WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/CTE/6
5 October 2001
(01-4823)
REPORT (2001) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT
1. The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) continued its analysis of the items of the
work programme in the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Trade and Environment, pursuing a cluster
approach for the themes of market access and the li nkages between the multilateral environmental and
trade agendas.  Discussions took place under th e Chairship of Ambassador Yolande Biké (Gabon),
followed by the Chairship of Ambassador Alejandro Jara (Chile).
2. The CTE held three meetings in 2001 (see attached Annex).  The 13-14 February meeting
examined those items of the work programme relevant to the theme of market access, including
items 2, 3, 4 and 6.  Under item 2, discussion took place on a paper submitted by the
European Communities on "The European Council Resolution on the Precautionary Principle",
adopted in Nice in December 2000.  Under item 3, the Chairman of the Nordic Technical Working
Group on Fisheries Eco-Labelling Criteria presented the voluntary certification scheme the WorkingGroup has developed for products from sustainable fisheries, and a discussion on ecolabels took
place.  The Environmental Database (EDB) for the year 1999 was presented to Members under
item 4.
3. The Committee also broadened and deepened its sectoral analysis under item 6, with
particular focus on the agriculture, energy, fisheries, and non-ferrous metals sectors.  The Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) and the United Nations Environment Prog ram (UNEP), informed the Committee of progress
made in their work on fisheries.   Under item 6, discussion was also held on the effects of
environmental measures on the market access of developing countries in relation to a paper circulated
by India.  The Members also discussed the benefits of addressing initiatives that advance trade
liberalization, environmental protection and development.
4. The focus of the meeting held on 27-28 June  was on those items related to the multilateral
environmental and trade agendas, including items 1&5, 7 and 8.  On 27 June, the CTE held an
Information Session with the Secretariats of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to
enhance understanding of the compliance and disput e settlement provisions in MEAs and the WTO.
The WTO and UNEP Secretariats, in close cooperation with MEA Secretariats, prepared a
background paper for the meeting (WT/CTE/W/191).   Representatives of the following MEASecretariats were involved:
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;
- Basel Convention on the Control of Tran sboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
and their Disposal;
- Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent;
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants;
- Convention on Biological Diversity a nd the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;
- United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement;  and
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.WT/CTE/6
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5. While unable to attend the meeting, the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas and the Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Marine Living Resources
contributed to the background paper, and cooperated closely with the WTO and UNEP Secretariats.
Members noted the important contribution of MEA Information Sessions to increasing mutual
understanding of the relationship between the WT O and MEAs, particularly through identifying
synergies between the WTO, UNEP and MEAs.  These Sessions also provide an excellent opportunity
to forge practical institutional links between the WTO, UNEP and MEA Secretariats.
6. To enhance their understanding of item 7, Members invited the United Nations Secretariat to
present the UN Consolidated List of Products Whose Consumption and/or Sale Has Been Banned,
Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or Not Approved by Governments.  The presentation stimulated
discussion on the issue of the export of domestically prohibited goods (DPGs), and demonstrated that
much information already exists on these goods.  The List needed to be more widely disseminated,including through the Internet, and better used by countries in need of such information.  Developing
countries expressed a need for technical assistance and capacity building to enable them to effectively
control the import of DPGs.
7. Under item 8, discussion was held on a paper presented by Brazil on the review of
Article 27.3(b) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).The representative of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) briefed the Committee on a
decision adopted by the CBD, which invites WTO Members to acknowledge the relevant provisions
of the CBD and to take into account the inter-relationship between the provisions of the
TRIPS Agreement and that Convention.  This was followed by a presentation by the representative of
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the work of the WIPO IntergovernmentalCommittee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.
8. The 4 October  meeting addressed items 9 and 10, as well as both thematic clusters previously
taken up during the year, and adopted this report of the CTE to the General Council.  In addition to
items 9 and 10, discussion of item 6 took place, with a focus on the agriculture and energy sectors.
9. The EDB was updated for the year 2000 by the Secretariat in document WT/CTE/W/195.
The EDB was established in 1998 in fulfilment of the recommendation in the 1996 Report of the CTE
to the Singapore Ministerial Conference (WT/CTE/1) to compile and update annually all
environment-related notifications to the WTO.  The list of documents circulated in the CTE since
1995 is contained in WT/CTE/INF/4.
10. As part of continued technical assistance in the trade and environment area, the Secretariat
organized a regional seminar on trade and environment for government officials from developing and
least-developed countries in Thailand in March 2001, and will be organizing another such seminar inthe Caribbean region in December this year.  The objective of these seminars is to raise awareness on
the linkages between trade, environment and sust ainable development and to enhance the dialogue
between policy-makers from Ministries of both trade and environment in developing and
least-developed WTO Member governments.
11. Pending the outcome of the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference and the future work
programme of the WTO, the CTE agreed to hold three meetings in 2002 to continue to deepen its
analysis of all items on its work programme based on the thematic clusters.  It also agreed to work
towards the World Summit on Sustainable Development (also known as "Rio+10"), to be held in
Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2-11 September 2002.  Consideration will also be given to any
other issues Members wish the Committee to address in order to fulfill its mandate.WT/CTE/6
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ANNEX
Work Programme and Schedule of Meetings for 2001
1. The 2000 Report of the Committee on Trade and Environment (WT/CTE/5) sets out that the
CTE will continue to analyse all the items on its work programme based on the "cluster approach"
under the themes of market access and the linkages between the multilateral environment and trade
agendas.  Pending the future work programme of the WTO and building on the contribution of
Members, including where possible their national experience, on the items of the work programme,
the following tentative schedule of meetings is proposed.  At each meeting, time will be allotted for
Members, if they so wish, to return to items discussed at the previous meeting.
2. The CTE meeting of 13-14 February will address those items relevant to the theme of market
access, including:
Item 2: the relationship between environmental policies relevant to trade and environmental
measures with significant trade effects and the provisions of the multilateral tradingsystem;
Item 3: the relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and:
(a) charges and taxes for environmental purposes;
(b) requirements for environmental purp oses relating to products, including
standards and technical regulations, packaging, labelling and recycling;
Item 4: the provisions of the multilateral trading system with respect to the transparency of
trade measures used for environmental purposes and environmental measures and
requirements which have significant trade effects;  and
Item 6: the effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to
developing countries, in particular to the least developed among them, andenvironmental benefits of removing trade restrictions and distortions.
3. At a meeting on 27-28 June the CTE will discuss the items related to the linkages between the
multilateral environmental and trade agendas, including:
MEA Information Session;
Item 1: the relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and trade
measures for environmental purposes, including those pursuant to multilateral
environmental agreements;
Item 5: the relationship between the dispute settlement mechanisms in the multilateral trading
system and those found in multilateral environmental agreements;
Item 7: the issue of exports of domestically prohibited goods;  andItem 8: the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights.
4. On 4 October, the CTE's discussions will include:
Item 9: the work programme envisaged in the Decision on Trade in Services and the
Environment;
Item 10: input to the relevant bodies in respect of appropriate arrangements for relations with
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations referred to in Article V of the
WTO;
Review of the two thematic clusters of market access (items 2, 3, 4 and 6) and the linkages between
the multilateral environmental and trade agendas (items 1, 5, 7 and 8);  and adoption of the 2001
Report of the CTE.
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