve certification or 
labelling) and to promote innovation, with a focus on identifi cation of best practices for 
facilitation of trade  related to reuse ; and  
d. Presentations by interested stakeholders, including Members, industry, international 
organizations, and non-government organizations, that are currently developing or have 
developed approaches, schemes, or standards  to promote reuse, including certification or 
labeling, voluntary initiatives, suitability, cost of viable alternatives, and supply chain and 
manufacturing considerations with a focus on identification of best practices for  facilitation 
of trade.  
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