Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Key Elements for Consideration in the Context of a Treaty to End Plastic Pollution

This policy brief by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues for the inclusion of trade-related measures as core obligations in a proposed international treaty to end plastic pollution. It highlights the scale of global plastics trade, examines how previous Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) have used trade provisions to achieve environmental goals, and proposes specific trade mechanisms—such as bans, permits, and reporting requirements—to ensure the efficacy of the plastics treaty.

• Global trade in plastics is immense, with imports and exports of primary, intermediate, and final forms of plastics valued at over US$1 trillion in 2018, representing 5% of total global trade value. By 2020, the volume of plastics traded reached 369 million tons, with a value of $1.2 trillion.
• Trade in plastics contributes to the plastic crisis in three primary ways: the liberalization of trade in feedstocks and polymers accelerates production and consumption; trade acts as a "conveyor belt" for the global spread of polluting products and micro- and nanoplastics; and it increases the waste management burden on importing countries.
• Trade-related measures in previous Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) have served as effective tools to operationalize environmental goals. These measures provide incentives for non-signatory States to join the agreements, prevent "leakage" where Parties circumvent obligations through trade with non-Parties, and support the phase-out of harmful substances.
• Common trade provisions adopted in MEAs include export and import restrictions (as seen in CITES, the Montreal Protocol, the Basel Convention, and the Minamata Convention), as well as permit, licensing, and notification procedures (used in CITES, the Basel Convention, the Montreal Protocol, and the Rotterdam Convention).
• CIEL recommends that the plastics treaty include specific trade restrictions and bans on imports and exports of plastic feedstocks, polymers, additives, and products, particularly those subject to phase-outs, applying these restrictions to both Parties and non-Parties to ensure efficacy.
• The brief proposes the implementation of permit requirements to allow importing States to reject unwanted products and ensure that exporting States verify that shipments are correctly classified and that the importing State can manage the materials in an environmentally-sound manner.
• To increase transparency and enforcement, the brief suggests a mandatory declaration system for all imports and exports of covered plastics, including the type of material and the states of import, export, and transport, with data made available by the treaty secretariat.
• The proposed plastics treaty must coordinate with existing regimes to avoid overlap and simplify procedures, specifically the Basel Convention (which regulates transboundary movements of plastic waste) and the Stockholm Convention (which regulates persistent organic pollutants and chemicals used in plastic).

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Key Elements for Consideration in the Context of a Treaty to End Plastic Pollution. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CIEL-Policy-Brief-Trade-Provisions-in-Multilateral-Environmental-Agreements_-Key-Elements-for-Consideration-in-the-Context-of-a-Treaty-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-1.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Key Elements for Consideration in the Context of a Treaty to End Plastic Pollution. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CIEL-Policy-Brief-Trade-Provisions-in-Multilateral-Environmental-Agreements_-Key-Elements-for-Consideration-in-the-Context-of-a-Treaty-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Key Elements for Consideration in the Context of a Treaty to End Plastic Pollution |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CIEL-Policy-Brief-Trade-Provisions-in-Multilateral-Environmental-Agreements_-Key-Elements-for-Consideration-in-the-Context-of-a-Treaty-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndtrade, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Key Elements for Consideration in the Context of a Treaty to End Plastic Pollution}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CIEL-Policy-Brief-Trade-Provisions-in-Multilateral-Environmental-Agreements_-Key-Elements-for-Consideration-in-the-Context-of-a-Treaty-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }