Plastics Dialogue co-coordinators outline focus areas to guide post-MC13 work

Several coordinators of the Dialogue — Australia, China, Ecuador and Morocco — welcomed Mongolia and Mozambique as new members of the DPP, nearing the milestone of reaching half of the WTO membership. Praising the strong engagement of members, they said the Dialogue is moving to a new phase and will focus its work on some specific items to achieve concrete outcomes.

On behalf of all co-coordinators, Australia presented the proposed focus areas for the three workstreams that form the core of the DPP's post-MC13 work plan. First, regarding crosscutting issues, the suggested focus would be on enhancing support for major international processes combating plastics pollution, particularly the multilateral negotiation process led by the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee to reach a legally binding instrument on plastics pollution, and the Harmonized System (HS) reform process currently undertaken at the World Customs Organization (WCO). How to enhance the capacity of members to integrate trade as part of the solution to plastic pollution was also proposed as a focus under this workstream.

For reduction strategies to tackle plastics pollution, the suggested focus includes taking an inventory of members' trade-related plastic measures (TrPMs), and identifying best practices and opportunities for harmonizing TrPMs, with a focus on single-use plastics.

Regarding the promotion of trade to tackle plastics pollution, the proposed focus includes facilitating access to technologies and services, including for waste management, and levelling the playing field for non-plastic substitutes and alternatives, starting with standards.

The co-coordinators indicated that a questionnaire will soon be circulated among DPP members, and extensive bilateral consultations will follow on 16-18 July to discuss all feedback. This is in order to reach a consensus on the final list of focused items for the Dialogue's work towards MC14.

Live discussions ensued as participants continued to refine the technical elements of the three workstreams. For each workstream, representatives from a wide range of organizations were invited to present their diverse activities in addressing the environmental, health and biodiversity impacts of plastic pollution.

The INC Secretariat highlighted the key outcomes from the recent negotiation meetings (INC 4) and stated that the trade element will be discussed further in the final round of negotiation meetings (INC 5) scheduled for late November and early December. The WCO Secretariat briefed on the latest discussions regarding the addition of new HS codes for specific plastic goods, following a call by the DPP and cooperation with the WTO Secretariat. The WTO Secretariat also reported on the DPP's engagement in the INC meetings.

Participants welcomed the co-coordinators' initiative to identify focused areas while retaining the possibility of extending to broader topics going forward. They reiterated the importance of reinforcing collaboration and cooperation with other major international processes, stressing the need to avoid overstepping and to explore positive synergies and complementarity with others.

Some members shared their national practices in overseeing domestic action on plastics and trade-related measures in mitigating cross-border plastic pollution. Some agreed on the importance of building a domestic inventory of TrPMs, while others pointed out the need to seek convergence among different actions.

Participants discussed national experiences with waste management mechanisms as part of a whole life-cycle strategy for reducing plastic pollution. They also explored technologies and policies for promoting non-plastic substitutes and alternatives, as well as the obstacles to accessing these technologies.

Australia, Ecuador and Morocco thanked participants for the rich discussions and the progress made in the three workstreams. They asked members to reflect on the discussions thus far and prepare for engaging with the upcoming questionnaire survey. The next DPP meeting is scheduled for 19 September.

Launched in November 2020 by a group of WTO members, the DPP currently consists of 81 co-sponsors, representing more than 85 per cent of global trade in plastics.