WTO OMCPage 1

SINGAPORE – WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

THIRD COUNTRY TRAINING PROGRAMME

REGIONAL workshop ON

the relationship between the trade and environment regimes

Singapore, 23-25 February 2010

Programme

This course offers training to government officials from Asia and Pacific economies on trade environment at the WTO, its Agreements and other related issues, including the Doha Development Agenda.

The workshop will be carried out in an interactive manner and will focus on thematic issues and problems experienced by Asia and the Pacific countries. Participants will be expected to offer their country's perspective and experience on the different trade and environment-related topics to be discussed at the workshop.

The aim of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for information exchange on key issues that form part of the Trade and Environment agenda in WTO, with a view to facilitating the more effective participation of Asia and the Pacific economies in ongoing negotiations and other relevant work in this area.

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Tuesday 23 February2010
Session 1: Introduction

9:45 – 10:00Registrationand Arrival of Participants

10:00 – 10:30OpeningCeremony

Coffee Break (10:30 – 11:00)

11:00 – 12:30Introduction to the WTO (WTO)

  • Brief History: From the GATT to the WTO
  • What is the WTO?
  • The Doha Development Agenda (DDA)
  • Basic principles
  • The dispute settlement system of the WTO

Lunch (12:30 – 14:00)

14:00 – 15:00Introduction to Trade and Environment Economics(WTO)

  • Introduction to environmental economics
  • The impact of trade on the environment
  • Impact of environmental regulation on trade

15:00 – 16:00Trade and Environment in WTO (WTO)

  • Brief history of trade and environment debate
  • Work Programme of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE)
  • The Doha mandate on trade and environmentand the work of the Committee on Trade and Environment in Special Session (CTESS)

Coffee Break (16:00 – 16:30)

16:30 – 17:30GATT/WTO Case Lawon Trade and Environment (WTO)

  • Introduction to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism
  • Relevant WTO rules and GATT Article XX exception
  • US – Gasoline, US – Shrimp, Brazil – Retreaded Tyres

Wednesday24 February 2010
Session 2: Environmental Cooperation and the WTO

09:30 – 10:00Relationship Between WTO and MEAs: Introduction to the debate(WTO)

  • Discussions in the CTE on the MEAs-WTO Relationship before Doha
  • The EC-Swordfish case
  • Typology of trade-related measures

10:00 – 10:30Relationship Between WTO and MEAs: Some examples on chemicals(BaselSecretariat)

  • What is an MEA and why are they negotiated?
  • The chemical agreements:Rotterdam, Stockholm and Montreal

Coffee Break (10:30 – 11:00)

11:00 – 11:30Relationship Between WTO and MEAs:Some examples on biodiversity (WTO)

  • CBD and the Biosafety Protocol
  • CITES

11:30 – 12:00The Doha Mandate on MEAs and the WTO (WTO)

  • Doha negotiations on the relationship between "specific trade obligations" and existing WTO rules, proposals tabled in the CTE Special Session;efforts to increase coordination at the national level (paragraph 31(i))
  • Doha mandate on the cooperation between WTO and MEA secretariats; cooperation between the WTO Secretariat and MEAs/UNEP;Cooperation between WTO and MEA secretariats (paragraph 31(i))

Lunch (12:00 – 13:30)

13:30 – 14:30The example of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal(Basel Secretariat)

  • Objectives and scope of the convention
  • Control system for movement of hazardous wastes under the convention
  • Environmentally sound management of wastes
  • Examples from the region

Coffee Break (14:30 – 15:00)

15:00 – 16:00Regional Trade Agreements and Environmental Co-operation (OECD)

  • Brief overview of the development and reasons for proliferation of RTAs
  • Various arrangements for environmental co-operation in regional trade agreements
  • Guidelines for negotiating and implementingsuch arrangements

16:00 – 17:30Presentations by Participants

  • Trade and environment in Bhutan (Mr. Choki Tshewang)
  • Trade and environment issues in Vietnam (Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lam Giang)
  • The relationship between trade and environmental policy in Macao (Ms. Wong Sio Kuan)
  • Sri Lanka's experience on trade and environment issues(Ms. Shirani Ariyarathne)
  • Trade-environment and development nexus: lack of technical and financial resources – a Bangladeshperspective(Mr. S. M. Mahbubul Alam)
  • Trade and environmental issues: coordination among countries (Mr Josef Krisharianto, Indonesia)
  • Relationship between trade and environment regimes(Ms Azreen Shabnam Khan, Fiji)
  • Coordination at the domestic level on trade and environment issues (Mrs. Pei-Chi Kuan, Chinese Taipei)
  • Trade and environment in Myanmar (Mrs Tin Cho Oo)
  • Trade and environment in Cambodia (Mr In Vothana)

Thursday 25 February 2010
Session 3: A case study: the relationship between the trade and
climate change regimes

09.30 – 09.45Climate change: Introduction (WTO)

  • Current state of knowledge
  • Key figures

09.45 – 10.15Trade and Climate Change, in relation to theCopenhagen meeting and developing country perspectives(Singapore)

  • Copenhagen Conference – purpose, outcome, and next steps
  • Negotiations - unilateral trade measures & intellectual property in technology transfer

Coffee Break (10:15 – 10:30)

10:30 – 10:45Trade on Climate Change: Economic Aspects(WTO)

  • Scale, composition and technique effects
  • Trade and transport
  • Contribution of trade to mitigation efforts

10:45 – 11:30Activities of the WTO and the Challenge of Climate Change (WTO)

  • Role of the CTE
  • Doha mandate and climate change
  • National measures: Taxes andemission trading schemes; subsidies; standards and labelling

11:30 – 12:00Competitiveness and Carbon Leakage and the Discussion on Border Measures (WTO)

  • Introduction to key concepts
  • Border measures and the WTO

Lunch (12:00 – 14:30)

14:30 – 15:30Introduction to the Debate (WTO)

  • Debate on carbon labelling and food miles
  • Relevant disciplines: The TBT Agreement

Coffee Break (15:30– 16:00)

16:00 – 17:00Carbon footprinting (OECD)

  • Concept of life cycle analysis, objectives of CPF
  • Overview of the principal schemes in place and their coverage
  • Possible implications for developing countries

17:00 – 17:30Closing ceremony

WTO Officials

Ms. Ludivine Tamiotti

Counsellor, Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization(Geneva)

Tel.:+41 22 739 5694

Fax:+41 22 739 5620

Email:

Mr. Matthias Helble

Economic affairs officer, Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization(Geneva)

Tel.:+41 22 739 6541

Fax:+41 22 739 5620

Email:

Ms. Amanda McKee

Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization(Geneva)

Tel.:+41 22 739 5218

Fax:+41 22 739 5620

Email:

Other Speakers

Mr. Dale Andrew

Head, Trade Policy Linkages and Services Division, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate (Paris)

Tel: +33 (0) 145248922

Email:

Mr. Matthias Kern

Senior Programme Officer, UNEP-Secretariat of the Basel Convention (Geneva)

Tel. 0041 22 917 8767

Fax: 0041 22 797 3454

Email:

Mr Desmond Tay

Senior Assistant Director, Energy Division, Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore)

Email: