Statement by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs

The Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) provides feedback on a draft WTO statement for MC13, urging members to move from identifying actions to advancing concrete commitments. TESS recommends strengthening the document's environmental credibility, specifically by cautioning against the promotion of certain bioplastics like polylactic acid (PLA) and emphasizing the needs of developing countries and small island developing states (SIDS). The statement advocates for increased transparency in trade flows, enhanced capacity building for manufacturing sustainable substitutes, and closer alignment with the ongoing international plastics treaty process and the Basel Convention.

• TESS recommends that the MC13 statement maintain a balance of topics from the MC12 statement and explicitly recognize the impacts of plastic pollution on developing countries, vulnerable economies, and small island developing states (SIDS).
• The organization urges the WTO to increase transparency regarding trade flows and measures through individual or collective actions and collaboration with entities such as the World Customs Organization (WCO), UNCTAD, and the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions.
• TESS suggests expanding capacity building in Annex II beyond product design to include local manufacturing, participation in sustainable value chains, technology transfer, and support for customs authorities to regulate plastics at borders.
• To maintain environmental credibility, TESS cautions against listing polylactic acid (PLA) and other bioplastics as alternatives due to environmental concerns, suggesting a focus instead on non-plastic substitutes and a limited number of alternative plastics like recycled-PET.
• The statement emphasizes the need for the WTO's Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) to align with and support the international plastics treaty process and the Basel Convention, including sharing expertise on trade-related considerations and financial mechanisms.

APA

Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (2023). Statement by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-DPP-Pre-Plenary-Statement-21-Sep_FINAL.pdf?dm=1696239403

Chicago

Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. Statement by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. 2023. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-DPP-Pre-Plenary-Statement-21-Sep_FINAL.pdf?dm=1696239403.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |title=Statement by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=21 September 2023 |url=https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-DPP-Pre-Plenary-Statement-21-Sep_FINAL.pdf?dm=1696239403 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{forumontradeenvironmentthesdgs2023statement, author = {{Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}}, title = {{Statement by the Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}}, publisher = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-DPP-Pre-Plenary-Statement-21-Sep_FINAL.pdf?dm=1696239403}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }