Avoiding Trade Concerns in the Design of Plastic Pollution Measures

The report analyzes 21 policy measures from 14 WTO members that triggered trade concerns, categorizing these frictions into six types: timing and implementation, transparency, absence of stakeholder engagement, proportionality, justification, and discrimination. It provides specific regulatory recommendations to ensure that environmental measures targeting plastics do not create unnecessary trade barriers.

• The authors identified 21 policy measures implemented by 14 WTO members that were flagged as potentially problematic by 21 other members. These measures were primarily technical regulations or specifications (13), followed by bans or prohibitions (4), tax incentives (2), and broader circular economy strategies (2).
• Geographically, European and Asian WTO members introduced the majority of the measures that triggered trade concerns, accounting for 43% and 33% of the total, respectively. The members raising the most concerns were the United States (8), Canada (6), the European Union (4), Mexico (4), China (3), and the Republic of Korea (3).
• The most frequent trade frictions relate to timing and implementation time frames (affecting nine measures) and transparency (affecting eight measures). Common issues include the absence of established timelines, transition periods that are too short for compliance, and insufficient access to legal drafts or implementing guidelines.
• Frictions regarding proportionality and justification occur when members perceive measures as creating excessive costs or lacking a scientific basis. For example, the US argued that France's recycling labelling costs were "disproportionately high" relative to its goals, and the EU questioned the environmental benefits of Saudi Arabia's oxo-biodegradable plastic regulations.
• Concerns over discrimination arise when measures are seen as favoring domestic actors over foreign suppliers. In Jamaica, the Dominican Republic argued that the ban on single-use plastics provided different grace periods for domestic products versus imports, potentially breaching national treatment obligations.
• The report identifies a lack of stakeholder engagement as a significant friction point, where members argue that failing to include industry input leads to unachievable targets. The US cited a worldwide shortage of recycled materials as a factor that should have been considered in India's mandatory recycled content targets.

APA

Baršauskaitė, I., Irschlinger, T., Guazzini, V., & Aziz, A. (2024). Avoiding Trade Concerns in the Design of Plastic Pollution Measures. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/trade-concerns-plastic-pollution-measures.pdf

Chicago

Baršauskaitė, Ieva, Tristan Irschlinger, Vicente Guazzini, and Andrew Aziz. Avoiding Trade Concerns in the Design of Plastic Pollution Measures. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/trade-concerns-plastic-pollution-measures.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baršauskaitė |first1=Ieva |last2=Irschlinger |first2=Tristan |last3=Guazzini |first3=Vicente |last4=Aziz |first4=Andrew |title=Avoiding Trade Concerns in the Design of Plastic Pollution Measures |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/trade-concerns-plastic-pollution-measures.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barauskait2024avoiding, author = {Baršauskaitė, Ieva and Irschlinger, Tristan and Guazzini, Vicente and Aziz, Andrew}, title = {{Avoiding Trade Concerns in the Design of Plastic Pollution Measures}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/trade-concerns-plastic-pollution-measures.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }