./.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/GEN/15 
22 April 2004  
 
(04-1809) 
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:  English 
   
UNCTAD STATEMENT  
 
Statement by UNCTAD at the Regular Session 
 
of the Committee on Trade and Environment of 20 April 2004  
 
 
1. The UNCTAD would like to brief the members of the Committee on the substantive results of 
recent technical assistance and capacity-building act ivities on environmental requirements and market 
access for developing countries.  Since early 2003, UNCTAD has been implementing a UK-DFID 
funded project for six developing countries in Asia and seven in Central America and the Caribbean, 
whose activities focus to a significant degree on the issue of environmental requirements, market 
access and export competitiveness for various specifi c sectors. More than 20 country-case studies are 
being prepared on four different sectors: leather and footwear; electrical and electronic goods; horticultural products; and organic produce.  Fo r each product group, sub-regional workshops and 
national policy dialogues are being held.  
2. The analysis is focusing on four critical areas: (i) the level of awareness on environmental 
requirements in key export markets; (ii) the effe ctiveness of information gathering, analysis and 
dissemination; (iii) the current national adjustment  measures for meeting the new requirements; and 
(iv) proposals for more pro-active adjustment policies in developing countries. 
3. Preliminary results of this work are available for leather and footwear and electrical and 
electronic products, mostly based on analysis and discu ssions in the Asian beneficiary countries of the 
project: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.  
4. The analysis and policy dialogues have been ve ry helpful in clarifying and conceptualizing 
issues at the interface between environmen tal requirements, market access and export 
competitiveness.  Discussions have concluded that it is important to see the distinction, but also the 
interplay between policy and capacity-constraints is sues at three different intervention levels: the 
national level in developing countries, the WTO level and the international level outside the WTO.  It 
has also been very useful to exchange nationa l experience on different adjustment approaches and 
toolkits, including effective information management  and public-private part nerships.  Furthermore, 
there have been a number of sector specific reco mmendations on policy and capacity-building issues.  
The country-case studies and the conclusions of  the sub-regional workshops are available on 
UNCTAD’s Trade, Environment and Developmen t website (www.unctad.org/trade_env/). 
5. The 7
th Session of UNCTAD’s Commission on Trade in Goods and Services, and 
Commodities in February 2003 asked the UNCTAD Secr etariat to launch exploratory activities for the 
possible creation, as a project-based activity, of  a Consultative Task Force on Environmental 
Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries.  The UNCTAD Secretariat and the 
National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro) of the Brazilian 
Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade will jointly organize a workshop, as a pre-
UNCTAD XI event, on 7-8 June 2004 in Rio de Janeiro  that will review the preliminary results of 
exploratory activities for the Consultative Task Fo rce.  Information is being posted on the UNCTAD 
XI website. WT/CTE/GEN/15 
Page 2  
 
 6. The workshop is expected (a) to make recommendations on the objectives, concept and nature 
of activities of the Consultative Task Force; a nd (b) discuss the findings of a number of specific 
studies on the involvement of developing country expor ters in pre-regulation- and pre-standard-setting 
consultations and the feasibility of internationa l and sub-regional clearinghouses of information on 
environmental regulation and standards.  The wo rkshop is open to all UNCTAD member States.  
7. UNCTAD, IISD and STIC will jointly organi ze during the Annual Public Symposium of 
WTO on 26 May a workshop on Environmental Requi rements and Market Access: An update on 
policy and practice – inside and outside the WTO.  The objective of the workshop is to draw attention 
to the limitations of addressing environmental requirements and market access solely inside the WTO, 
and to discuss with participants the range of relevant initiatives ongoing outside of the WTO. 
8. UNCTAD will hold a round table on trade for sustainable development as a parallel event 
during UNCTAD XI on 17 June in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  This event will be co-chaired by Mr. Ricupero 
and Mr. Töpfer and aims at identifying policies that can assist developing countries in assuring 
sustainable development gains from trade.  A num ber of trade, environment, agricultural and 
development assistance Ministers have already conf irmed their participation in the round table.  
Further information on the event can be obtai ned from the UNCTAD Trade, Environment and 
Development website at www.unctad.org/trade_env/. 
 
 
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