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World Trade Organization (WTO)
Committee on Trade and Environment
(CTE)
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World Trade Organization
Centre William Rappard
154 rue de Lausanne
CH-1211 Geneva 21
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Tel: (+41 22) 739 51 11
Fax: (+41 22) 739 42 06
Email: enquiries@wto.org
Web Site: www.wto.org
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Info contact: Vivien Liu, CTE
Tel: (+41 22) 739 54 55
Email:
Vivien.Liu@wto.org |
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Established: 1995
Staff: 550
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Director-General: Supachai Panitchpakdi
What is it? The Committee on Trade and
Environment (CTE) was established in 1995. Since the Doha Ministerial
Conference, in November 2001, work on trade and environment within the WTO
has spilt into two separate tracks: the negotiationg track, conducted in the
CTE Special Session (CTESS), and the regular work of the CTE conducted in
the CTE Regular Session.
What does it do? The terms of reference
of the CTE can be found in the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Trade and
Environment of April 1994. The CTE's mandate is twofold:
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"to identifiy the relationship between trade measures and
environmental measures in order to promote sustainable development"; and
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"to make appropriate recommendations on whether any modifications of
the provisions of the multilateral trading system are required, compatible
with the open, equitable and non-discriminatory nature of the system". |
Its work plan includes, inter alia, the relationship between Multilateral
Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the WTO, market access, eco-labelling,
transparency, export of domestically prohibited goods, trade in services,
intellectual property, and relations with NGOs and IGOs. The Doha
Ministerial Declaration reaffirmed the commitment to sustainable development
stated in the Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement. Several paragraphs deal
specifically with trade and environment.
Cooperation with UNEP, UNCTAD, and the
secretariats of MEAs.
Publications All CTE documents are
available on the WTO
website. Documents from the CTE Regular begin with the reference number
WT/CTE/ .... and those from the CTESS with TN/TE/...
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in para. 31 of the Doha Declaration, dated 14 November 2001
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min01_e/mindecl_e.htm
31. With a view to enhancing the mutual supportiveness of
trade and environment, we agree to negotiations, without prejudging their
outcome, on:
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the relationship between existing WTO rules and specific
trade obligations set out in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
The negotiations shall be limited in scope to the applicability of such
existing WTO rules as among parties to the MEA in question. The
negotiations shall not prejudice the WTO rights of any Member that is not
a party to the MEA in question;
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procedures for regular information exchange between MEA
Secretariats and the relevant WTO committees, and the criteria for the
granting of observer status;
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the reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of tariff
and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and services
We note that fisheries subsidies form part of the
negotiations provided for in paragraph 28.
This means that all other
trade and environment debates are discussions of a more or less
exploratory nature.
See documentary overview on recent
environment-related WTO publications (reviews,
governmental submissions, background documents etc.) on this site
under
WTO/Trade & Environment / (Inter)
Govt Doc.
See policy and legal analyses of trade &
environment issues on this site under
WTO/Trade & Environment /
Analysis.
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