WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/273
14 July 1998
(98-2782)
Original:  English
HIGH LEVEL TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT MEETING
Communication from the European Communities
The following communication, dated 10 July 1998, has been received from the European
Communities with the request that it be circulated to WTO Members.
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Since the 1996 Singapore WTO Ministerial Conference the debate on the relationship
between trade and environment has been in a state of suspense.  The Committee on Trade andEnvironment has adopted a more analytical approach to its work which has indeed provided a useful
contribution to broaden the perspectives of the debate.  The EC recognizes the value of the analytical
work undertaken by the CTE since Singapore and welcomes the more constructive tone of the
discussions.
In a rapidly changing world, however, wher e many economies are undergoing structural
change and facing the challenges of globalisation whilst pressures on the environment and natural
resources continue to grow, it is essential that the trade and environment debate in the WTO responds
to these changes and evolves in order to ensure the capacity of the multilateral trading system to
respond effectively to sustainable development need s including in particular those related to the
protection of the environment.
The question of how best to further strengthen the responsiveness of the WTO to new
challenges and the evolution of its debates on the relationship between trade and environment is
therefore acquiring ever greater urgency and has been rising up the international agenda for some
time.  Since the beginning of this year, the idea of holding a High Level Meeting of those with a key
interest in the trade and environment discussions has gathered increasing support as potentially thebest way of helping to achieve this whilst reconciling the interests of the different stakeholders in this
debate.
At the CTE’s first meeting in 1998 on 19-20 March the EC suggested that strengthening the
dialogue between top-level trade and environment policy makers could foster the process by whichthe CTE debate became relevant to broader WTO decision-making.  The EU underlined that this
would require a willingness on the part of all concerned to ensure the meeting was both constructive
and pragmatic, in particular by focussing the dialogue on relevant topics of a horizontal nature so that
the debate and the analyses could move effectively forward.
This submission sets out a number of ideas which the EU believes could provide a useful
contribution for further developing the concept of a High Level Meeting.WT/L/273
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Objective
The main objective of holding a High Level Meeting (HLM) of those involved in trade and
environment would be to help move the policy deba te forward at political level by contributing to
confidence building and highlighting the importance of trade and environment for the WTO’s presentand future work as well as supporting the work to devise concrete solutions to relevant problems at
the trade and environment interface.
In addition, the meeting would also have the ob jective of providing a forum for an exchange
of ideas on the focus on trade and environment of the WTO’s broader work after the 3
rd Ministerial.
Such mainstreaming would not detract, however, from th e fact that it is the CTE itself which remains
the main forum for discussions on trade and environment.
Format
The HLM should be an informal ad hoc meeting under the auspices of the WTO, convened by
the WTO’s Director-General.  The WTO General Council, in liaison with the CTE and its chairmanwould play a role in the preparation of the meet ing including consideration of suggestions for the
HLM’s agenda, the timing, the participants and the choice of possible venue.
Agenda
The agenda should aim to stimulate a free ranging debate among participants which could
enable them to make progress and provide clear political guidance on particular issues where these are
ripe.  The overall theme for the meeting could be "Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development:
Synergies and Interactions".  The EC believes the most constructive approach to adopt would be to
move away from a discussion on the specific items of the CTE's work programme and to focus onbroader horizontal subjects.  Therefore, the main agenda would be a political one and could be shaped
along the following lines:
1. Synergies between trade liberalization, the WTO agenda and environmental
protection
Under this heading the challenges an d “win-win” opportunities for the WTO
both in addressing environmental concerns and from the perspective of both
developing and developed countries could be addressed, as well as the scope for and
need to factor environmental concerns into the WTO across the board
(mainstreaming).
Mainstreaming is important because, notwithstanding the focal and
coordinating role of the CTE regarding trade and environment issues, in any future
negotiations on trade liberalization there will be no single body within the WTO with
the power to ensure that environmental aspects are taken into full consideration
throughout the process:  the CTE discusses but does not implement policy.  Rather,each committee will deal with the economic sector under its authority.  It could be
advisable, therefore, for there to be an  indication that each committee should take
account of relevant environmental considerations.  The aim would be to consider how
environmental concerns will be taken into account in future negotiations on the basis
of the process agreed at the 1998 WTO Ministerial.WT/L/273
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2. Interaction between WTO rules and environmental protection
This item would allow consideration of broad issues concerning the
relationship between trade disciplines and environmental policy including but not
limited to specific subjects which are currently being discussed in the CTE.
A series of rulings by panels and the Appellate Body (United States -
Prohibition of imports of tuna and tuna products from Canada (1982); Canada –
Measures affecting exports of unprocessed herring and salmon (1988); Thailand –
Restrictions on importation of and internal taxes on cigarettes (1990); United States –
Restrictions on imports of Tuna (1991); United States – Restrictions on imports of
tuna (1994); United States – Taxes on auto mobiles (1994); United States – Standards
for reformulated and conventional gasoline (1996); United States - Turtle/Shrimp
(1998)), not all of which have been adopted, have produced a number of
interpretations of GATT Article XX which, although not necessarily linear in their
development, have contributed to clarifying the relationship between trade rules and
trade-related environmental measures.  These legal interpretations are indeed valuablebut the interaction between WTO rules and environmental protection may usefully be
complemented by a broader perspective.
It could be useful, therefore, within the framework of its consideration of the
various issues affected by the interaction between WTO rules and environmentalprotection, for the HLM to reflect upon appropriateness of relevant existing WTO
rules in accommodating environmental requirements and concerns
3. Dialogue between trade and environment communities
This item would encompass not only the i ssue of co-ordination between trade
and environment policy makers, but also other matters such as transparency in the
WTO and relations with civil society and NGOs the extent and modalities of
openness towards whom merits particular attention.  Outreach to the business
community also needs careful consideration.
Dialogue between the trade and environment communities helps strengthen
the mutual understanding of the complexity of each others’ issues and of the
relationship between them.  The CTE’s valuable contribution to this process should
provide the basis for reflection on how further to reinforce such dialogue.
Greater transparency is essential to reinforce the WTO as an institution and to
strengthen support for the multilateral tradin g system.  This issue is also being dealt
with at a more general policy level.  Nevertheless, some aspects of this discussion, for
instance the means of enhancing interaction with organizations of civil society, could
still be taken up for political discussion in the HLM given their particular importance
to trade and environment issues and in particular to public perception and support forthe WTO.
Timing
The HLM should be scheduled so as to allow sufficient time for careful preparation whilst
leaving adequate interval before the 1999 Ministerial.  Therefore, the meeting should probably take
place in the first part of the year:  mid-February 1999 or the second half of March could be the most
propitious time slots.WT/L/273
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Holding the HLM in 1999 would also follow on from the WTO’s seven regional seminars for
developing countries and economies in transition scheduled for the second semester of 1998 the aim
of which is to raise awareness among trade and environment officials of the interface between their
two policy areas.  Indeed, the HLM would be a logi cal next step following these regional seminars.
Participants
In principle the HLM would aim to be a ministerial meeting, although it is desirable to retain
some flexibility as regards the composition of dele gations. While it would be necessary to ensure the
presence of a sufficient number of Ministers to chair the meeting and the working sessions and to lead
the discussions, some WTO Members might choose to be represented at senior official rather than
ministerial level. Ideally, delegations should be bicephalous and be headed by Ministers for trade and
environment.  Members may consider it pertinent to include Ministers or senior officials with otherresponsibilities as well (e.g. finance, natural resources, exports, development).
The heads of Secretariats of the key MEAs and relevant major international organizations, in
particular UNCTAD and UNEP, should be included.  Similarly, top officials of relevant REOs could
also be invited.
As the meeting is of an ad hoc nature, representatives of civil society from both developed
and developing countries, including environmental, developmental and business NGOs could also be
invited to participate as appropriate  in order to allow for first hand exchanges of information and
perspectives.
In advance of the HLM it would be useful if a preparatory meeting attended by senior
officials were held as a further means of facilit ating preparation.  Repres entatives of NGOs, industry
and other groups should also be able to contribute to  such a preparatory meeting and have their views
heard.
As indicated above, the Director-General of the WTO and the WTO General Council, in
liaison with the CTE and its chairman, should also play an important part in preparing the HLM.
Venue
The EC believes it could be useful to consider a venue other than Geneva.
Outcome
In view of the informal nature of the meetin g it would not be appropriate to adopt formal
conclusions.  A chairman's text summarising the discussions and highlighting areas of agreement
would be enough.
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