JOB(02)/28
14 March 2002
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT
Meeting of Thursday 21 March 2002
Annotated draft agenda
This annotated draft agenda is intended to provide information to assist Members in preparing for
the upcoming meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) on Thursday 21 March 2002,
starting at 10 a.m. in the Centre William Rappard, Geneva (WTO/AIR/1740). This meeting will be
followed by the first Special Session of the CTE on Friday 22 March (WTO/AIR/1742).
General information
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The report of the last meeting of the Committee, held on 4 October 2001 is contained in
WT/CTE/M/28. Members will find an updated list of all documents, categorized by item of the work
programme, that have been circulated in the Committee from January 1995 to December 2001 in
WT/CTE/INF/4, 19 September 2001.
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At the last meeting of the Committee, it was agreed to postpone discussion of the requests for
intergovernmental observer status pending discussions in the General Council, including the latest
request from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) (WT/CTE/COM/9). The list of all
organizations which have been granted observer status in the Committee and those whose request is
pending is contained in WT/CTE/W/41/Rev.8.
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Members are kindly requested to provide an advance copy of their written statements to the
Secretariat for use by the interpreters. These statements will be used strictly for the purposes of
interpreting.
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Observer organizations are invited to report on matters of interest arising from their work under
the relevant Item of the Committee's work programme.
The following items are proposed for the agenda:
(1)
Confirmation of the Chairman – following the consensus in the General Council at its meeting
on 15 February on the appointment of Chairpersons for a number of WTO bodies, the Committee is
requested to formally confirm the appointment of Ambassador Oguz Demiralp (Turkey) as its Chairman.
(2)
Adoption of the agenda – Airgram WTO/AIR/1740.
(3)
Opening remarks by the Chairman
(4)
The focus of the meeting will be on items of relevance to the theme of market access, with
particular attention to:

Paragraph 32(i) of the Doha Declaration
"The effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to developing
countries, in particular the least-developed among them, and those situations in which the
elimination or reduction of trade restrictions and distortions would benefit trade, the environment
and development."
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(5)
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The market access aspects will be addressed first.
According to past practice, Members may address the environmental benefits of trade
liberalization part of this item sector-by-sector in the following order: agriculture, energy,
fisheries, forestry, non-ferrous metals, textiles and clothing, leather, and environmental services.

Energy – At the October meeting, the Chairman indicated that there would be a further
opportunity at the next meeting for delegations to comment on the Secretariat's study on the
energy sector entitled The Environmental Benefits of Removing Trade Restrictions and
Distortions: the Energy Sector - WT/CTE/W/200, 18 September 2001.

Fisheries – UNEP will report on the results of its Workshop on the Impacts of Trade-Related
Policies on Fisheries and Measures for Sustainable Fisheries Management, to be held in
Geneva on 15 March. The FAO will brief Members on its ongoing fisheries-related activities.
Other Items relevant to the market access cluster
Item 2 – Environmental policies relevant to trade and environmental measures with
significant trade effects
To date, no Member has submitted a paper on this Item for this meeting.
Item 3 – (a) Eco-charges and taxes and (b) eco-requirements related to products, including
standards, and technical regulations, packaging, labelling and recycling
To date, no Member has submitted a paper on this Item for this meeting.
Item 4 – Trade measures for environmental purposes and environment measures with trade
effects
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The Secretariat is in the process of preparing the WTO Environmental Database (EDB) for
2001, which contains all the environment-related measures or provisions notified by Members. Based
on the EDB for 1999 contained in WT/CTE/W/143, Members are invited to provide any additional
suggestions to assist the Secretariat in preparing the forthcoming EDB. The intention is to issue the
2001 EDB in advance of the next meeting in June.
(6)
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Other issues in paragraph 32 of the Doha Declaration
Paragraph 32(ii) – the relevant provisions of the TRIPs Agreement
To date, no Member has submitted a paper on this issue for this meeting.
Paragraph 32 (iii) – labelling requirements for environmental purposes
To date, no Member has submitted a paper on this issue for this meeting.
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(7)
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Any other items on the CTE work programme
Items 1 & 5 – Relationship between MEAs and the WTO
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As requested, the Secretariat has updated and revised its Note on GATT/WTO Dispute
Settlement Practice Relating to Article XX. This paper has been circulated as WT/CTE/W/203,
8 March 2002. Members may wish to comment on this paper.
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Item 7 – Domestically prohibited goods
To date, no Member has submitted a paper on this issue for this meeting.
Item 9 – Services and the environment
As requested at the October 2001 meeting, the Secretariat is in the process of preparing the
background paper to revise WT/CTE/W/9. Any further guidance Members may have with respect to
this update is welcome. The intention is to circulate the paper in advance of the June meeting.

Item 10 – Relations with IGOs and NGOs
The WTO Secretariat is planning to hold an NGO symposium entitled The Doha Development
Agenda and Beyond" from 29 April – 1 May. A session of this symposium will be devoted to Trade
and Environment after Doha on 30 April.
(8)
Paragraph 33 of the Doha Declaration
"We recognize the importance of technical assistance and capacity building in the field of
trade and environment to developing countries, in particular the least-developed among them.
We also encourage that expertise and experience be shared with Members wishing to perform
environmental reviews at the national level. A report shall be prepared on these activities
for the Fifth Session."
There are two distinct aspects included in this paragraph:

Technical assistance and capacity building
Members and intergovernmental organizations are invited to inform the Committee of their
technical assistance and capacity building activities related to the field of trade and the environment to
developing countries, in particular the least-developed countries.
UNEP will brief the Committee on the UNEP Workshop on Capacity Building on Environment,
Trade and Development, to be in Geneva on 19-20 March. This Workshop is being held back-to-back
with the CTE in order to allow the UNEP-sponsored environmental experts from developing country
Members to participate in the CTE and the CTE Special Session.

Environmental reviews at the national level
Members and intergovernmental organizations are invited to share their expertise and experience
on environmental reviews at the national level.
UNEP plans to brief Members on its reference manual and ongoing work on integrated assessments
of trade-related policies.
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(9)
Paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration
"The Committee on Trade and Development and the Committee on Trade and Environment
shall, within their respective mandates, each act as a forum to identify and debate
developmental and environmental aspects of the negotiations, in order to help achieve the
objective of having sustainable development appropriately reflected."
Members are invited to give consideration as to how to proceed with respect to paragraph 51
and to contribute any preliminary views they may have.
(10)
Other business
Members wishing to raise any matter under Other Business should so advise the Secretariat.

Work programme and schedule of meetings
Members are requested to consider the attached work programme and schedule of meeting for the
Committee in 2002 (attached). This is the same work programme that the Chairman faxed to Members for
their consideration on 5 March.

MEA Information Session
The intention is to hold an MEA Information at the next meeting on 13 June. Based on the
suggestion of Members, the proposal is to focus this Session on technical assistance and capacity
building, as well as how to improve information exchange with MEAs. To this end, Members are
invited to consider inviting the following six Secretariats to the June session: the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); the Basel Convention;
the Montreal Protocol; the Convention on Biological Diversity; the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change; and UNEP Chemicals (PIC and POPs Conventions). The Chairman also intends to
invite the Director-General of the WTO and the Executive Secretary of UNEP to participate in this
Session.
Members are invited to contact the Secretariat if they have any comments or suggestions.
(11)
Date and agenda of next meeting
The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for 13-14 June, following the Special Session of
the CTE which is planned for 11-12 June. The focus of the meeting will be on the theme of the linkages
between the multilateral environment and trade agendas, with particular attention to paragraph 32(ii) of
the Doha Declaration (the relevant provisions of the TRIPs Agreement). Other Items of focus in this
cluster include: Items 1, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
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COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT
Work Programme and Schedule of meetings for 2002
1.
The following schedule of meetings is proposed. The proposal is to give particular attention
to one of the issues identified in paragraph 32 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration at each meeting,
while allowing Members to address all the other items on the work programme of the CTE, as well as
paragraphs 33 and 51 of the Doha Declaration.
2.
The possibility of scheduling a 4th meeting should be kept in mind as the discussions proceed.
3.
The CTE meeting of 21 March will address items relevant to the market access cluster, with
particular attention to:

Paragraph 32(i) of the Doha Declaration – "The effect of environmental measures on market
access, especially in relation to developing countries, in particular the least-developed among them,
and those situations in which the elimination or reduction of trade restrictions and distortions
would benefit trade, the environment and development";
Other items in the market access cluster of the CTE work programme: Items 2, 31, and 4;
Following debate on this issue, Members will have the possibility to raise:
 Other issues in paragraph 32 of the Doha Declaration;
 Other items of the work programme of the CTE;
Paragraph 33 of the Doha Declaration on technical assistance and environmental reviews; and
Paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration on identifying and debating developmental and
environmental aspects of the negotiations, in order to help achieve the objective of having
sustainable development appropriately reflected.
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4.
At a meeting on 13-14 June, the CTE will hold an MEA Information Session and discuss those
items related to the cluster on the linkages between the multilateral environmental and trade agendas,
with particular attention to:
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Paragraph 32(ii) of the Doha Declaration – "The relevant provisions of the TRIPs Agreement";
Other items in the linkages cluster of the CTE work programme: Items 1, 5, 7, 9 and 10;
After this issue has been addressed, Members will have the possibility to raise:
 Other issues in paragraph 32 of the Doha Declaration;
 Other items of the work programme of the CTE;
Paragraph 33 of the Doha Declaration; and
Paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration.
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5.
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1
On 8-9 October, discussion in the CTE will give particular attention to:
Paragraph 32(iii) of the Doha Declaration – "Labelling requirements for environmental
purposes";
Following discussion on this issue, Members may address:
 Other issues in paragraph 32 of the Doha Declaration;
 Other items of the work programme of the CTE;
Paragraph 33 of the Doha Declaration;
Paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration; and
Report of the CTE for 2002.
Item 3(b) corresponds in large part to paragraph 32(iii) on "labelling requirements for environmental purposes".