WTO members taking part in the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), held on 11 July considered possible outcomes to promote opportunities for environmentally sustainable trade for delivery by the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13).
The MC13 is scheduled to be held in February 2024.
Members also welcomed Barbados as the newest participant in TESSD, which now includes 75 WTO members as co-sponsors.
Co-conveners Ambassador Nadia Theodore of Canada and Ambassador Ronald Saborío Soto of Costa Rica held this first TESSD plenary meeting of the year following the March and May meetings of the four informal TESSD working groups.
“We think that it will be important to have a statement on trade and environmental sustainability that describes the progress made since the 2021 TESSD Ministerial Statement and that charts the way forward,” Ambassador Theodore said.
He added that the statement would be accompanied by output documents being prepared by the four TESSD informal working groups that would be part of a package for MC13.
Several members took the floor to indicate their support for this approach and to provide further suggestions, including exploring how to link TESSD's work back to the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and other standing WTO bodies. Members also considered suggestions for further contributions to the MC13 outcomes, such as an update to the TESSD Work Plan and a digital tool that would foster transparency and cooperation at the intersection of trade and environmental sustainability policies.
“We have had a very fruitful and substantive process that has started to shape a proposed package of outputs for MC13. I want to reiterate our full commitment and drive to deliver impactful outcomes,” Ambassador Saborío said. Barbados Ambassador Matthew Wilson said: “We're in the middle of a climate crisis and many of us, I imagine, are no longer interested in asking whether trade has a role to play in arresting the climate crisis and contributing to mitigation and adaptation. Rather, we want to know how it can and how quickly it can.”
Informal working groups will meet again in September and November. The next TESSD plenary meeting is tentatively scheduled for 12 December.