COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT IN SPECIAL
SESSION
REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON, AMBASSADOR WIBOONLASANA
RUAMRAKSA TO THE Trade negotiations committee (TNC), 31 July 2015
1. Since the last formal TNC meeting, I held a series of bilateral
consultations reaching out to all delegations and I am pleased to report that
many delegations replied positively to my call. The intention was to follow-up
on the informal Informative Session held in March and to hear delegations'
views on what contribution the group could make to the work program and MC 10.
2. As on previous occasions, delegations expressed their continued
support to the environment chapter of the Doha negotiations. Delegations also
generally reiterated their willingness to contribute constructively to the negotiations
once there is a better understanding of the way forward on other areas of the
DDA. It has also been made clear to me that the attention of delegations was on
the core issues of the DDA negotiations at the moment. My understanding is that
such sequencing between the work on core issues and the work of the CTESS seems
to be an essential element for some delegations before they can be ready to
engage in any additional steps in the CTESS.
3. Turning now to a few points I would like to make regarding the specific
parts of our mandate. First, on paragraph 31(iii) of the DDA, it is clear that
the liberalization efforts on environmental goods pursued by a subset of WTO
Members have impacted the level of priority that delegations currently give to
the topic in the CTESS. At this stage, I do not see this situation changing in
the coming months unless delegations start to come up with concrete proposals
on specific work to be undertaken under paragraph 31(iii).
4. Concerning the mandate on the relationship between Multilateral
Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the WTO under Paragraphs 31(i) and (ii) of
the DDA mandate, I sense that the Informative Session was particularly useful
to delegations and helped them refresh their memory on this part of the
mandate. I would like to report that at the Informative Session as well as
during my bilateral consultations, some delegations have expressed an interest
in reengaging in the work related to the mandate on MEAs, as a lot of good work
has already taken place. After the summer break, I intend to explore with
delegations what can be done to advance work on this part of the mandate with a
view to contributing to MC10.
5. Over the years, WTO Members have put a lot of work into trying to
move the trade and environment mandate forward. While I understand that Members
are still reflecting on the contribution that can be made for MC10, I have also
not heard in my consultations any delegations disagreeing with the importance
of moving forward on environment. 2015 is a significant year for the
environment and the world's attention will also be on what we, the WTO, can
do.
6. When we return in September, we need to build on the goodwill
expressed by delegations, and to work seriously and constructively towards
MC10. Therefore, I would urge participants to the environment negotiations to
intensify their reflections and to come back after the summer break with
concrete proposals for an outcome.
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