TRANSPARENCY AND EXPERIENCE SHARING

COMMUNICATION FROM PARAGUAY

The following communication, dated 26 October 2023, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Paraguay.

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1.1.  Paraguay considers transparency regarding environmental measures with trade effects and experience sharing to be core elements of the work of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE).

1.2.  While the CTE concluded that no modifications to WTO rules were required to ensure adequate transparency for trade-related environmental measures[1], no other WTO body is specifically mandated to discuss the environmental elements of such measures.

1.3.  Paraguay appreciates that some Members implementing this type of measure already use the CTE and its existing terms of reference, in both the CTE's work programme (1994) and the relevant paragraphs of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, to make presentations on the measures they implement or intend to implement; however, the opportunity to enhance transparency and the sharing of experiences and information regarding these measures should not be limited exclusively to the presentations that Members may make autonomously.

1.4.  Making presentations or reacting to presentations made in the room by other Members could be very onerous for some delegations, in particular small delegations with limited human resources.

1.5.  With a view to increasing the participation of these delegations, Paraguay proposes using the CTE and its existing terms of reference to pose questions that enhance transparency and encourage the sharing of experiences regarding environmental measures and policies with trade effects.

1.6.  This will reduce the burden of having to make presentations and will allow for more active participation by not limiting questions to presentations made by other Members.

1.7.  It should be noted that this proposal does not require a decision since it would already be covered by the CTE's existing terms of reference.

1.8.  In order to facilitate the process and provide sufficient time for Members to submit and answer questions, the following mechanism is proposed:

a._    A Member that plans to pose questions on an environmental measure or policy with trade effects in the course of a regular meeting shall give notice of its intention to the notifying Member concerned and to the Secretariat, as far as possible in advance of the formal meeting of the CTE, but not later than the day on which the agenda is closed.

b._    The questions submitted shall be circulated by the Secretariat to all Members, in all the official languages of the WTO.

c._    Measures and policies in respect of which questions have been posed under this paragraph shall be annotated accordingly in the proposed agenda.

d._    Members submitting questions shall clearly identify the measure or policy to which they refer and include, where appropriate, a reference to the notification of the measure to the WTO.

e._    Members to whom questions are addressed shall try to respond to them at the formal meeting of the CTE and in all cases shall submit written replies to the Secretariat for circulation to all Members, in all the official languages of the WTO.

f._     In order to avoid the duplication of efforts, Members, with the assistance of the Secretariat, shall try to unify questions submitted concerning the same measures or policies.