INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
12 April 2023  
(23-2622) Page: 1/8 
 Original: English  
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY  
SUSTAINABLE PLASTICS TRADE  
PLENARY MEETING HELD ON 13 MARCH  2023 
Informal Summary by the Coordinators1 
_______________  
 
 
1  OPENING SEGMENT  
1. The Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) 
comprising of 76 co -sponsors2 held their first plenary meeting for 2023 on 13 March. It was chaired 
by the Ambassador of Ecuador to WTO H.E . José Valencia.  
2. The meeting sought to  review technical discussion s held in the pre-plenary meeting held in 
February,  hear from delegations their preferred options for "concrete, pragmatic, and effective 
outcomes … at the latest by [the 13th Ministerial Conference ( MC13 )]" (in response to the guiding 
questions3) and present the coordinators' "vision" for a possible pathway to MC13.   
3. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Valencia (Ecuador) noted that Ecuador was  a member 
of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee  (INC)  developing a legally binding 
international treaty to curb plastic pollution . He informed participants that from December 2023 
onwards, Ecuador  would chair those negotiations, which were currently chaired by Peru. He 
highlighted that i n the lead to MC13, there was a need to move forward  with the implementation of 
the Dialogue's Ministerial Declaration and identify priorities that strengthened transparency  and 
collaboration and focused  on international cooperation and collective approaches . He highlighted 
that this would require specific input and recommendations from environmental stakeholder experts 
on priorities.  
 
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 .  
2 Albania; Angola; Australia; Austria; Barbados; Belgium; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Bulgaria; Ca bo 
Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; 
Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Ecuador; Estonia; European Union; Fiji; Finland; France; Gambia; 
Germany; Greece; Honduras; Hong Kong, China ; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; 
Kazakhstan; Korea, Republic of; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macao, China; Maldives; Malta; Mauritius; 
Mexico; Morocco; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Por tugal; 
Romania; Russian Federation; Samoa; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Singapore; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; Spain; 
Suriname; Sweden; Switzerland; Thailand; Tonga; United Kingdom; United States; Uruguay; and Vanuatu.  
3 The guiding questions in the meeting ag enda ( INF/TE/IDP/CN/12 ) included: What are the preferred 
options to implement the Dialogue's 2021 Ministerial Statement (WT/MIN(21)/8/Rev.2), in particular Ministers 
call to achieve "concrete, pragmatic, and effective outcomes … at the latest by MC13" a. What structure and 
format could a Ministerial Statement at MC13 take, and what content could it include? b. How can we draw 
from the substantiv e technical work developed in the Dialogue, to develop outcomes that reflect the ambition 
and purpose of the Ministerial Statement? c. What are and can be the Dialogue contributions that reflect our 
shared ambition, including for voluntary pledges for acti ons? INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  4. Ambassador  George Mina (Australia)  said that over the last few years, the Dialogue  had 
gathered  a lot of evidence through  its discussions. It was time to  draw this information together and 
find some outcomes for MC13 that could  reflect their shared ambition  and collective understanding.  
He noted  that there were several  areas where the Dialogue  could make  a seriously positive 
contribution.  For instance,  he enquired whether  the Dialogue  could develop a compendium of trade 
policy tools that could be effectively adopt ed to reduce pollution of harmful and unnecessary plastics ; 
encourage each other to adopt some of these measure s; promote trade in the plastics su bstitutes 
and alternatives that c ould support the effective and efficient reduction of plastic pollution ; develop 
a shared understanding of the goods and services needed to achieve this ; deepen collective  
understanding of the key trade -related challenges f acing developing Members and least developed 
countries  (LDCs)  in addressing this challenge ; and learn from the success many developing Members 
were having and find ways to replicate it in  other economies . The plenary was  an important 
opportunity for Dialogue Members to share their views on the way forward, which w ould help shape 
the remainder of the Dialogue's  work this year.  He encouraged full  participation to bring fresh ideas, 
and different perspectives and help to cha rt a path ahead.  
5. Ambassador  Li Chenggang (China) said that the Dialogue demonstrate d that the WTO could 
play its role in the global response to pressing environmental challenges. Development issues had 
been a priority in the Dialogue's  discussions  and c apacity building and technical assistance were 
always key elements in the Dialogue.  The initiative had had several spillover  effects. For instance, it 
had successfully made trade, environment, customs, and industry officials in many capitals work 
together. Furthermore, the Dialogue's  documents had been included as reference materials in the 
INC negotiations as well as trade had been increasingly recognized by the UNEA members. The 
Dialogue encouraged  the World Customs Organization (WCO) to look at plastic pollution. Based on 
the discussions  in DPP, trade officials were working  together with their customs colleagues to put 
forward additional proposal s on tariff classification in the WCO to tackle plastic pollution. The 
Dialogue worked closely with mo re than 40 stakeholders . Discussions  in 2023  would determine 
whether a solid step  could be taken  toward achieving concrete, pragmatic, and effective outcomes 
by MC13.  
6. Next,  WTO Deputy Director -General Jean-Marie Paugam  highlighted the world's rapidly 
growi ng interest in the issue of plastic pollution, as evidenced by the recent adoption of decisions 
that include d plastics elements, such as the marine biodiversity agreement at the United Nations. 
He emphasized that the WTO could not stand on the sidelines an d noted the important work 
developed by the Dialogue in the last two years in mapping trade interlinkages and potential 
solutions to the plastics pollution problem throughout the full life cycle of plastics. He also stressed 
the need for tangible outcomes to be achieved at MC13 as called for by the trade ministers from the 
Dialogue's co -sponsors.  
7. Finally, the former Director General and current World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Special Envoy 
Marco Lambertini also spoke to the group, stressing the urgency to act on the growing 
environmental, social, and economic crisis of plastic pollution . He highlighted alarming facts that 
underscore d the severity of the plastic pollution crisis. He noted that over 8 million metric tonnes of 
plastic waste flow ed into the ocean ever y year, negatively impacting 90% of marine biodiversity and 
threatening the overall health of the planet's ecosystem. The lack of global regulations on plastics 
pollution led to different standards across a wide range of goods, preventing effective tracing , 
recycling, and reuse of plastic materials, he noted, stressing the need to adhere to high common 
standards to phase out the most problematic plastic products and provide financial support to LDCs. 
He emphasized the WTO had a critical role to play in the topic. 
8. At the  opening of the meeting, the United States took the floor and  officially announced they 
were joining the initiative . They  noted that the Dialogue provide d an opportunity to ensure that a 
trade policy perspective was considered and well reflected in support of various international 
processes to address plastic pollution .  INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  2  BRIEFING BY FACILITATORS ON THE TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS HELD IN THE 
WORKSTREAMS ON REDUCTION, CROSSCUTTING ISSUES AND TRADE IN GOODS AND 
SERVICES, INC LUDING TECHNOLOGY, IN THE FEBRUARY PRE -PLENARY MEETING4 
2.1  Crosscutting issues  
9. The United Kingdom  recalled that this workstream cover ed topics including capacity building, 
technical assistance, transparency and data, and collaboration and cooperation with o ther 
international organizations  and processes . This workstream played  an important role to connect the 
dots between wha t was going  on in the DPP and the work done on plastics elsewhere in the 
international system .  
10. The U nited Kingdom  provided a short overview of the discussions held in the Dialogue's pre -
plenary meeting on 16 February. Participants had heard from the Intergovernmental Negotiating 
Committee (INC)  Secretariat (UNEP )5, who provided a briefing on the  latest updates re garding the 
UNEA negotiations , including  on the call for written submissions for potential options for elements 
towards an international legally binding instrument . The INC Secretariat had received over 170 
submissions from stakeholders and over 56 from Member states a t that stage. The Center for 
International Environmental Law (CIEL) had presented6 a preliminary analysis7 of trade -related 
elements found in such written submissions. There were interesting submissions on various issues, 
including on addressing the full  lifecycle of plastics and their proposed objectives, establishing a list 
of prohibited or permitted items as well as references to the removal of subsidies that supported the 
expansion of plastic production.  
11. The United Kingdom  further briefed participants on the update by the  WTO Secretariat on the 
Aid for Trade (AfT) Needs Assessment survey8 which  sought to enhance transparency on the needs 
and the programmes already in place to support developing Members and improve coherenc e and 
cooperation between different actors. The survey had received nine submissions in total that far and 
the UK encouraged Members to participate . With regards to priority areas to address trade -related 
aspects of plastic pollution, survey participants h ad that far identified "improving the environmentally 
sound management, recovery and recycling of plastics" and the "move towards more circular 
economies of plastics" as the highest priority areas . 
12. The OECD  had briefed9 participants on a report looking at  the role of development assistance 
in tackling plastic pollution . The report found that finance flows to curb plastics pollution had been 
on an increasing trend in recent years, with consistent growth since 2015. However, it still 
represented a fraction o f total development finance (representing less than 1%). The report found 
that development finance to curb plastic pollution could be more aligned with where the main sources 
of leakage were. The UK further noted the work going on in the WCO which facilita tors had been 
consistently trying to draw attention to . He noted that m any Members , including the co -sponsors , 
recognize d the importance of actively engaging and supporting WCO's efforts to  better identify 
plastics flows and contribute to the current H armonized System (HS)  reform process.  
13. The UK concluded its briefing by welcoming the US for joining the Dialogue and by noting that 
since th e last pre -plenary meeting , Members should ha ve received a letter by their Ambassadors  
with links and information to the surveys .  
2.2  Reduction to tackle plastic pollution and circular economy for plastics  
14. Colombia  provided a short overview of the presentations and discussions  that had taken place 
in the  pre-plenary meeting held on 16 February . Under th e reduction  workstream, the WTO 
Secretariat had presented10 the preliminary results  of the  ongoing survey on trade -related plastics 
measures (TrPMs ). Colombia recalled that the s urvey was circulated among all Members and 
 
4 The full summary of the first Dialogue pre-plenary meeting for 2023 is contained in INF/TE/IDP/R/11 . 
5 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/104 . 
6 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/105 . 
7 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/105 .  
8 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/ 106.  
9 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/107 .  
10 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/108 . INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  encouraged them to participate to have more detailed and substantive map of TrPMs to address 
plastic pollution.  
15. Participants then had heard technical presentations by stakeholders. For instance, the 
Minderoo found ation presented the  Plastic Waste Makers Index (PWMI)11 which had focused on 
single -use plastics and ranking companies with the highest contribution to this problem. The 
presentation had also identified various policies to reduce plastics pollution.  Next, the WCO had 
briefed12 participants on its work to combat illegal trade in plastics and plastics waste. The WCO had 
informed the Dialogue about the obligations and provisions that needed to be implemented by 
Members in relation to this. The presentation had also looked at several cooperation  projects and 
initiatives for customs authorities worldwide to improve their action against plastic waste trafficking .  
16. Finally, participants had heard a presentation by the World Health Organization  (WHO)  on 
their work in the plastic sector as well as the  implications of plastics on human health. Colombia 
informed that these presentations were available on the Dialogue's website.  
2.3  Promoting trade to tackle plastic pollution  
17. Australia  provided a short overview of the presentations and discussions  held in the  pre-
plenary  under this workstream . He recalled that the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) 
Conventions Secretariat had briefed13 delegations on the outcomes of the 3rd meeting of the Plastic 
Waste Partnership (PwP) working group and the technologies  and infrastructure required for 
environmentally sound management (ESM) of plastic wastes. The BRS was working on the guidelines 
for the ESM of plastic waste which also supported the implementation of the plastic waste 
amendments. The guidelines looked at the scope of ESM, the types of plastic covered, the legislative 
and regulatory frameworks as well as extended producer responsibility (EPR), transboundary 
movement requirements, waste statuses, specifications for container and storage u nits and 
requirement s for plastic waste treatments.  
18. This was followed by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) who had presented14 the report 
"Package -less and Reuse Systems Through Policy Intervention: rethinking packaging in international 
trade".  The key messages from the report looked at recycling, reuse and reduction of plastics. The 
report found that approaches that focused on diversion from landfill had also meant focusing 
primarily on recycling, which in turn enabled a thriving and ever -expanding environment for 
disposable products. Reuse strategies should  have the potential to create jobs at the local level to 
be effective. The standardi zation of reused packaging allowed for the atomization and cost reduction. 
Products traded internationally had t o be designed to be reused and to use fewer raw materials in 
their lifecycle. In that sense, eco -design and life cycle assessment  were tools that could assess raw 
material use and evaluate product environmental impacts. On the issue of circular and recycli ng 
economy, the report found that packages -less and reuse systems had to be designed with the local 
context in mind (no one size fits all approach) and guarantee affordability and accessibility for low -
income communities.  
19. QUNO had also proposed specific a ction points for WTO Members. First, it suggested that 
through the Dialogue, they could (i) establish targets and objectives aimed at promoting reuse/refill 
systems as alternatives to current plastic production and consumption patterns; (ii) coordinate 
closely with UNEP -INC counterparts to support the refinement of the reuse terminology and find 
pathways to regulate its labelling within the INC process; (iii) in coordination with the INC 
membership and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO ), push for the 
establishment and use of standard measuring tools (e.g. Lifecycle Analysis – ISO 14040:2006) 
recognized globally, and (iv) work with stakeholders to establish better criteria to differentiate plastic 
products, and their intended utilization  purposes along the lifecycle to enhance categorization, and 
hopefully advance proposals for the inclusion of more granular characterization of plastics in the 
next HS amendment cycle of the WCO.  
 
11 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/110 . 
12 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/109 . 
13 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/119 . 
14 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/111 . INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  20. Next, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development  (UNCTAD) had updated15 
participants on their work on plastic substitutes and alternatives. This update  followed the outcomes 
of the Dialogue's December 2022 workshop on plastic substitutes and alternatives. Since the 
workshop, UNCTAD had revised the list of HS codes applicable to plastic substitutes. UNCTAD had 
presented back in December 2022 an initial list of 242 HS codes. The workshop had allowed for the 
identification of 40 additional  products , bringing the total to 282 HS codes . UNCTAD analysis had 
found that the total trade value of plastics substitutes was 388 billion USD which was equal to 1/4 
of the total global trade of plastics. UNCTAD then had presented  a snapshot of applied tariff rates 
specifically on finished plastics and plastics substitutes which had revealed that not only substitutes 
were more expensive, but also faced higher tariffs.  
21. UNCTAD had  suggested some concrete outcomes for MC13, which incl uded, inter alia : (i) 
agreeing on an "open, illustrative and evolving" list of plastic substitutes; (ii) a pledge to review 
downwards applied tariffs to plastics substitutes to level the playing field with fossil fuel -based 
plastics (voluntary scheme for a utonomous liberalization on MFN basis); (iii) expanding notification 
efforts on non -tariff measures applicable to plastic substitutes; (iv) notifying any public support to 
the fossil fuel -based polymer sector (up, mid and downstream); (v) pledge not to inc rease existing 
subsidy levels to the fossil fuel -based polymer sector. UNCTAD had also suggested to jointly report 
together with the WTO Secretariat on the progress of the Dialogue and subsequent Ministerial 
decisions to the INC process to enable policy co herence.  
22. Finally, Australia noted that there had been a few interventions following these presentations. 
Other points made by delegations and stakeholders at the pre -plenary had underscored that 
international trade and global value chains could be a powerf ul driver to tackle plastic pollution by, 
among other things, accelerating the deployment of new technologies to tackle plastic pollution; 
scaling up trade flows and investments in goods and services associated with reusable plastic , 
secondary raw material s and new materials for plastic substitutes; setting up multilateral regulation 
to facilitate safe trade in plastic substitutes and alternatives; and enabling conditions and 
technologies for developing and LDCs Members to participate in the decision -making  process.  
3  OPEN DISCUSSION ON THE GUIDING QUESTIONS PRECEDED BY A PRESENTATION BY 
THE COORDINATORS ON THEIR VISION FOR A POSSIBLE PATHWAY TO MC13  
23. Ambassador Valencia invited Australia and Ecuador to brief the group on the coordinators'  
own "vision" of the s tructure and nature of potential MC13 outcomes.  
24. Ecuador recalled that the Dialogue's work was based  on coherence and tried to avoid 
duplication with work done in other non -trade forums. The initiative explored how  trade and trade 
measures could contribute to the global response needed to tackle plastic pollution and engage in a 
systemic transformation. Ecuador said that the MC13 Statement could: i) reflect the broad priorities 
identified by Members under each of the three workstreams16, focusing on actions of convergence 
and high potential impact; ii) reflect the ongoing commitment of the DPP co -sponsors to update its 
work, actions, and common understandings to echo the evolution of the UN negotiations and 
discussions in other international processes ; and iii) identify remaining information needs related to 
shared priorities.  Ecuador underscored  that coordinators wished to work collectively and 
collaboratively with other Members. She informed participants that the  steps  that coordinators  were 
working  on included identifying information needs and completing the AfT and TrPMs  surveys. 
Coordinators were currently compiling and synthesizing the surveys conducted by the WTO 
Secretariat and were looking at concrete actions that Members had shared since 2019 . 
25. Australia re -emphasized the open, transparent and inclusive process of the initiative. He noted 
that coordinators were trying to build a path forward for the Dialogue  for MC13  which  was and would  
continue to be guided by Members' engagement and propositio ns. In this respect, Australia urged 
Members to engage fully with the guiding questions. He further added that  coordinators' vision for 
MC13 included issuing a political level statement reaffirming the principles established under MC12 
and building on thos e to call for action beyond the call for dialogue; discussing concrete actions 
 
15 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/112 .  
16 According to the Dialogue's Plan 2022 (INF/TE/IDP/W/5), work 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 Col ombia); and Promoting Trade to Tackle Plastic Pollution 
(facilitated by Australia and the Philippines).  INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  Member s could take voluntarily and collectively and explore, inter alia , what substance would 
underpin those actions ; what were the lessons learned as well as whether there was a list of best 
practices of actions Members were adopting  to tackle plastic pollution.  Australia noted that the door 
was always open for new suggestions and informed  the group that coordinators would update the 
vision for MC13 considering suggestions and reactions received at the meeting and circulate it soon.  
3.1  Interventions by delegations and stakeholders  
26. Ambassador Valencia invited participants to react to this prese ntation by the coordinators as 
well as to the guiding questions. There was widespread recognition of the technical advancements 
reached in discussions and support for delivering on the MC12 Ministerial Statement call for concrete 
outcomes.  Some delegations  noted that MC13 and the envisaged Ministerial  Statement would be an 
opportunity to stocktake the Dialogue's work, renew their commitment and demonstrate that the 
WTO and the trade community could deliver on environmental issues such as plastic  pollution.  One 
delegation noted how  a plastic -related outcome at MC13 would be another contribution to 
strengthening WTO's development dimension.  
27. Several  delegations  underscored the importance of complementarity and mutual 
supportiveness between the different intern ational processes, including the UN INC, WCO and the 
BRS PwP. Discussions re-emphasized the importance of considering developing , LDCs and small 
island  developing states (SID S) Members  special capacity needs, including technology transfer and 
addressing harmful plastic waste trade.   
28. Severa l delegations shared their specific v iews on the scope, nature and substance of 
outcomes.  One delegation  considered that while some elements could be seen as quite low -hanging 
fruits, especially those that would support increased transparency and understanding of trade flows 
across the life cycle of plastics and plastic products – other elements would need more detailed 
discussions. A few delegation s suggested that the Dialogue could foster exchanges concerning the 
harmonization of labels and product identifiers for consumers.  One delegation broadly supported 
what had been proposed for the structure of the MC13 outcome and suggested adding a section 
setting out key principles and voluntary commitments that included a limited set of high -impact 
deliverables.  Another delegation noted the need to  clarify the idea of voluntary pledges for actions 
and to ensure that the list of such voluntary commitments would be meaningful enough for the 
shared priorities expressed in the Ministerial Statement . One delegation recognized the possibility 
of voluntary cooperation among the DPP Members which was non -binding, simple, and 
complemented the work of other international  processes. It further suggested  "self-reviews" of 
domestic policies  which could be contrasted to the best practices identified  as well as direct requests 
for capacity building from developing to developed Members, including specifically on guidelines for 
eliminating SUPs and harmonizing policies on recycling and plastics packaging standards.   
29. One delegation suggested that the Ministerial Statement could emphasi ze the contribution of 
the trade community to the INC process . It further underscored the need to align trade -related policy 
actions within the Dialogue, including voluntary pledges, with the INC process  so they did not 
prejudge their outcome. Another delegation said that it could already support a high -level statement 
for MC13 that reaffirmed the engagement for combatting plastic pollution . Regarding the format of 
the statement, one delegation queried whether the statement w ould be issued by all DPP co -
sponsors or by the coordinators. Another delegation suggested that the statement could be 
accompanied by summary reports based on the input received through the surveys launched within 
the Dialogue. Some delegations suggested t hat a report on the work carried out by the Dialogue 
could be presented and the group could consider building a "roadmap" for post -MC13 work.  
30. Several  delegation s suggested drawing up a list of problematic plastics targeted by TrPMs as 
well as working on a  list of possible plastics substitutes. One delegation added  that there was already 
mapping of alternative and substitute products that  had been done by various organi zations that 
could serve as a basis for this list. Another delegation welcomed the useful  exercises on plastic 
alternatives and substitutes by UNCTAD and the WTO Secretariat  and encouraged such work . 
Discussions also noted that it would be useful  to set out principles to incentivise the adoption of 
plastics substitutes and alternatives. One delegation noted that the lists identified by coordinators  
with regards to environmentally sustainable and effective substitutes and alternatives, as well as 
technologies, goods, or services for environmentally sound and safe waste management and clean -
up based on the identified trade -related policy measures could be a valuable contribution of the 
trade community to the INC. One delegation suggested considering com mitments  focused on bans INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  and levy approaches to harmful and unnecessary plastics such as single -use plastics and problematic 
plastics. Another delegation noted it was open to further examining well -coordinated measures to 
address the issue of inefficient public support for fossil-fuel-based polymer s, by taking into account 
the situation in each economy and industry.  One delegation noted that the Dialogue could conduct 
a survey on best practices and policies, structured around the Dialogue's three workstream s, and 
whose outcome could be a compilation of experiences with summary points on the identified 
commonalities and most divergent issues.  
31. Several stakeholders also took the floo r. CIEL suggested17 that specific provisions targeting a 
ban or a commitment t o reduce single -use plastic products would be key in the Ministerial 
Declaration, which would consequently incentivise reusable, 'multi -use' circular replacements. 
Additionally, three other elements would be useful to be included in the Ministerial Declara tion, 
namely, (i) a mention of the need to end all trade in plastic waste; (ii) the objective and commitment 
to end the export and import of plastics precursors, materials, products and wastes that were 
restricted or banned in the exporting or importing economies , or by relevant multilateral 
environmental agreements; and (iii) the need to improve Member s' notifications on subsidies to 
plastics  to better understand plastics subsidies and effectively address that issue at the WTO and in 
the INC process . CIEL concluded by noting that the DPP had an opportunity to prepare the 
groundwork for the arrival of the international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. 
The WTO had a unique position in the process by having insight into the global int ernational trade 
of plastics and  could  therefore provide valuable support to the INC process.  
32. QUNO  suggested18 the DPP consider including  references to the need to address plastics 
subsidies in its statement to MC13, and that that statement be complimented , for example by a 
High-Level Work Plan that sought  among other aims, to  (i) reach agreement on what parts of the 
value chain of making plastic goods should be covered by the term "plastics subsidies," and what 
forms of government support were of interest to the group ; and (ii) initiate an exercise under which 
each DPP participant produce d an inventory of the subsidies to plastics it ha d provided to its domestic 
industries, and what financing its plastics industry ha d received from public entities, includin g foreign 
and multilateral lenders, over the previous three years. In parallel, DPP participants could discuss 
the effects of different types of subsidies — separately and in combination — on capacity, output, 
prices, international trade, and the environme nt, to identify which types of subsidies needed to be 
prioritized for reform.  
33. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) informed19 participants that it 
was expecting to soon publish a policy brief reviewing measures already taken by the Members that 
could be useful for the DPP discussions.  The policy brief w ould help to see which plastics governments  
consider "most harmful " or "unnec essary ". The policy brief would also illustrate how Members were 
tackling plastics – what policy tools they were using, and for what kinds of plastic. The instruments 
involved c ould range from an outright prohibition or restriction to licensing or labellin g requirements, 
criteria for government procurement, or even the use of subsidies . 
34. The Pew Charitable Trusts (PEW) , drawing on Ambassador Mina 's question  about developing 
a compendium of trade policy tool s to reduce plastic pollution , noted that there was an opportunity 
to build  on the work  that many Members had already done domestically  and regionally . And to that 
point, PEW had been  supporting the Duke university to build on the analysis of WTO notifications  
and look at domestic trade policies related to plastics to help further illuminate  what ha d already 
been done around the world. Second , PEW suggested M embers reflect on  the means  to demonstrate  
progress  against th e outcomes  after MC13 . Finally, PEW noted that the Dialogue  had to  continue 
supporting the INC process and Members needed to reflect on how outcomes by the MC13 could 
build towards outcomes at the INC. 
35. The Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS)20 welcomed the US joining the 
Dialogue and noted that going forward the initiative ha d on board the three largest economies in the 
world , which were also among the world's largest  traders and producers of plastic . TES S shared its 
general  vision  for an MC13 Statement that underlined broad  commitments and priorities and that 
share d an ambitious message on the importance of common global rules and cooperation and the 
 
17 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/122 . 
18 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/121 . 
19 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/123 . 
20 See INF/TE/IDP/RD/124 . INF/TE/IDP/R/12  
 
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  work that c ould support the INC process.  The statement needed to reflect and reaffirm the spirit and 
balance in the MC12 statement including within and across the three workstreams . TESS noted that  
the statement  could be accompanied by Annexes  and stated its willingness to support that effort by 
offering  specific suggestions of what the Annexes, concrete policy actions and voluntary pledges 
could look like.  TESS underlined the importance of addressing the concerns of  LDCs and SIDS . TESS 
informed that it would  be sharing in the coming months a study that look ed in more detail into some 
of the trade flows across the plastic lifecycle and particularly some of the key single -use plastics that 
had been raised as important in th e Dialogue. TESS was also  participating  in a study  that map ped 
standards relevant to plastic pollution  and where international cooperation was needed . TESS 
announced that together with UNEP they would organiz e a one -day discussion  focusing on reduce 
elements to address plastic pollution and  bringing toget her some of the environment delegates 
working in the INC process  and some of the trade delegates working at the WTO to share ideas on 
trade-related policy options and research needs .  
36. The World Economic Forum (WE F) welcomed the  good, substantive progress of the group. 
WEF underscored that creating such a clear pathway forward was very helpful for all stakeholders, 
for liaison with the UN treaty community, and with their specific discussions with delegations .  
4  CONCLUDING REMARKS AND NEXT STEPS  
37. The next meetings for 2023 were scheduled for the following dates: 27 April (WTO -UNEP 
Workshop); 25 May (plenary); 21 -22 September (pre -plenary); 16 -17 November (pre -plenary); 11 
December (plenary). The upcoming plenary meeting scheduled fo r the end of May would focus  on a 
selection of potential outcomes. Before that, on April 27, a Workshop on Reduction would be  
organized in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Workshop 
would provide an opportunity to summar ize the two years of technical discussions on trade -related 
action to reduce plastic pollution, similar to the Report produced by the DPP Workshop on Promotion 
organized in cooperation with UNCTAD that had taken place in December 2022 
(INF/TE/IDP/RD/88/Rev.1 ).  
38. Coordinators also announced the two surveys launched by the Dialogue (on TrPMs adopted by 
Members and on their plastic -related aid for trade needs) should be finalized by end of May, with a 
compilation and analysis of the results done by the Secretariat over the summer. These outputs 
would help bolster discussions around the MC13 outcomes which coordinators were planning to have 
well advanced by their last plenary meeting of the year scheduled for mid -December.  
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