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Enhancing synergies and mutual supportiveness between MEAs and the WTO

Enhancing synergies and mutual supportiveness between MEAs and the WTO . AOSIS Workshop on Trade, Sustainable Development and Small Island States 12-15 December 2001 Montego Bay, Jamaica. Charles Arden-Clarke Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE)

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Enhancing synergies and mutual supportiveness between MEAs and the WTO

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  1. Enhancing synergies and mutual supportiveness between MEAs and the WTO AOSIS Workshop on Trade, Sustainable Development and Small Island States 12-15 December 2001Montego Bay, Jamaica Charles Arden-Clarke Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) Economics and Trade Branch (ETB)

  2. Building coherence between global economic and environmental governance MEAs and the WTO sit at the core of the respective systems of global economic and environmental governance If sustainable development is to be secured, these two governance systems need to work in harness, and synergistically

  3. UNEP facilitated MEA-WTO process The format for building synergies • an informal process, engaging trade and environment officials, the secretariats, other IGOs and NGOs • financial provision to enhance developing country participation • discussions and chairmen’s summaries, structured by analysis, developing next steps

  4. Content of the MEA-WTO process • Focusing on unrealised opportunities to make MEAs and WTOs work together for sustainable development • Relating specific provisions and processes in each regime to each other (eg on dispute settlement) • Developing recommendations for concrete actions by secretariats and governments to enhance synergies

  5. Output of the MEA-WTO process • Five meetings (June 1999 - June 2001), reports and chairmens’ summaries, synthesis report (November 2001) • Enhanced interaction between WTO and MEA negotiators, within and between countries • Feeding directly into CTE discussions (back-to-back meetings in Geneva)

  6. Next steps in the MEA-WTO process Recommendations for specific actions • Enhancing institutional cooperation, including on policy analysis and by extension of observer status • Developing joint-capacity building efforts on the MEA-WTO interface (January 2002, St. Lucia?) • Seeking synergies between technology transfer provisions in MEAs and the TRIPS Agreement

  7. Next steps in the MEA-WTO process Recommendations for specific actions • Increasing information between flow between the secretariats • Enhanced national level coordination between trade, environment and development officials • Cooperation and information exchange in dispute settlement, and on compliance measures

  8. Next steps in the MEA-WTO process Policy tools for mutual supportiveness • Economic tools for MEA implementation, which minimise trade distortion • Environmental and integrated assessment of trade-related policies (eg in CBD on agricultural trade liberalisation) • Checklist on the use of trade measures in MEAs to maximise synergies

  9. Doha Development Agenda Paragraph 31 - Negotiations • clarifying relationship between WTO rules and MEA trade measures, but only measures taken between countries which are both parties to the MEA in question • procedures on regular information exchange between MEA Secretariats and the relevant WTO committees • criteria for the granting of observer status to MEA Secretariats

  10. Doha Development Agenda Paragraph 31 - Negotiations • WTO negotiations focus more narrowly on potential tensions between MEAs and the WTO, and especially the use of trade measures • may effectively address the long delays in securing observer status • avoid the most critical legal issue - the WTO compatibility of MEA trade measures applied to non-parties

  11. Considerations for AOSIS members • Determination of MEAs of most critical importance to SIDS sustainable development • Assessing the importance of trade measures in the effectiveness of those agreements • Consideration of economic/trade effects, and capacity-building and technology transfer needs raised by MEAs

  12. Considerations for WSSD • What are the issues of critical importance for SIDS on the interface between global economic and global environmental governance • Will they be addressed by the WSSD, including via the IEG process? • What would be appropriate actions/inputs for Prep Comms II, III and IV?

  13. Trade, Sustainable Development and SIDS: Seeking a post-Doha Strategy Contact points: Economics and Trade Branch, 15 ch. des Anemones, 1219 Chatelaine, Switerzerland Tel. +41 22 917 8179 Fax +41 22 917 8076 Email: etu@unep.ch Web-site: www.unep.ch/etu

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