INF/TE/IDP/CN/8  
 
16 September 2022  
(22-6857) Page: 1/3 
 Original: English  
 
 
INFORMAL DIALOGUE ON PLASTIC S POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTIC S TRADE  
CONVENING NOTICE  
The following convening notice is being circulated at the request of the Dialogue Coordinators 
(Australia, Barbados, China, Ecuador, Fiji and Morocco) . 
 
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1. The Dialogue will hold its next plenary meeting in hybrid mode  on  
Tuesda y, 11 October 2022, from 3 p.m. Geneva time.  All WTO Members are invited to attend 
the meeting . Please see technical arrangements in Annex I.  
2. The statements from Members and stakeholders which were delivered at the  Dialogue  
pre-plenary meeting dated 19 -20 September 2022, will be  available as room documents on the 
Dialogue webpage.  
3. Delegations are invited to actively share their perspectives, in particular with regards to the 
information provided in the context of the two Dialogue surveys1 and related next steps.  
4. Draft a genda  
a. Introductory remarks by coordinators  
b. Reduction to Tackle Plastic Pollution and Circular economy for plastics2 – 
Facilitators : Colombia and Ecuado r 
i.  Briefing on the technical discussions held in the September pre-plenary meeting . 
ii.  Presentations by delegations  on their trade -related "reduction" policies  and 
opportunities for enhanced trade cooperation.  
iii.  Sharing of regional experiences . 
iv.  Interventions by delegations and stakeholders on these presentations.  
 
1 Namely:  
Aid for Trade Global Review and Needs Assessment  Survey . 
IDP AfT global review and needs assessment survey (Es) - Formstack  – Spanish . 
IDP AfT global review and needs assessment survey (Fr) - Formstack  – French . 
IDP AfT  global review and needs assessment survey - Formstack  – English .  
 
Trade -related Plastic Measures ( TrPMs ) Survey . 
IDP Survey on TrPMs (Es) - Formstack  – Spanish .  
IDP Survey on TrPMs (Fr) - Formstack  – French . 
IDP Survey on TrPMs - Formstack  – English .  
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 associated with international trade; and sharing experiences of effective 
approaches to move towards more circular resource efficient and environmentally sustainable plastics trade.  INF/TE/IDP/CN/8  
 
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  v.  Open discussion on the foll owing guiding questions:  
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?  
c. Promoting Trade to Tackle Plastic Pollution3 – Facilitators: t he Philippines and 
Australia  
i.  Briefing on the technical discussions held  in the September pre-plenary meeting . 
ii.  Presentations by delegations  on their "promotion policies"  and opportunities for 
enhanced trade cooperation.  
iii.  Presentations by delegations, in particular from developing members  and LDCs,  on 
potential plastic alternatives and substitutes . 
iv.  Interventions by delegations and stakeholders on these presentations.  
v. Open discussion on the following guiding questions:  
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 such as waste management a nd effective substitutes and 
alternatives?   
 
2. Where would international cooperation support the effectiveness of these 
actions?  
d. Crosscutting issues – Facilitators: Fiji, the UK and China  
i.  Briefing on the technical discussions held in the September pre-plenary meeting . 
ii.  Sharing of experiences by delegations  on the Aid for Trade (AfT) plastic -related needs 
or support  programmes and opportunities for enhanced trade cooperation . 
iii.  Discussion s by delegations and stakeholders on efforts needed to better identify 
plastics material flows through trade.  
iv.  Open discussion on the following guiding question:  
1. How can the Dialogue 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?  
 
e. Concluding remarks by coordinators  and the way forward for the next meetings  
 
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3 According to the D ialogue's Plan 2022 ( INF/TE/IDP/W/5 ), topics include environmentally sustainable 
waste management technologies; environmentally sustainable and effec tive substitutes and alternatives; 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 substitu tes and 
alternatives of interest 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/CN/8  
 
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  Annex I - Technical Arrangements  
 
Please note that this meeting will be held in  hybrid mode  (room S3 and via Zoom).  
 
 
1  REMOTE PARTICIPATION  
Delegates wishing to participate virtually via the Zoom platform, including capital -based officials,  
must register through this link:  
https://worldtradeorganization.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpceuhpzgpHd01g1iyZ CcOvlF5LBOJJJg
G 
 
 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the 
meeting.  
 
If prompted for the following information when accessing the meeting, please enter:  
 
Meeting ID – 854 6299 3379  
Meeting Passcode – 111022  
 
Before the meeting:  
 
• We are available 1/2 hour before the meeting to test your connection with you.  
 
During the meeting:  
 
• If technical difficulties result in delegations being unable to intervene virtually under a given 
agenda item, the  opportunity to take the floor will be given at an appropriate juncture before 
the meeting closes. Should the technical problem persist, delegations may contact the 
meeting coordinators ( idp@wto.org ) during the course of the meeting, either to send their 
statement for it to be read out during the meeting, or to request that the attendees be 
informed of their interest in the item under consideration and their intention to circulate 
their written statement after the meeting.   
 
2  ATTENDANCE IN THE MEETING ROOM  
For the health protection of all, and to respect the sanitary measures in place , masks remain 
recommended  in common areas and meeting rooms . 
 
3  STATEMENTS  
To facilitate interpretation, delegations are strongly encouraged to send their written statements to 
the Secretariat ( idp@wto.org ) before the meeting starts. Statements will also be gratefully received 
during the meeting  (idp@wto.org ). 
 
 
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