RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/CTE/W/14
27November 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3770)
Committee onTrade andEnvironment Original :English
DOMESTICALLY PROHIBITED GOODS
Proposal byNigeria
Thedelegation ofNigeria issubmitting thisdocument withaviewtointensifying work on
theissue ofdomestically prohibited goods. ItisNigeria 'sfirmviewthattheCTE should beina
position topresent aresult onthisitemtotheWTO Ministerial Conference inDecember 1996.
Nigeria hasalways stressed theneedformultilaterally defined WTO rules todealwith
trade inDPGs andbelieves thatthere remains astrong rational forconcluding aDPGs agreement
asthere isanincreasing trend forindustries andfirms toexport products forwhich domestic sale
hasbeenprohibited orseverely restricted toprotect human health orsafety ortheenvironment.
Nigeria alsorecalls thatArticle 14oftheRioDeclaration onEnvironment andDevelopment
encourages States to"effectively cooperate todiscourage orprevent therelocation andtransfer to
other States ofanyactivities andsubstances thatcause severe environmental degradation orare
found tobeharmful tohuman health".
Nigeria considers thatdisciplines ontrade inDPGs should benon-discriminatory, least-
trade-restrictive, andshould increase transparency inthisarea, without leading totheextra-
territorial application ofnational measures. Developing countries donotalways havethetechnical
knowledge todealinanappropriate waywithimports ofDPGs andtheirimport control
procedures arenotfullydeveloped. Therefore, there should beareasonable degree of
responsibility onexporters ofproducts which arerestricted orprohibited onthedomestic market
because theypresent danger topublic health ortheenvironment.
Agreat dealofwork wasachieved bytheGATT Working Group onDomestically
Prohibited Goods andOther Hazardous Substances, which submitted adraftDecision onDPGs in
July1991. ItisNigeria 'sviewthat,where relevant, theresults ofthiswork should beused,
while taking intoaccount thelatest developments inthisarea, bothwithin GATT/WTO andin
other international organizations.
Themain elements tobeincluded inadecision onDPGs arethefollowing:
(i) Duplication
Nigeria shares theconcern expressed bymany delegations thatdisciplines intheWTO
should notduplicate existing mechanisms ofother international organizations which have
competence andexpertise intheareas concerned. Existing international instruments address the
problem ofDPGs andhazardous wastes andmost ofthem include notification schemes.
TheWTO 'scontribution inthefieldofDPGs should beto"fillthegaps" inorder to
strengthen thenetwork ofinternational agreements. Inthatregard, thesolution contained inthe
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1991 draftDecision should becarried on,i.e.aWTO Member doesnotneedtonotify other
WTO Members ofaproduct which italready notifies under another international instrument in
which those Members areparticipants.
(ii) Coverage
Disciplines onDPGs should cover products which arebanned orseverely restricted onthe
domestic market oftheexporting country because theyaredetermined topresent risksforhuman,
animal orplant lifeofhealth, ortheenvironment, butwhich maynevertheless beexported. This
includes inparticular, pharmaceuticals forhuman andanimal use,consumer goods, chemicals,
cosmetics, foodstuffs anddangerous wastes.
Intensive technical work isneeded onproduct coverage inorder todefine precisely which
products would fallunder aDPGs decision. Inthatregard, theCTE could benefit from the
participation ofexperts from relevant international organizations.
(iii) WTO Disciplines Relating toDPGs
Disciplines inthefieldoftrade inDPGs must notgobeyond thecompetence andexpertise
ofWTO butshould aimatimproving andstrengthening thenetwork ofrelated international
agreements.
Ataminimum, WTO disciplines should aimatincreasing transparency ontrade inDPGs
through anotification system. When aproduct isbanned orseverely restricted onthedomestic
market, butmaynevertheless beexported, theexported country should notify other
WTO Members ofthemeasures relating totheproduct, aswellasthereasons forwhich they
were adopted.
Exporting countries should establish enquiry points which would provide, onrequest,
more specific information onthenotified products.
(iv) Technical Assistance
InlinewiththeRioDeclaration andAgenda 21,Members should aimatstrengthening
capacity-building fortrade inDPGs byassisting developing countries indeveloping and
strengthening riskassessment capabilities inorder tomake informed decisions about theirimports.
Members should undertake, withthecollaboration oftheWTO Secretariat andrelevant
international organizations, toprovide technical assistance todeveloping countries onmutually
agreed terms, andtaking intoaccount thenecessity todevelop national means toeffectively
control trade inDPGs.
(v) Institutional Aspects
TheGoods Council should monitor andreview theimplementation ofthedecision on
DPGs.