Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 7 • Number 7 • 13th April 2007

CTE: Canada Suggests ‘Middle Ground’ Approach on MEA Observer Status

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WTO Members appear to remain divided on precisely what they are mandated to do in Doha Round negotiations on the relationship between multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) secretariats and the WTO. A 30 March informal meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment-Special Session (CTE-SS) saw Canada submit a ‘non-paper’ (JOB (07)/38) in an attempt to bridge the principal gaps.

Paragraph 31 (ii) of the Doha Declaration mandates Members to negotiate granting observer status to MEA secretariats, as well as the less contentious issue of setting out procedures for information exchange between them and relevant WTO committees.

The US argues that this only provides for Members to determine the criteria for granting observer status. It is believed to be supported by developing countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, and India. The EU wants countries to decide on which ‘core’ MEAs should receive observer status.

Canada describes its position as a middle-ground: it concurs with the view that the CTE-SS’s role is limited to developing criteria for observership, and that issue of observer status in the WTO rests exclusively with the General Council, the institution’s top permanent decision-making body. However, it also agreed with the EU that certain ‘core’ MEAs that had participated in past informal information exchange be immediately granted observer status (i.e. also for the remainder of Doha negotiations), following written requests from each MEA secretariat. Canada’s informal paper also added to past suggestions for ‘indicative’ questions that could aid WTO bodies in making ‘reasoned’ decisions on observership on a case-by-case basis, such as “Is the MEA’s work relevant to the WTO body’s work and vice-versa?”

Canada also suggested that WTO bodies that entertain observership requests would include the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the Committee on Trade and Development, the TRIPS Council, and the Committee on Agriculture.

According to trade sources, Canada promised to come up with an official submission in time for the formal CTE-SS scheduled for 3-4 May.

ICTSD reporting.